Good morning, Yukon, and happy Labour Day weekend. I hope you’re getting one last camping trip in, or finishing up the long-delayed yardwork.

This week, we look at how the Yukon now has more seniors than children and how our 55+ athletes show little interest in slowing down. We also look at a brown bat mystery that researchers have yet to solve, a few ways to get out this week, and the billions of dollars in market capitalization attached to Yukon-linked mining projects, despite almost no mining.

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Thanks for checking us out; let’s dive in.

Yukon’s demographic balance has tipped. Seniors living in the territory now outnumber children under 15.

Residents aged 65 and older compared with children under 15, each March. Source: Yukon Bureau of Statistics.

On March 31, 2026, the territory had 7,629 residents aged 65 and older and 7,499 children under 15.

A decade ago, that balance was different. Yukon had 6,431 children and 4,262 seniors, meaning children outnumbered seniors by approximately 51%.

Yukon’s population grew across nearly every age group over the past decade, but not evenly. Each population count below is followed by that age group’s share of the territory’s total population.

Population estimates as of March 31 in each year. Percentages may not add to 100% because of rounding.

The clearest change is at the oldest end of the table. The number of Yukoners aged 75 and older has more than doubled. The number of children also increased, but their share of the population fell from 16.9% to 15.5%.

Yukon’s largest age group has changed too. In 2016, residents aged 45 to 59 formed the territory’s largest cohort. Today, people aged 30 to 44 hold that position.

This does not mean Yukon has suddenly become old. In July 2026, the territory’s median age was 38.2, more than two years below the Canadian median of 40.6. Yukon has a substantially younger working-age population, even as its senior population grows quickly.

The demographic shift is expected to continue. Yukon’s Health Status Report projects that residents aged 65 and older could account for 22.2% of the territory’s population by 2045.

Sources: Yukon Bureau of Statistics, Population Report Q1 2026 and Statistics Canada, population and demography statistics.

More seniors will mean greater demand for home care, accessible housing, supportive living and long-term care.

Housing is one place the pressure is already visible. The City of Whitehorse’s 2026 Housing Needs Assessment reported that 41% of applicants on the rent-geared-to-income housing waitlist were seniors.

Normandy Living opened in 2022 with 84 supportive-living suites, including 26 leased by the Yukon government for low-income seniors. I won’t be surprised if we see more supportive-living housing built.

Several trends help explain this shift: a large generation is reaching retirement age, and more residents are growing older in the territory. Meanwhile, the number of children is growing much more slowly than the senior population, and people are having children later in life.

Yukon is still growing, and its median age remains younger than Canada’s. But planning for an older population is no longer a distant consideration. If you get the opportunity to invest in an assisted living facility, take it.

Sources: Yukon Health Status Report 2023, City of Whitehorse, Housing Needs Assessment 2026, Government of Yukon, supportive housing for seniors and Elders and Government of Yukon, long-term care.

Team Yukon is sending 75 participants to Kamloops for the 55+ BC Games, taking place from September 8 to 12. They will represent the territory across 15 sports.

The team is stepping in after the Canada 55+ Games were postponed due to funding challenges and rapid growth in participation. The BC Seniors Games Society invited Yukon to participate, giving our athletes the chance to compete, stay active and make a few new rivals along the way.

As this week’s graph shows, Yukon is getting older. Team Yukon is a useful reminder that getting older does not necessarily mean slowing down.

Sources: Sport Yukon, 55+ BC Games and Government of Yukon.

The Yukon government reports that timelines for mining decision documents have fallen by more than 50% compared with 2025, with most decisions now issued within 90 days. The change in government has produced some much-needed efficiency improvements in this area.

By August 31, the government had issued more than 100 decision documents, more than double the 48 completed over the same period last year. Timelines for Class 1 notifications have also fallen by 30%, with most projects receiving decisions within 50 days.

The new government made the changes through staff redeployment, streamlined internal processes and new online tools for tracking applications and estimating security requirements.

These figures concern specific steps in the process, not the entire time required to permit a mine. Time will tell whether total mine permitting time speeds up.

Red tape has certainly not disappeared, but at least things appear to be moving faster. I hope they do building permits next!

Source: Government of Yukon, September 3.

The Whitehorse Fire Department has added its first Structural Protection Unit to its wildfire-response equipment.

