Do I need a security guard licence to work in the Northwest Territories?

The NWT has no territorial law that licenses security guards or companies. Your employer may still set training rules, and a 2026 committee report called for licensing legislation, so check for changes.

Does the NWT have a trespass law?

Yes. The Trespass to Property Act (Bill 34), the territory's first, received assent on March 6, 2026. It comes into force on a day set by order of the Commissioner, so confirm it is in force before you rely on it.

Can a security guard arrest a trespasser in the NWT?

Not under the Trespass to Property Act: only peace officers, such as the RCMP, may arrest under it. A guard's arrest powers come from Criminal Code section 494, and the person must be handed to the RCMP right away.

How do I tell someone they are trespassing?

Under the new Act, notice can be given orally, in writing, or by a sign visible in daylight. Record the time, your words and the person's description, and call the RCMP if they will not leave.

Är intyget ackrediterat eller officiellt erkänt?

Nej. Det är ett privat kursintyg, bara för dina kunskaper. Det är inte erkänt, ackrediterat eller godkänt av någon myndighet, tillståndsmyndighet, tillsynsmyndighet eller utbildningsinstitution, och det ersätter inte någon licens, certifiering eller utbildning som krävs enligt lag.

Northwest Territories Security Law & Trespass Course 2026

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Does the Northwest Territories have a law that licenses security guards and security companies?

No, there is no territorial security licensing law
Yes, guards need a territorial Class A licence
Yes, but the licence is needed only in Yellowknife
Yes, the RCMP issues licences to all security guards

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Svar: A. No, there is no territorial security licensing law

Unlike the provinces, the NWT has no private security licensing law. A 2026 Legislative Assembly committee report noted the lack of regulation and called for legislation.

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In its March 2026 report on the trespass bill, what did the Standing Committee on Social Development recommend about private security?

That the GNWT urgently create a law to regulate them
That guards be given the same powers as the police
That guards become RCMP auxiliary members
That private security companies be banned in the NWT

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Svar: A. That the GNWT urgently create a law to regulate them

Recommendation 4 asked the GNWT to urgently legislate to regulate private security companies, including Northern and Indigenous cultural awareness training.

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Since the NWT has no security licensing law, which of these still governs a guard's powers there?

Only the guard's own judgment
Alberta's Security Services and Investigators Act
Nothing; guards in the NWT can do whatever the client asks
The Criminal Code of Canada, common law and the employer's policies

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Svar: D. The Criminal Code of Canada, common law and the employer's policies

The Criminal Code applies across Canada, along with common law, territorial laws and the employer's policies and post orders. Provincial licensing acts do not apply in the NWT.

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A guard in Yellowknife wears a badge and uniform designed to look like an RCMP officer's. Which law can this break?

The Fire Prevention Act's rules on uniforms
The NWT Driver's Manual and Motor Vehicles Act
Section 130 of the Criminal Code
No law, because the NWT has no uniform rules

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Svar: C. Section 130 of the Criminal Code

With no territorial uniform rules, the Criminal Code applies: section 130 makes it an offence to use a badge, uniform or equipment in a way likely to make people think you are a peace officer.

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According to the NWT Department of Justice, how was trespass to private property handled before the territory's new trespass law?

By other laws and the common law, since the NWT had no trespass act
By the Safety Act's rules on who may be at a work site
By Ontario's Trespass to Property Act, which applied in the NWT
By the Fire Prevention Act's rules on entering buildings

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Svar: A. By other laws and the common law, since the NWT had no trespass act

The Department of Justice explained that the NWT lacked an act on trespass to private property, so trespass was dealt with through other laws and the common law.

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Before the NWT's trespass bill, what did the territories have for trespass on private property?

Only Nunavut had a private property trespass act
All three territories had full trespass acts
All three used Alberta's Petty Trespass Act
None did; Yukon's law covers school grounds only

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Svar: D. None did; Yukon's law covers school grounds only

The Department of Justice FAQ notes that all provinces have trespass laws, but no territory had a private property trespass law; Yukon's covers school grounds only.

