April 1999

It did not join Canada, it was created as a new territory in Canada in 1999, after a part of the then Nordwest Territories had been taken to make a new Territory, Nunavut. 1) "Nunavut (IPA: /ˈnuːnəvʊt/) (Inuktitut syllabics: ) is the largest and newest territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999 via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries were established in 1993. The creation of Nunavut resulted in the first major change to Canada's map since the incorporation of the new province of Newfoundland in 1949." "Nunavut means 'our land' in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit. Its inhabitants are called Nunavummiut, singular Nunavummiuq." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunavut#History 2) "The region now known as Nunavut has supported a continuous population for approximately 4000 years. Most historians also identify the coast of Baffin Island with the Helluland described in Norse sagas, so it is possible that the inhabitants of the region had occasional contact with Norse sailors. For more information on the earliest inhabitants and explorers of Nunavut, see Paleoeskimo, Neoeskimo and Helluland. The recorded history of Nunavut began in 1576. Martin Frobisher, while leading an expedition to find the Northwest Passage, thought he had discovered gold ore in what is now known as Frobisher Bay on the coast of Baffin Island. The ore turned out to be worthless, but Frobisher made the first recorded European contact with the Inuit. The contact was hostile, with Frobisher capturing four Inuit people and bringing them back to England, where they quickly perished. Other explorers in search of the elusive Northwest Passage followed in the 17th century, including Henry Hudson, William Baffin and Robert Bylot. Much of islands of Nunavut were formerly the British Arctic Territories. Leading up to the 1970s, there was some discussion of splitting the Northwest Territories into two separate jurisdictions in order to better reflect the demographic character of the territory. In 1966, a public commission of inquiry on Northwest Territories government reported, recommending against division of the Northwest Territories at the time. In 1976, there were negotiations for a land claim agreement and the new territory between the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada and the federal government started. In April 1982, a majority of Northwest Territories residents voted for a division, and the federal government gave a conditional agreement seven months later. A land claims agreement was decided in September 1992 and ratified by nearly 85% of the voters in Nunavut. On July 9, 1993, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act and the Nunavut Act were passed by the Canadian Parliament, and the transition was completed on April 1, 1999." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Nunavut 3) "The Nunavut Land Claim Agreement is a 1993 land claims agreement between the Inuit of the Nunavut Settlement Area (then part of the Northwest Territories) and the Government of Canada subject to the Constitution Act of 1982. The lands are not deemed to be "Lands Reserved for Indians" with respect to the Constitution Act of 1867. The Inuit were represented by the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut to establish the agreement. The agreement specifies two areas that are subject of the agreement: Area A consists of Arctic Islands and mainland Eastern Arctic, and their adjacent marine areas; Area B includes the Belcher Islands, its associated islands and adjacent marine areas. (A complete inventory of land, islands and marine territory subject to the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement is listed in the agreement itself.) The agreement of July 9, 1993 was the basis for creating the new territory of Nunavut in 1999. The agreement led to a political accord which established dates for introducing legislation to Parliament for the eventual creation of the territory, the Government of Nunavut, and a transition process. Under the terms of the agreement, jurisdiction over some territorial matters was transferred to the new government, among them wildlife management, land use planning and development, property taxation, and natural resource management." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunavut_Land_Claims_Agreement

Nunavut was actually part of the Northwest Territories before it was formed. Nunavut was formed on April 1, 1999. (No, this is not an April Fool's Day joke). http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/cataloguing-standards/040006-2206-e.html

Man do I feel like an idiot. I just found that out 9 years later.

1999