I don't know of anyone else who made this song popular, I think this was very much the late Stan Rogers signature song, though I understand his brother Garnet performs it in concert playing a fiddle and inviting the audience to sing along.There is a recently released tribute album of Stan's songs sung by Canadian artists, but I haven't been able to find it yet, so I don't know if Northwest Passage is on it. I agree with you on your enthusiasm for this song.I remember feeling emotionally drained after hearing it for the first time and still think it is one of the finest songs I ever heard.In my opinion it ranks only with Gordon Bok's Bay of Fundy, Fred Small"s Denmark 1945 and Eric Bogle"s The Band Played Waltzing Matilda for song craft and profound lyrics. I also like Stan's Mary Ellen Carter,house of Orange, and White Squall.I regret I never saw him perform live, I didn't discover his music until sometime after his untimely death in the early 80"s.He died in a plane crash, supposedly while helping other passengers.