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Criminal Code section 177 makes it an offence to loiter or prowl, without lawful excuse...

on any public road or highway in Canada
in any store or shopping mall during the day
inside a government office during business hours
at night on another person's property near a dwelling-house

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Svar: D. at night on another person's property near a dwelling-house

Section 177 is narrow: it covers loitering or prowling at night on someone else's property near a dwelling-house. It does not cover most daytime trespass at businesses.

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What is the name of the NWT's first trespass law, Bill 34?

The Trespass to Premises Act
The Petty Trespass Act
The Trespass to Property Act
The Occupiers' Liability Act

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Svar: C. The Trespass to Property Act

Bill 34 is the Trespass to Property Act. It was introduced in October 2025, amended by the Standing Committee on Social Development, and received assent on March 6, 2026.

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When does the NWT Trespass to Property Act take effect?

It took effect in 1988 along with the Safety Act
Never, because it is only a guideline for owners
On a day set by order, so check that it is in force
Only in Yellowknife, starting on Canada Day each year

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Svar: C. On a day set by order, so check that it is in force

Section 14 says the Act comes into force on a day set by order of the Commissioner. It received assent on March 6, 2026, so always check whether it is in force.

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Besides private property, what else does the Trespass to Property Act cover?

Schools and some interests on public land, like leases
Only public highways and the land beside them
All Crown land and lakes in the territory
Only federal buildings such as post offices

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Svar: A. Schools and some interests on public land, like leases

The plain-language summary says the bill covers trespass to private property, to schools, and to certain private interests on public lands, such as leases.

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Under the Trespass to Property Act, which way of giving notice that entry is prohibited is allowed?

Only by a registered letter sent to the person
Orally, in writing, or by a sign visible in daylight
Only by a sign that is lit up at night
Only by a court order served by a sheriff

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Svar: B. Orally, in writing, or by a sign visible in daylight

The committee report explains that notice may be given orally, in writing, or by a sign visible in daylight under normal conditions.

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Under the Trespass to Property Act, which kind of place needs no notice for entry to be prohibited?

A public library
A hotel lobby
A garden or field
A shopping mall

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Svar: C. A garden or field

The Act lists premises where no notice is needed, such as a garden or field.

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A letter carrier walks up to the front door of a building you guard. Under the Trespass to Property Act, what is presumed?

People may come to a building's door for lawful reasons
The carrier may be arrested as soon as they arrive
Only the RCMP and bylaw officers may approach the door
The carrier is trespassing without a written pass

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Svar: A. People may come to a building's door for lawful reasons

The Act presumes permission to approach a building's door for lawful purposes such as mail delivery.

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Under the Trespass to Property Act, a person who did nothing wrong on arrival is told by the lawful occupier to leave and refuses. What is the result?

The occupier must first get a court order to remove them
Nothing, because only people who cause damage are trespassers
The person may stay until the business closes for the day
Staying after being directed to leave is an offence

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Svar: D. Staying after being directed to leave is an offence

The Act makes it an offence to remain on premises after being directed to leave by the lawful occupier.

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Committee amendments limited the word "occupier" in the Trespass to Property Act. To whom?

To licensed security guards and their employers
To the RCMP and municipal bylaw officers
To lawful occupiers, such as owners or renters
To anyone who is standing on the property

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Svar: C. To lawful occupiers, such as owners or renters

The first committee amendment limited "occupier" to a lawful occupier.

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Which extra penalty was added to the Trespass to Property Act by committee amendment?

Removal from the Northwest Territories
A lifetime ban from every business in the community
Loss of the person's driver's licence for a year
An order banning entry to the premises for up to three years

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Svar: D. An order banning entry to the premises for up to three years

An amendment added an order prohibiting entry to a premises for up to three years, and made breaching that order an offence.