The mobile trailer carries high-capacity pumps, hoses, sprinklers and water-delivery equipment that can be rapidly deployed around homes, businesses and critical infrastructure. Crews can use it to wet roofs and surrounding areas, reducing the chance that windblown embers ignite buildings ahead of a wildfire.

The first unit is now ready for deployment, and the City plans to acquire a second in 2027.

It is the sort of trailer nobody wants to need, but everyone will be glad to have.

Source: City of Whitehorse, September 1.

Every fall, Yukon’s most common bat disappears.

Little brown bats leave their summer roosts, and despite decades of research, no one has ever confirmed where they spend the winter. By spring, they simply return, often to the same place they left.

Little brown bats weigh only seven to nine grams, about as much as two teaspoons of sugar, yet they can live for more than 30 years. They are one of eight bat species recorded in Yukon and by far the most common.

Little brown bats survive winter by entering deep hibernation inside a sheltered place called a hibernaculum. Elsewhere, these have been found in caves, abandoned mines, tunnels and rock crevices that remain cool, humid and stable.

But no little brown bat hibernaculum has ever been confirmed in Yukon.

The bats may migrate hundreds of kilometres beyond the territory. They may spend the winter hidden somewhere nearby that is difficult for researchers to find. They may even use several different strategies. Researchers simply do not know.

Between 1997 and 2008, Yukon researchers surveyed more than 100 locations and banded 1,043 little brown bats. They learned where the bats feed and how faithfully they return to summer roosts, but their winter destination remained a mystery. This is because a numbered band only provides an answer if someone finds the bat again or finds it in the winter, neither of which happened.

Radio transmitters small enough for an eight-gram animal have limited range and battery life, thus have been ineffective in tracking their winter migrations. Then there is the small problem of searching an enormous territory filled with caves, cliffs, old mines and rock fields.

Finding a hibernating bat would be a little like looking for a sleeping mouse hidden somewhere beneath Yukon snow.

Their missing winter address matters. Little brown bats are federally listed as endangered because white-nose syndrome has devastated hibernating colonies elsewhere in North America. Without knowing where Yukon’s bats gather, it is harder to monitor their health or protect the places keeping them alive.

Every spring, the bats return to their familiar summer roosts.

The bats are leaving the Yukon now (maybe), and they know where they are going. We do not.

Sources: Government of Yukon, Little Brown Bat, Slough and Jung, Observations on the Natural History of Bats in the Yukon, Environment and Climate Change Canada, recovery strategy and Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

This week’s pick is pizza from Whiskey Jacks Pub & Grill. If you haven’t tried their Pizza, you should; it’s awesome.

They are one of the few homemade pizza places left in the Yukon. Their pizzas are made in-house with freshly prepared dough. They are some of the best freshly made pizzas I have had in a while. We tend to order a large half-deluxe, half-BBQ chicken, which keeps the whole family happy. They are also a fun spot to dine in, and they always have the game going.

Find them at Unit 3, 29 Wann Road in Porter Creek, Whitehorse. A useful option for an evening when nobody feels like cooking.

Browse the Whiskey Jacks menu

This Week | September 6 to 13

Wednesday, September 9 | 7 to 8 p.m.
Robert Service Campground, Whitehorse | Free

Join biologist Edouard Belanger for a short walk exploring the lives of red squirrels and their autumn cone-collecting operation. They have a winter food budget to balance too.

Meet in the farthest parking lot to the right after entering the campground.

Squirrel walk details

Saturday, September 12 | Noon to 7 p.m.
Rotary Park, Whitehorse | Spectators welcome; admission price not listed

The relay runs from Skagway to Whitehorse on September 11 and 12. Head to the finish-line celebration for music, food vendors, games and the chance to cheer on some very tired people.

You do not have to run a leg to appreciate someone else finishing one.

Party in the Park details

Saturday, September 12 | 12:45 to 5 p.m.
Departing from central Whitehorse | Free; registration required

Let someone else drive while you enjoy the autumn colours along the North Klondike Highway. This guided trip includes Fox Lake and a short walk at the Fox Lake Burn.

The exact meeting location is shared with registered participants. Check the booking page for remaining spaces.

Fall Colours Bus Tour and booking information

Sunday, September 13 | 7 p.m.
Yukon Arts Centre, Whitehorse | $30

Cat Clyde brings her blend of folk, blues and rockabilly to the mainstage, with Yukon’s Ellorie McKnight opening the evening. A good reason to give the couch Sunday night off.

