WHITEHORSE, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF. — It is situated in the Northwest of Canada and is entrusted to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
It was erected on 14 January 1944 by division of the Apostolic Vicariate of Yukon and Prince Rupert and comprises the entire region of the Yukon and the northern part of British Columbia. It lies in the heart of the Rocky Mountains and has an area of more than 500,000 sq. km., but only 10,783 inhabitants, of whom about 9,000 are white. Of the 2,550 Catholics, 1,443 are white, 973 are Indians, and 134 are Métis. The greater part of the white population arrived in the mountainous territory as miners and soldiers after the construction of the famous road that crosses the vicariate leading to Alaska. The Indians belong to two different tribes. The 1,200 Dene live scattered in small groups, each with its own dialect, and are engaged in hunting in the mountains. The 400 Klinkets speak the same language and came from Alaska with the whites. English is the language understood and spoken by almost all the whites and Indians. The vicariate has 25 priests, 3 brothers, and 23 sisters in 2 quasi-parishes, 11 main stations, and 20 secondary stations. There are also 10 schools for Indians. Between 1944 and 1952 the number of Catholics, both Indians and Métis, almost doubled, owing to the beneficial influence exercised through the schools.