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A client asks you to put up "No Trespassing" signs on land the client does not own or lawfully occupy. What does the Trespass to Property Act say?

Anyone may post such signs anywhere they like
Signs have no meaning at all under the Act
Only security guards are allowed to post such signs
Posting them without lawful authority is an offence

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Svar: D. Posting them without lawful authority is an offence

A committee amendment created a penalty for posting "no trespassing" signs without lawful authority.

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Who enforces the Trespass to Property Act, according to the committee report?

The RCMP and other peace officers
The Fire Marshal and the local fire chiefs
Only the owner of the property, through a lawsuit
Private security guards, who may lay charges in court

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Svar: A. The RCMP and other peace officers

The RCMP remove trespassers, arrest and prosecute. Only peace officers may arrest under the Act, and the Minister may name other classes of peace officers by regulation. Private security was not given enforcement powers.

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How does the Trespass to Property Act treat Indigenous and treaty rights?

Treaty and other agreements take priority over the Act
Treaty rights apply only on weekends and holidays
The Act does not deal with these rights at all
The Act overrides all treaty and Indigenous rights

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Svar: A. Treaty and other agreements take priority over the Act

The plain-language summary says these agreements take precedence and the Act is interpreted consistently with existing Indigenous and treaty rights.

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Under Criminal Code section 494(2), who may arrest a person found committing a criminal offence on or in relation to property?

Any person who heard about the offence later
The property owner or possessor, or someone they authorize
Only the employer of the person who did it
Only a peace officer, such as an RCMP member

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Svar: B. The property owner or possessor, or someone they authorize

Section 494(2) gives this power to the owner or lawful possessor, or a person they authorize. The arrest must be made at the time, or within a reasonable time after if a peace officer cannot feasibly make it.

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You lawfully arrest a shoplifter in Hay River. Under section 494(3), what must you do next?

Hold them in a back room until the store closes
Release them after you take their photo
Drive them to the courthouse in your own car
Hand them to a peace officer at once, here the RCMP

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Svar: D. Hand them to a peace officer at once, here the RCMP

A private person who arrests must deliver the person to a peace officer forthwith. In the NWT, the police service is the RCMP.

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Under section 494(1)(a), what kind of offence must you find a person committing before anyone may arrest them without a warrant?

A parking violation
A breach of store policy
An indictable offence
A municipal bylaw infraction

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Svar: C. An indictable offence

Section 494(1)(a) lets anyone arrest without a warrant a person they find committing an indictable offence.

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Under Criminal Code section 25(1), how much force may a person use when doing something the law authorizes, such as a lawful arrest?

Double the force the other person is using
Any amount, as long as the arrest is lawful
As much as is necessary, on reasonable grounds
None, because private persons may never use force

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Svar: C. As much as is necessary, on reasonable grounds

Section 25(1) protects a person acting on reasonable grounds and allows as much force as is necessary for the purpose. Excess force is not protected.

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Criminal Code section 35 (defence of property) can protect a guard who acts for the person in possession of property. What else must be true of the guard's act?

It must be approved in advance by the RCMP
It must cause the person no inconvenience at all
It must take place only after dark
It must be reasonable in the circumstances

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Svar: D. It must be reasonable in the circumstances

Section 35 covers people acting under the authority of the person in peaceable possession, but the act must be reasonable in the circumstances.

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What is a guard's main role when the Trespass to Property Act applies at a site?

Give clear notice, record it and call the RCMP
Issue tickets to trespassers on the spot
Hold trespassers until the next business day
Lay trespass charges in Territorial Court

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Svar: A. Give clear notice, record it and call the RCMP

Under the Act only peace officers, such as the RCMP, may arrest for trespass, and private security was given no enforcement powers. Guards give notice for the lawful occupier, keep notes and call the RCMP.

Northwest Territories Security Law & Trespass Course 2026

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