Yukon

 

Republic of Yukon République du Yukon
Flag Emblem
Anthem: "La Yukonnais" (English: "The Yukonnese Hymn")
Map of Yukon
Capital	City of Montrésor
Official languages	French
Recognised regional languages	English, German, Dutch
Ethnic groups	97% Europeans 3% other
Religion	94% Catholic 2% Protestant 4% other
Demonym(s)	Yukonnese or Yukoner Yukonnais(e) (French)
Government	Assembly-independent directorial republic
• First Consuls	Jean-Baptiste Letourneux Lucien Jacqueminot
Legislature	Council of State
History
• First permanent settlement	1836
• Territory of Canada	3 June 1888
• Independence	10 July 1926
• Statues of 1940	16 April 1940
Area
• Total	482,443 km2 (186,272 sq mi)
Population
• 2019 estimate	349,702
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	$4.087 billion
• Per capita	$75,141
HDI	.908 very high · very high
Currency	Yukon franc (YKF)
Time zone	UTC–7
Date format	dd/mm/yyy
Driving side	right

Yukon, officially the Republic of Yukon (French: République du Yukon), and sometimes called the Yukon, is a country in North America. The country borders Alaska to the west, Astoria to the south, and Manitoba to the east. To the north it has a coastline on the Arctic Ocean. The majority of Yukon's 349,702 people are of French descent and are Catholic. Most of Yukon has a subarctic climate, characterized by long, cold winters and brief, warm summers, while the Arctic Ocean coast has a tundra climate. It has very few large cities and is mostly rural.

Yukon's political system is a directorial republic that was originally modeled after the French Consulate and the ancient Roman Republic. The two first consuls jointly serve as both the head of state and head of government, being elected in January of every year by the legislature, the Council of State. Because of its population being mostly French and Catholic, French culture is an important part of the Yukonnese identity. Yukon's capital and largest city is the City of Montrésor and the country is divided into eight prefectures.

There is archeological evidence of human habitation of Yukon as far back as 24,000 years ago, some of the earliest human habitation of North America. Yukon was inhabited by First Nations people for centuries but recorded history began when the Europeans arrived and settled in the area. Russian explorers from Alaska had established a trade network with local tribes, but major efforts to explore the Yukon did not begin until the early 19th century. The Seven Years' War brought much of French North America to the British Empire, and although the French settlers in Canada had their rights guaranteed it still encouraged some of the colonists to move and explore the interior. In the 1820s, French traders from the Canadian Confederation had traveled through southern Yukon by the system of rivers there. In 1836 Francois Xavier Mercier established a fort and trading post near Frances Lake. Trade with the Indians and the Russians in the region encouraged further migration and the establishment of more outposts, which were mostly inhabited by Frenchmen as news of new opportunities further north began to spread among the Canadian-Francophone community.

The discovery of gold by some French prospectors in 1883 along the Yukon River led to more migration and eventually the Klondike Gold Rush. In June 1888 it was administratively split from the Northwest Territories, becoming the Yukon Territory. By the time the Gold Rush died down and many of the Anglo-American arrivals decided to leave, the Yukon was left with a mostly French population. When the Canadian Confederation came apart in 1917–1921 with the rise of Landonism in Quebec and the Maritimes, there was a movement for independence and a rising sense of Yukonnese nationalism. Yukon declared its independence on 10 July 1926 under the leadership of Oscar Auboyneau, who served nine terms as a first consul and became known as "the Father of the country" for his role in the Republic's history. He established the country's political system based on the French Consulate and the Roman Republic, deciding to do so because of Yukon's small population. The great conflicts of the 20th century, in Europe and in North America, brought an influx of immigrants from several nations, especially France, contributing to the population. The Republic of Yukon did not participate in any major conflicts since its independence, largely due to its remote location, while creating a highly developed economy and standard of living.

The country's high-income economy is mainly based on mining and tourism, and to a lesser extent finance. In recent years Yukon changed its corporate laws to create a more favorable environment for businesses, and has made itself a center for banking and financial services in the region. It has a very high standard of living, low crime rates, and the lowest unemployment in the Americas. Yukon is a member of such international organizations as the League of Nations, the CAS, the IMF, World Bank, WTO, and Francophonie.

Etymology

The territory is named after the Yukon River, the longest river in Yukon. The name itself is from a contraction of the words in the Gwich'in phrase chųų gąįį han, which means white water river and refers to "the pale colour" of glacial runoff in the Yukon River.

Geography

Bennet Lake.

Tombstone National Park.

