Yukon general election, 2011

37th Yukon general election

2006 ← members October 11, 2011 members → 38th

All 19 seats to the Legislative Assembly 10 seats needed for a majority Opinion polls   Majority party Minority party Third party   YP LIB Leader Darrell Pasloski Elizabeth Hanson Arthur Mitchell Party Yukon Party New Democrat Liberal Leader since May 28, 2011 September 26, 2009 2005 Leader's seat Mountainview Whitehorse Centre Lost Copperbelt North[n 1] Last election 10 seats, 40.6% 3 seats, 23.6% 5 seats, 34.7% Seats before 11 1 5 Seats won 11 6 2 Seat change ±0 +5 -3 Popular vote 6,400 5,154 3,979 Percentage 40.5% 32.6% 25.2% Swing -0.1% +9.0% -9.5%

2011 results by riding

Premier before election Darrell Pasloski Yukon Party Elected Premier Darrell Pasloski Yukon Party

The 37th general election in Yukon, Canada, took place on October 11, 2011, to return members to the 33rd Yukon Legislative Assembly.

The incumbent government was lead by Darrell Pasloski, who was elected as leader of the Yukon Party at a convention on May 28, 2011, replacing former Premier Dennis Fentie. The Yukon Party won its third majority government from the voters.

Pre-writ period

Redistribution

In 2008, the Yukon Assembly struck a committee to review the electoral district boundaries for this election. The committee decided to increase the number of seats in the territory to 19. Yukon now matches the other territorial assemblies in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in terms of the number of seats.

The rural districts outside of the capital city of Whitehorse remained unchanged with the exception of Mount Lorne and Southern Lakes which were merged into a single district. The total number of rural districts dropped from 9 to 8.^[1]

The urban ridings in Whitehorse were increased to 11 from 9. Only three districts in Whitehorse had no boundary changes, Whitehorse Centre, Riverdale North and Riverdale South. The riding that received the most significant alteration was Copperbelt. That district was split into four ridings, primarily Copperbelt North and Copperbelt South, while McIntyre-Takhini was significantly expanded in western uninhabited part of Copperbelt and renamed Takhini-Kopper King. An entirely new riding was also created out of Copperbelt called Mountainview.^[1] The remaining urban districts all received minor boundary adjustments.^[1]

The boundary changes were adopted by the Yukon Legislative Assembly in 2009.

Lake Laberge dispute

In the fall of 2009, Yukon Party MLA Brad Cathers had a falling out with Premier Dennis Fentie, and ended up sitting as an independent on the opposition side.

Cathers remained a party member despite his public criticism of Fentie. On May 19, 2010, the Yukon Party riding executive of Lake Laberge nominated Brad Cathers as a delegate to the party's 2010 convention. The meeting lasted three hours and saw the riding executive loyal to Fentie, including the President, walk out on the 60 members who attended. Former MLA Al Falle defended Cathers at the meeting. The meeting ended with a board of directors loyal to Cathers being elected.^[2]

Summary of results

Unofficial results at the count.^[3]

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats				Popular vote
				2006	Diss.	Elected	% Change	#	%
	Yukon Party	Darrell Pasloski	19	10	11	11	+10	6,400	40.51
	NDP	Elizabeth Hanson	18	3	1	6	+100	5,154	32.63
	Liberal	Arthur Mitchell	19	5	5	2	-60	3,979	25.19
	Green	Kristina Calhoun	2	*	0	0	*	104	0.66
	First Nations	Gerald Dickson Sr.	2	*	0	0	*	81	0.51
	Independent		2	0	0	0	0	79	0.50
	Vacant				1
Total			62	18	18	19	+5.6	15,797	100.00%

Candidates running

Bold incumbents indicates cabinet members and party leaders and the speaker of the assembly are italicized.^[3]

Rural Yukon

Electoral District	Candidates									Incumbent
		Yukon Party		NDP		Liberal		Other
Klondike		Steve Nordick 404		Jorn Meier 147		Sandy Silver 530				Steve Nordick
Kluane		Wade Istchenko 287		Eric Stinson 220		Timothy Cant 219		Gerald Dickson (FNP) 32		Gary McRobb†
Lake Laberge		Brad Cathers 528		Frank Turner 330		Mike Simon 159				Brad Cathers
Mayo-Tatchun		Elaine Wyatt 214		Jim Tredger 282		Eric Fairclough 181				Eric Fairclough
Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes		Deborah Fulmer 395		Kevin Barr 488		Ted Adel 111		Stanley James (FNP) 49		Vacant Mount Lorne
									Merged district
										Patrick Rouble† Southern Lakes
Pelly-Nisutlin		Stacey Hassard 275		Carol Geddes 178		Carl Sidney 73		Elvis Presley (Ind.) 31		Marian Horne
Vuntut Gwitchin		Garry Njootli 52				Darius Elias 93				Darius Elias
Watson Lake		Patti McLeod 276		Liard McMillan 242		Thomas Slager 165		Patricia Gilhooly (Ind.) 48		Dennis Fentie†

