Article

Haines Junction

Updated by Lia Le Brun Robles Gil

Published Online August 8, 2012

Last Edited December 14, 2023

Haines Junction, Yukon, incorporated as a village in 1984, population 688 (2021 census), 613 (2016 census). The Village of Haines Junction is located in the Shakwak Valley of southwestern Yukon at the junction of the Haines and Alaska highways. With Kluane National Park and Reserve lying to the west, the village is the park's headquarters and offers a range of recreational activities, including trail riding and guided tours.


Indigenous Peoples

This part of the Yukon is home to the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, and the site of the village — called Dakwakada or "high cache" — was used as a stopping place along a trade route. Today, Haines Junction is the administrative centre of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations.

Settlement

The Haines highway was built to the port of Haines, Alaska, by US Army engineers 1942-45. Army barracks and shops were among the first buildings at the junction between the Haines and Alaska highways, and a Canadian customs office and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) station followed the completion of the Haines Highway.

Sunrise by Haines Junction with fireweed in the foreground and the Kluane range in the background.
Stretch of the Alaska Highway leading towards Haines Junction, with the Kluane Range in the backdrop. Stretch of the Alaska Highway leading towards Haines Junction, with the Kluane Range in the backdrop.

Population

Haines Junction is the 7th most populated area of the Yukon. Indigenous peoples make up 25 per cent of people living in the city. Just over 76 per cent of residents identify as either Scottish, English, Irish, or German, according to the 2021 census. Other relatively large ethnic groups include Filipinos (2.2 per cent of the population).