The territory is the approximate shape of a right triangle, border Alaska to the west and northwest for 1,210 kilometres (752 mi) mostly along longitude 141° W, Manitoba to the east and Astoria to the south. Its northern coast is on the Beaufort Sea. Its ragged eastern boundary mostly follows the divide between the Yukon Basin and the Mackenzie River drainage basin to the east in the Mackenzie mountains. The Yukon River at Schwatka Lake and the entry to Miles Canyon

Most of the territory is in the watershed of its namesake, the Yukon River. The southern Yukon is dotted with a large number of large, long and narrow glacier-fed alpine lakes, most of which flow into the Yukon River system. The larger lakes include Teslin Lake, Atlin Lake, Tagish Lake, Marsh Lake, Lake Laberge, Kusawa Lake and Kluane Lake. Bennett Lake on the Klondike Gold Rush trail is a lake flowing into Nares Lake, with the greater part of its area within Yukon. Other watersheds in the territory include the Mackenzie River, the Peel Watershed and the Alsek–Tatshenshini, and a number of rivers flowing directly into the Beaufort Sea. The two main Yukon rivers flowing into the Mackenzie in Manitoba are the Liard River in the southeast and the Peel River and its tributaries in the northeast.

Yukon's highest point, Mount Louis (5,959 m or 19,551 ft), is in the territory's southwest. Mount Louis and a large part of Yukon's southwest are in Kluane National Park and Reserve, an LN World Heritage Site. Other national parks include Ivvavik National Park and Vuntut National Park in the north.

The only island off the coast of Yukon is Île-de-Louis-Philippe, named after the leader of the French July Monarchy, King Louis Philippe.

Administrative divisions

The first level of the administrative divisions in Yukon is the prefecture, of which there are eight. According to the official census, Yukon has three cities, nine towns, and 97 unincorporated communes. The territory of the country is divided into eight prefectures, and due to much of the country being sparsely populated, the only administrative level below prefectures is the locality – the municipality, township, or commune.

The current prefectures were established in July 1937, after the country's borders with neighboring Alaska, Manitoba, and Astoria were fully demarcated in various agreements.

Prefectures of Yukon

Name	Capital	Population
Ansouis	Saint-Véran
Curemonte	Tournemire
Montmiral	Castelnou
Montrésor	City of Montrésor
Navarrenx	Auvillar
Nord-Yukon	Saint-Amand
Saint-Cirq	Locronan
Yukon Central	Charroux

Politics

Main article: Government of Yukon

The politics of Yukon takes place in the framework of a multi-party parliamentary directorial republic: the first consuls (premier consuls) serve the role of both the head of state and head of government, being elected annually by the legislature known as the Council of State (Conseil d'État), which itself is elected by popular vote. The government has executive power, and it also has legislative power along with the Council of State. There is a separate judiciary.

The legislature of the republic is the Council of State, a unicameral body consisting of 70 members elected in all eight prefectures of the country by proportional representation every five years. Along with general legislation, the Council of State approves the budget, elects the first consuls, the nominated ministers in the Directory (le Directoire, the cabinet), all judges including those of the Law Court of the Republic (Cour de Justice de la République, the supreme court), and ratifies foreign treaties. There is also an Advising Commission that examines new laws proposed to the legislature.

Every year the Council of State elects two first consuls, and their investiture takes place on 1 February. Each is usually from a different political party. They have one-year term. The practice of having two heads of state, like Roman consuls, chosen in frequent elections, is derived directly from the customs of the Roman Republic. It also derives from the French Consulate of the Napoleonic era, during which Napoleon Bonaparte and two other individuals served as consuls in a centralized government where they together were the executive authority.

The six political parties in Yukon that currently have seats in the legislature include the Party of Socialists and Democrats, the Yukonnese Christian Democratic Party, Future Republic, the Yukonnese National Alliance, Democratic Movement – Together Yukon, and the Popular Democratic Party.

Military

A soldier of the 1st Company, 2nd Territorial Unit, Yukonnese National Guard.

The armed forces of Yukon are collectively known as the Army of the Republic of Yukon (Armée de la Republique du Yukon). It consists of the Land Forces (Armée de Terre), the Air Force (Armée de l'Air), the National Guard (Guard Nationale), and the Coast Guard (Gendarmerie Maritime). All of the branches combined have a total of 8,124 personnel.

The first militia in Yukon was established in May 1931 to provide basic law enforcement and border security. It became known as the Guard Nationale in French, and would form the core of the Yukonnese army. In December 1944, the Yukonnese Land Forces were established as a regular standing army with 4,800 men, while the National Guard became a reserve and paramilitary. The Coast Guard was established in 1950 in Nord-Yukon Prefecture for patrolling the Arctic Ocean coastline and providing emergency aid for the people living in the region, while an Air Force equipped with helicopters and transport aircraft was created in 1952.

As of 2020, the Land Forces was composed of five infantry battalions: 1st (Montresor), 2nd (Castelnou), 3rd (Saint-Amand), 4th (Auvillar), and 5th (Saint-Veran), and a General Staff and several independent formations. The National Guard is divided into territorial units in each prefecture.

Law enforcement

The main law enforcement agencies in Yukon are the Police Nationale and the Gendarmerie Nationale. The national police are the regular civilian police, mostly present in the cities and towns, while the national gendarmerie provides security in the more remote and rural areas.

Economy

Yukon is a developed country and its currency is the Yukonnese franc, which is pegged to the Sierran dollar.