IMMIGRATE TO WHITEHORSE, YUKON
Downtown Whitehorse seen from the east side of the Yukon River
Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon. The city gets its name from the White Horse rapids, which were said to look like the mane of a white horse.
Its population is 22,898 (Canadian 2006 Census), which accounts for more than 75% of the territory's population.
Geography and Climate
Like most of the Yukon, Whitehorse has a dry subarctic climate, although with warmer winters than some Canadian prairies cities. According to Meteorological Service of Canada, Whitehorse has the distinction of being Canada's driest city, mainly because it lies in the rain shadow of the Coast Mountains. Surprisingly, despite its relative cold, Whitehorse was ranked among Canadian cities with the most comfortable climate.
Whitehorse has been described as "pearls on a string", with its residential, industrial and service subdivisions located along the main thoroughfares that carry traffic within city limits, with large gaps of undeveloped (often hilly) land between them.
Whitehorse Immigration Profile
Whitehorse is becoming an increasingly multicultural city. The majority of the new Canadian immigrants that chose to settle in Whitehorse were born in Europe (45.6%), followed by Asia and the Middle East (28.1%). The United Kingdom and Philippines themselves accounted for 14% each.
During the period of 2001 to 2006 Whitehorse became home to 285 new Canadian immigrants. The chart to the left shows the regions of birth for the recent immigrants according to the Canadian 2006 Census.
Economy and Job Opportunities for Immigrants
Nowadays Whitehorse is a government town, and is the home of the main campus of Yukon College.
Education for Dependant Children and Post Secondary
Whitehorse has several schools as part of a Yukon-government operated public school system, and is the home of the main campus of Yukon College. Outside of the one French First Language school, the territory does not have school boards; they do, however, have school councils for each school, composed of elected citizens (including parents of students in the school) and the administrators of the school. All teachers work directly, as Yukon Territorial employees, for the Department of Education.
Whitehorse also has Yukon College, a post-secondary institution with ties to the University of Northern British Columbia.
Arts and culture
Some of the tourist attractions in Whitehorse include Miles Canyon, the S.S. Klondike sternwheeler, the Yukon Transportation Museum, the MacBride Museum, the Old Log Church Museum, the Beringia Centre, Yukon Gardens, "Log Skyscrapers," the Whitehorse fish ladder, the Yukon Wildlife Preserve and the Takhini Hot Springs, and the Yukon visitor center.
Whitehorse supports a thriving, vibrant art and music scene, hosting several music festivals every year. In the dead of winter the Frostbite Music festival warms things up with everything from funk to klezmer punk and much more.
Sports and Recreation
Whitehorse has no major junior sports teams; however, local high school teams play teams based in Alaska from time to time during a sports year. The local business community sponsors a number of local teams for baseball, hockey and soccer.
A $45 million (CAD) multiplex centre has been built for the Canada Winter Games in 2007. Whitehorse also previously hosted the 1972, 1980, 1986, 1992 and 2000 Arctic Winter Games.