Cat Clyde tickets

Basia Bulat

Friday, September 18 | 7 p.m.
Yukon Arts Centre, Whitehorse | $45

The Montreal singer-songwriter performs a stripped-down solo concert on guitar, piano and autoharp. Whitehorse’s Declan O’Donovan opens.

Basia Bulat tickets

Northern Nights Dark Sky Festival

Friday, September 18 to Saturday, September 19
Mät’àtäna Män (Kathleen Lake), Kluane National Park | Programming free; camping extra

Indigenous sky stories, telescope viewing, bannock, lantern-making and live music give you several reasons to stay up past your sensible bedtime. Friday’s programme begins at 6 p.m.; Saturday’s starts at 10 a.m.

Northern Nights festival schedule

Event details checked September 5. Ticket availability and schedules can change.

Oil climbed sharply, while gold, silver and most shares on our Yukon board lost ground.

The monthly picture remains stronger. Nine of the ten companies below are still higher than a month ago, despite a less cheerful week.

Source: Linked TradingView pages, using the snapshot captured for this edition on September 5 following the September 4 close.

A company’s market capitalization is the total value of its outstanding shares: its share price multiplied by the number of shares. But how much of that value might reasonably be attributed to its Yukon properties?

The Alamanc’s researcher (me) wanted to figure out how much market value the Yukon projects accounted for.

We estimate C$6.6 billion to C$8.2 billion across the ten companies we track. This includes an allowance for Hecla’s Keno Hill mine in Yukon.

***These are Almanac estimates, not published project valuations. The percentages reflect our assessment of each company’s Yukon properties, its other assets and the portion of its value represented by cash.

All dollar amounts are approximate and in millions of Canadian dollars.

Why the different percentages?

Snowline, Banyan and White Gold are heavily focused on Yukon properties, so their estimates sit near the top. Western and Gladiator also have strong Yukon exposure, but substantial cash holdings account for part of their value. Western reported approximately $135 million in cash and short-term investments in March; Gladiator’s September presentation reported $50 million in cash. Western’s financial update and Gladiator’s September presentation.

Fireweed’s allocation centres on Macpass. Its Mactung project straddles the Yukon–Northwest Territories boundary, while Gayna is in the Northwest Territories. Metallic Minerals receives a smaller allocation because it also advances La Plata in Colorado. Fireweed’s Mactung, Gayna and Metallic Minerals’ projects.

Sitka’s RC Gold project receives most of its allocation, with room left for cash and other properties. Its proposed U.S. asset spinout is not treated as completed here. Yukon Metals receives a wider range because separating the value of its early-stage properties from its cash is particularly uncertain. Sitka’s spinout proposal and Yukon Metals’ financing.

Hecla is the biggest uncertainty in dollar terms. Keno Hill produced approximately 15% of its silver in the second quarter, but production share is not valuation share. Keno remains in pre-commercial production, while Hecla’s other mines also contribute gold and other metals, so we use a more cautious 5–10% allocation. Hecla’s second-quarter results.

The result gives us a rough sense of scale: several billion dollars of stock-market value tied to Yukon properties, led by Snowline. It covers the companies on our board, rather than the territory’s entire mining industry.

It is amazing that Yukon properties are valued so highly, despite almost no mining taking place. Imagine the prosperity if we could actually get some projects producing.

Method: Estimated Yukon value equals market capitalization multiplied by our assumed Yukon share. These are judgment-based scenarios, not formal appraisals or statistical confidence intervals. They do not model individual projects’ future cash flows or fully allocate debt, royalties and corporate costs.

Market caps use the rounded snapshot for this edition. Hecla’s approximately US$14-billion valuation is converted at about C$1.384 per U.S. dollar. Sources: linked company disclosures, the TradingView company pages in the Market Board, Hecla market data and USD/CAD.

Thanks for spending part of your Sunday with the Almanac.

If you enjoyed this edition, forward it to a friend who likes knowing a little more about the place we call home. And if you have a local recommendation, an event worth sharing or a Yukon question you cannot shake, hit reply.

Enjoy the long weekend. Good luck to our 55+ Games athletes and everyone preparing for the Road Relay.

Michael