Whitehorse

Electoral District	Candidates									Incumbent
		Yukon Party		NDP		Liberal		Other
Copperbelt North		Currie Dixon 520		Skeeter Miller-Wright 159		Arthur Mitchell 407			Split district
										Arthur Mitchell Copperbelt
Copperbelt South		Valerie Boxall 394		Lois Moorcroft 397		Colleen Wirth 154
									Split district
Mountainview		Darrell Pasloski 480		Stephen Dunbar-Edge 376		Dave Sloan 216			New district
Porter Creek Centre		David Laxton 298		Jean-François Des Lauriers 230		Kerry Huff 245				Archie Lang†
Porter Creek North		Doug Graham 400		Mike Tribes 253		Dawn Beauchemin 82		Mike Ivens (Green) 69		Jim Kenyon†
Porter Creek South		Mike Nixon 257		John Carney 99		Don Inverarity 243				Don Inverarity
Riverdale North		Scott Kent 366		Peter Lesniak 296		Christie Richardson 289		Kristina Calhoun (Green) 35		Ted Staffen†
Riverdale South		Glenn Hart 314		Jan Stick 380		Dan Curtis 275				Glenn Hart
Takhini-Kopper King		Samson Hartland 316		Kate White 458		Cherish Clarke 224				John Edzerza† McIntyre-Takhini
Whitehorse Centre		Marian Horne 202		Elizabeth (Liz) Hanson 525		Patrick Singh 104				Elizabeth (Liz) Hanson
Whitehorse West		Elaine Taylor 422		Louis R. Gagnon 94		Cully Robinson 209				Elaine Taylor

Timeline

• October 10, 2006, the Yukon Party, under Dennis Fentie, wins its second majority government in the 36th Yukon general election.
• January 2009, John Edzerza resigns from the YNDP to sit again as an independent.^[4]
• August 28, 2009, Brad Cathers, MLA for Lake Laberge resigns from cabinet and the government caucus to sit as an independent member over issues with Premier Dennis Fentie.^[5][6][7]
• September 26, 2009, the NDP chooses Elizabeth Hanson as party leader.
• October 22, 2009, John Edzerza joins the Yukon Party (which he had previously been a member of until 2006)^[8] and now serves as Minister of the Environment.^[9]
• July 28, 2010, Todd Hardy, MLA for Whitehorse Centre and former leader of the Yukon New Democratic Party dies after a long battle with leukemia at age 53.^[10]
• September 17, 2010, the United Citizens Party of Yukon is registered.^[11]
• December 13, 2010, in a by-election, Elizabeth Hanson is elected MLA of Whitehorse Centre with 51% of the vote.^{[citation needed]}
• February 28, 2011, the Yukon Green Party is registered.^[12]
• April/May 2011, United Citizens Party leader Willard Phelps resigns.^[13]
• May 28, 2011, the Yukon Party chooses Darrell Pasloski as party leader and Premier at a convention in Whitehorse.
• June 12, 2011, Darrell Pasloski is sworn in as Premier.
• June 29, 2011, Brad Cathers rejoins the Yukon Party.^[14]
• July 6, 2011, Steve Cardiff MLA for Mount Lorne died in a car accident.^[15]
• August 2011, Kristina Calhoun is appointed leader of the Yukon Green Party.^[16]
• September 6, 2011, the Yukon First Nations Party is registered, Gerald Dickson is the leader.^[17]
• September 9, 2011, issue of the writs.^[18]
• September 19, 2011, 62 candidates are successfully nominated,^[19] none from the United Citizens Party, causing it to be deregistered.^[20]
• October 2 & 3, 2011, advance polling.^[18]
• October 5, 2011, CBC North hosts a leader's debate with Hanson, Mitchell, and Pasloski.^[21]
• October 11, 2011, polling day.^[18]
• October 17, 2011, return of the writs.^[18] Elections Yukon also announces the results of a recount in Copperbelt South, confirming Lois Moorcroft's three-vote margin of victory over Valerie Boxall.^[22]

Retiring MLAs

	Member	District	Party	Reason
[14]	John Edzerza	McIntyre-Takhini	Yukon Party	Serious health issues
[23]	Dennis Fentie	Watson Lake	Yukon Party	Retire as Premier and from politics and will live full time in Watson Lake
[24]	Jim Kenyon	Porter Creek North	Yukon Party	Defeated in party nomination.
[25]	Archie Lang	Porter Creek Centre	Yukon Party	Retired for undisclosed reasons.
[26]	Gary McRobb	Kluane	Liberal	He'd been working too long as an MLA.
[27]	Patrick Rouble	Southern Lakes	Yukon Party	Attending the University of Calgary to attain a doctorate degree.
[28]	Ted Staffen	Riverdale North	Yukon Party	Interested in returning to business in the private sector

Opinion polls

Polling Firm	Date of Polling	Link	Yukon Party	New Democratic	Liberal	Green
DataPath Systems	October 2–6, 2011	[1]	35	35	26	2
DataPath Systems	July 17–25, 2011	[2]	40	35	15	7
DataPath Systems	July 2010	[3]	22	26	39

