Enterprise, Northwest Territories

Enterprise is a hamlet in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, located between Great Slave Lake and the Alberta border on the Hay River.

Enterprise is at an important junction of the Mackenzie Highway and the road to Yellowknife and was established when two service stations were built to take advantage of traffic along these highways. It has since grown to include a weigh station, Winnie's Restaurant, and a motel to accommodate travellers. Most of the remaining commercial region, however, is currently closed for business and looking for buyers.

It is a significant point on the Northwest Territories highway system, as all traffic that heads to the two largest population centres, Yellowknife to the north, and the nearby town of Hay River to the northeast, must pass through. As such, a tourism centre/visitors centre is located right in the heart of town, where the old weigh station used to be.

In August 2023, most buildings in Enterprise were destroyed by wildfires.

History
With the completion of the Mackenzie Highway in 1948 from Grimshaw, Alberta, to Hay River on the shores of Great Slave Lake, a number of new service stops were built along its length. In the winter of 1948/1949, Jack Parnall, a freight operator based in Hay River, opened a service station at the junction of the Mackenzie Highway and the Mills Lake winter road, which connected to the Mills Lake freight staging area on the Mackenzie River below Fort Providence. In the late 1950s, the highway was extended to Yellowknife on the north side of Great Slave Lake, and Enterprise became the important junction. Jerry and Mae Eyford opened a Pacific 66 garage in 1956 and Sammy Petersen built a motel and general store in 1964. The community is a service centre for travellers and is also the base of operations for GNWT highway maintenance in this region.

Demographics
In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Enterprise had a population of 75 living in 33 of its 51 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 106. With a land area of 305.58 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

At the 2016 Canadian census there were 30 First Nations, 10 Métis and 10 Inuit. The main languages, besides English, are North and South Slavey, Inuinnaqtun (Inuvialuktun) and German.

Incorporation
In 2007, Enterprise filed a petition to change from settlement status to hamlet, which would allow for greater powers by council, a public voting for mayor, and freedom to set property tax rates. On 27 October 2007 the community was officially incorporated and Allan Flamand became the first mayor.

Climate
Enterprise has a subarctic climate (Dfc) with the yearly mean temperature being below zero in spite of the relatively warm summers around 22 C resulting in Enterprise being well below the tree line in the boreal forest. Winter average highs are around -20 C with lows being -31 C, typical of the boreal forests north of the prairies.


 * Hay River is approximately 40 km away