N.W.T. pulls out of hosting 2028 Arctic Winter Games

The Northwest Territories will no longer host the Arctic Winter Games in 2028.

In a statement Thursday, Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Vince McKay said he informed the Arctic Winter Games International Committee of the territory's withdrawal.

It wasn't a decision the territory made lightly, the statement said.

McKay said hosting "would not be feasible ... for a range of reasons," and said he has asked the committee to consider the territory to host sometime after 2030 instead.

He said the territory's possible host communities told him they don't have the volunteers, capacity, services or facilities to host the games.

"Many N.W.T. communities are also still recovering from recent emergency events and long-lasting impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. Delaying hosting will allow the territory to improve its capacity to host future events," he wrote.

The N.W.T. has not hosted the Arctic Winter Games since 2018, when the games took place in the South Slave region. In 2023, Yellowknife declined an opportunity to host the 2026 Arctic Winter Games, which will now be hosted by Whitehorse instead.