Fort Simpson

Community Name:       Fort Simpson
Traditional Name:         Liidli Koe (place where rivers come together)
Land Claim Area:          Deh Cho
Electoral District:         Nahendeh
Member of the Legislative Assembly:  Kevin Menicoche
Member of Parliament Dennis Bevington
Senator                     Nick G. Sibbeston
Community Leader     His Worship Mayor Duncan Canvin 
                                Village of Fort Simpson
                                P.O. Box 438
                                Fort Simpson, NT  X0E 0N0
                                Phone:  867-695-2253
                                e-mail: saoftsim@ssimicro.com

Location: Located on an island where the Mackenzie and Liard Rivers meet, Fort Simpson is 375 km southwest of Yellowknife at 61'51'N latitude and 121'22'W longitude.

Population:  1,269 (2004 Census)

Languages:  South Slavey, English

Access:  Access to the community by air and road is available year round.

History:  Fort Simpson is the oldest continuously occupied trading post on the Mackenzie River. The post built in 1804 by the Northwest Company was originally known as the Fort of the Forks and closed in 1812. Ten years later sailors who has worked on the Hudson Bay York boats up and down the Mackenzie settled in Fort Simpson when the introduction of the steamboat 'Wrigley' reduced the need for large number of sailors. This marked the start of an increase in the population of the community. In 1858 the St. David Anglican Mission was started and the 'little church' was built in 1861. The Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Mission was built in 1894 and in 1910 the first Indian agency opened. The RCMP set up a detachment in 1913 and three years later St Margarets Hospital opened.

The rich soil and temperate climate - allowing for the growing of vegetables and raising of livestock, earned the community the name of the 'Garden of the Mackenzie.' Production peaked in the early 1960s and providing supplies to the community. The opening of the Mackenzie Highway system saw a decline in the gardens.

A record flood in 1963 forced residents to move their homes to higher ground and later that decade Fort Simpson became a base for oil exploration activities and an administrative centre for the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Today the local economy is based on government, transportation, tourism, trapping, local businesses and services and logging/sawmill activities along with traditional activities. The community is also the departure point for visitors to the Nahanni National Park.