No more polar bear pelts for Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program, says GNWT – Yellowknifer

Published 1:35 pm Tuesday, September 29, 2026
By Kody Ferron Local Journalism Initiative Northern News Services
Polar bear pelts will no longer be purchased or paid for in advance by the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program, due to low demand, the GNWT announced on Sept. 29.
The program provides harvesters with access to international fur auction markets. It was established in 2000 to encourage hunting and trapping in the territory. It also provides labels that mark “high-quality, authentic, NWT-harvested fur,” says the GNWT.
The Fur Harvesters Auction (FHA) has been unable to sell polar bear pelts at auction for a number of years, which is bringing an end to the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program’s practice of buying and providing advance payments for the pelts, according to the Department of Environment and Climate Change.
Despite this change, harvesters who are able to privately sell pelts for $1,750 or more are eligible to receive a $450 prime fur bonus, an incentive for high-quality pelts. The territorial government says despite the decline in polar bear pelt sales, its market forecast for this year shows “an upward trend” in the sale of many other pelt types.
Harvesters will need to provide the program with a proof of sale, dated, and signed by both the buyer and seller; the price it sold for; and the number of pelts sold.
The Hide and Fur Program:
The GNWT’s Hide and Fur Program – different from the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program – is an arts program that provides NWT artists with access to “affordable hide and fur materials for fine craft products that support self-sufficient economic development opportunities,” according to the Hide and Fur Program website.
On Sept. 21, the GNWT announced that all sales for this program will transition to local distributors. On Sept. 25, the GNWT’s Hide and Fur Shop, located on the second floor of the Scotia Centre, closed.
The news release stated that fur materials have been sold locally for many years, but the growth and capacity of local businesses, particularly in Yellowknife, means the GNWT feels confident enough that artists will be able to buy directly from local distributors.
The GNWT says this move will bring consistency to the program while supporting local businesses, 16 of which are listed on the GNWT’s distributor list, available here: https://www.iti.gov.nt.ca/en/services/hide-and-fur-program.
“Closing the Hide and Fur Shop allows the GNWT to focus on distribution and increasing access throughout the territory,” the news release reads.

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