1972
The Whitehorse Star Reports in 1972
| January | |
| January 13, 1972 | The University of Manitoba studies life in Whitehorse. A preliminary report shows that 18 per cent would not leave the Yukon under any circumstances. |
| February | |
| February 3, 1972 | Chappie and Marrie Chapman of Watson Lake are chosen as Mr. and Mrs. Yukon. |
| February 10, 1972 | The U.S. government abandons its plans to join Canada in reconstruction of the Alaska Highway between Dawson Creek and the Alaska border. |
| February 14, 1972 | The Yukon Territory joins the 10 provinces and the N.W.T. in the possession of a mace symbol. The Governor-General of Canada Roland Michener presents the mase to the Council of the Yukon Territory on March 6, 1972. Gov. Egan of Alaska & Commissioner Stu Hodgson of NWT attend along with Commissioner Smith and Jean Chretien. The design of the mace was created by Corporal Jim Ballentyne of the RCMP. His was the only one submitted. The competition for the design was talked about in territorial council for about three years and the prize awarding the design was made in 1964. |
| February 21, 1972 | Dr. Don Branigan is elected the Liberal party candidate for the upcoming federal election. |
| February 21, 1972 | One telephone circuit via microwave established a phone service to Old Crow by Canadian National Telecommunications (CNT). The first circuit was turned up February 16, 1972 and the first phone call was made from Old Crow at 11:30 a.m. Previous to this time there was radio service only. |
| March | |
| March 9, 1972 | The Arctic Winter Games take place in Whitehorse. |
| March 16, 1972 | The Yukon mining industry want to swap 800 square miles for 625 square miles within the border of the park. |
| March 27, 1972 | A motion is to dissolve the territorial council is defeated. Speaker Ron Rivett split the vote. Councillors Don Taylor, Mike Stutter and Ken McKinnon voted in favour of the motion while Councillors Norm Chamberlist, Clive Tanner and Hilda Watson voted against it. |
| March 30, 1972 | The Northern Canada Power Commission makes application to the Yukon Water Board for construction of $12 million hydro project at Aishihik River. (see also April 25, 1973) |
| March 30, 1972 → May 1, 1972 → June 16, 1972 |
It is announced that CBC will be responsible for any expansion of live television service in the Yukon once the Telsat satellite has gone into operation. The satellite will be launched in November 1972. Receiving stations are built in Whitehorse, Dawson, Faro, Watson Lake, Elsa and Clinton Creek. As of May 1, 1972, the first of Telesat Canada's Remote Television Earth Stations are rolling northwest across Canada. In June, Telesat Canada invites proposals for the provision of Thin-Route earth stations. The Thin-Route stations are designed to provide low volume telephone service via satellite to small, isolated communities in Canada's North. |
| April | |
| April 17, 1972 | It is announced that YWCA at Whitehorse is facing financial crisis and may have to close. |
| April 20, 1972 | Jack Bredin, "Yukon's friend of Indians", dies at the age of 53. |
| April 26, 1972 | Whitehorse has its first oil spill incident to cause the death of wildlife. A small pond near the White Pass highway division garage in the Marwell area has a layer of oil on it that kills ducks. The source of the oil is an oil tank that sank to the bottom of the lake. |
| May | |
| May 19, 1972 | Rolf Hougen, who has served on the board of Yukon Electrical Co. Ltd., is elected to the parent Board of Directors of Alberta Power Ltd. on April 21, 1972. |
| June | |
| June 2, 1972 | The Village of Faro is officially given town status, effective as of June 1, 1972. There are no other communities in the Territory under town status. Town status allows Faro an additional alderman. Faro was started in 1968 in conjunction with the Anvil mines. |
| June 5, 1972 | Alan Innes-Taylor is awarded a $600 grant to write his autobiography. |
| June 23, 1972 | Work has begun on the new $1.5 million 30 room Sandman Motor Inn on Fourth Avenue in Whitehorse. |
| June 23, 1972 | June 17, 1972, Yukon Commissioner visits the 6 permanent residents on Herschel Island, "the only Eskimo residents of the territory". |
| July | |
| July 3, 1972 | Sam McGee Main Street Carnival is the name selected for the carnival to be held each Friday night on Main Street. |
| July 3, 1972 → September 15, 1972 |
Northern Television Systems receives complete approval to amend its cable TV licence. It means that Whitehorse will have five video channels, one radio and one background music channel by the end of 1972. (see also October 25, 1971 and December 2, 1971). On September 15, 1972, WHTV announces its cable program amendment for October 1972. |
| July 3, 1972 | The official total population of the Yukon is 18,388. There are 9,920 males and 8,468 females. |
| July 10, 1972 | A sun eclipse is seen in Canada. In Whitehorse the sky noticeably darkened, "but they were no dramatics". Inuvik has a 99% coverage of the sun by the moon, and Tuktoyuktuk total coverage. |
| July 12, 1972 | Joe Ladue, the son of Dawson City founder Joe Ladue, makes his first visit to the Yukon. |
| July 14, 1972 | Pavement is laid in Faro on all town streets and parking lots. |
| July 28, 1972 | The first wedding ever to be held in the 74-year history of the Bennett Church on the White Pass & Yukon Route takes place August 2, 1972. |
| September | |
| September 13, 1972 | According to Statistics Canada, English is the mother tongue of 83.6 per cent of Yukon residents. "Indian" is second, used by 5.6 per cent and German is third at 3 per cent. French is used by 2.4 per cent. |
| September 15, 1972 | As the first step in the establishment of Kluane National Park, two officers of the National Resource Conservation section arrive in Haines Junction. |
| September 18, 1972 | The Yukon Progressive Conservatives nominate Erik Nielsen, the New Democrative Party nominates William Harvey Kent for the upcoming federal election. |
| September 20, 1972 | A new Canadian national union for mine workers is formed at Clinton Creek. It will be known as the Canadian Mine Worker's Union. |
| September 22, 1972 → December 1, 1972 |
The Whitehorse Recreation Centre closes for public use for the first time. Reason is the unsecure future use of the centre. At the end of the year, $10,000 repairs begin at the Recreation Centre. |
| October | |
| October 4, 1972 | The Yukon territorial government game branch established corridors along the Dempster Highway in which hunting is illegal. The areas are set aside because of the large numbers of caribou that cross the highway at those points. |
| October 20, 1972 | Whitehorse General Hospital regains its full accreditation, after it lost accreditation in 1971. (see also September 27, 1971) |
| November | |
| November 1, 1972 | On October 30, 1972, Progressive Conservative candidate Erik Nielsen is re-elected as the Yukon's MP for the eighth straight time. He receives 4332 votes against Don Branigan Liberal 2633 & Harvey Kent, NDP with 951. |
| November 6, 1972 | A special charter flight flies into Old Crow November 4, 1972 to deliver 20 deep freezers and 2 fridges to replace the single community freezer. |
| November 8, 1972 | Telesat Canada's Anik 1 is launched into space. |
| November 27, 1972 | A total of 177 Direct Distance Dialing phone calls are placed in Whitehorse on November 26, 1972 during the first day of the service's operation. |
| November 29, 1972 | The city of Leningrad expresses its interest in becoming Whitehorse's sister city. Both cities lie near the 60th Parallel. |
| December | |
| December 4, 1972 | The National and Historic Parks Branch proposes the restoration of some sections of Dawson City. |