Notes

1. ^ Mitchell represented Copperbelt in the 32nd Assembly, but he unsuccessfully ran in Copperbelt North, one of four ridings Copperbelt was divided into at the last redistribution.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Yukon Electoral Boundaries Commission Final Report". Elections Yukon. March 2008. http://www.electionsyukon.gov.yk.ca/docs/final_report_08.pdf. Retrieved June 2, 2011. 
2. ^ John Thomspon (May 21, 2010). "Not your typical riding meeting". Yukon News. http://yukon-news.com/news/18131/. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Unofficial Results at the Count". Elections Yukon. October 20, 2011. http://www.electionsyukon.gov.yk.ca/docs/unofficial_results_2011.pdf. Retrieved October 12, 2011. 
4. ^ "Yukon MLA Edzerza quits NDP, will sit as Independent", cbc.ca, January 28, 2009.
5. ^ "Yukon minister's resignation threatens to collapse government". The Globe and Mail, August 31, 2009.
6. ^ "Cathers resigns over ATCO scandal". Yukon News. August 28, 2009. http://yukon-news.com/news/14343/. 
7. ^ "Cathers Shocker Creates a Minority Government". Whitehorse Star. August 28, 2009. http://whitehorsestar.com/archive/story/cathers-shocker-creates-a-minority-government/. 
8. ^ "Edzerza rejoins Yukon Party", cbc.ca, October 22, 2009.
9. ^ "Edzerza named Yukon environment minister". cbc.ca, February 4, 2010.
10. ^ "Todd Hardy succumbs to cancer". Yukon News. 28 July 2010. http://www.yukon-news.com/news/19017/. Retrieved 25 March 2011. 
11. ^ Munson, James (December 3, 2010). "Phelps’ party in limbo". Yukon News. http://www.yukon-news.com/news/20770/. Retrieved September 3, 2011. 
12. ^ Sander-Green, Nadine (August 9, 2011). "Greens are a party of balance, candidate says". Whitehorse Daily Star. http://www.whitehorsestar.com/archive/story/greens-are-a-party-of-balance-candidate-says/. Retrieved September 3, 2011. 
13. ^ "United Citizens Party of Yukon loses leader". CBC News. May 9, 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2011/05/09/yukon-united-party-phelps.html. 
14. ^ ^{a b} "Cathers returns to Yukon Party caucus". CBC News. June 29, 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2011/06/29/yukon-party-cathers-returns.html. 
15. ^ "Yukon NDP MLA killed in crash". CBC News. July 6, 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2011/07/06/steve-cardiff-killed.html. 
16. ^ Thomson, John (August 12, 2011). "Green shoots grow slow". Yukon News. http://www.yukon-news.com/news/24280/. Retrieved September 3, 2011. 
17. ^ Sander-Green, Nadine (September 9, 2011). "Yukon First Nations Party established". Whitehorse Daily Star. http://www.whitehorsestar.com/archive/story/yukon-first-nations-party-established/. Retrieved September 10, 2011. 
18. ^ ^{a b c d} "Election Calendar – 2011 General Election". Elections Yukon. http://www.electionsyukon.gov.yk.ca/docs/calendar.pdf. 
19. ^ "List of Candidates". Elections Yukon. September 19, 2011. http://www.electionsyukon.gov.yk.ca/docs/candidates2011.pdf. Retrieved September 19, 2011. 
20. ^ "Registration of United Citizens of Yukon Cancelled". Election Yukon. September 19, 2011. http://www.electionsyukon.gov.yk.ca/docs/up_cancelled.pdf. Retrieved September 28, 2011. 
21. ^ "Yukon's political leaders pack the house". CBC News. October 6, 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2011/10/05/yukonvotes2011-forum.html. Retrieved October 9, 2011. 
22. ^ "Moorcroft confirmed Copperbelt South winner". CBC News, October 17, 2011.
23. ^ "Yukon's Fentie looks ahead to life after politics". CBC News. May 31, 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2011/05/31/yukon-fentie-premier-retirement.html. 
24. ^ John Thompson (September 19, 2011). "Election battle map". Yukon News. http://yukon-news.com/yukon_election_2011/election_battle_map. 
25. ^ John Thompson (July 6, 2011). "Archie Lang to leave politics". Yukon News. http://www.yukon-news.com/news/23738/. 
26. ^ John Thompson (August 3, 2011). "A fighter hangs up his gloves". Yukon News. http://www.yukon-news.com/news/24153/. 
27. ^ "Yukon MLA Rouble leaving politics". CBC News. June 15, 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2011/06/15/yukon-rouble-politics.html. 
28. ^ "Long-time Yukon Speaker won’t run in upcoming territorial election". iPolitics.ca. June 27, 2011. http://ipolitics.ca/2011/06/27/long-time-yukon-speaker-wont-run-in-upcoming-territorial-election/. 

External links

• Elections Yukon