Hugh Andrew Young was Commissioner of the Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

 from November 14, 1950 to November 15, 1953.

In 1940, he joined the Canadian army and became a senior staff officer at the Canadian Military Headquarters in London. From 1942 to 1943, he commanded the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade

6th Canadian Infantry Brigade

As part of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division mobilization started on 1 September 1939, even before the declaration of war, and the battalions were promptly fleshed out by volunteers. However, further expansion was hindered by a temporary halt in recruitment and uncertainty about overseas deployment...

. From 1943 to 1944, he served on the general staff of II Canadian Corps

II Canadian Corps

II Canadian Corps was a corps-level formation that, along with I Corps and I Canadian Corps , comprised the First Canadian Army in Northwest Europe during World War II.Authorization for the formation of the Corps headquarters became effective in England on...

, before returning to command of the 6th Brigade for the rest of the war. He retired from the army with the rank of Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

in 1947.

After his service as Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, he was Deputy Minister of Public Works for 10 years until 1963, serving under 5 different Ministers of Public Works.