Key takeaways from the 2023 N.W.T. election

Northwest Territories voters chose to shake up the Legislative Assembly Tuesday night, voting in just four of the 11 incumbents who ran in contested races, according to unofficial results.

And after four years of battering by crisis after crisis — wildfires, floods, a global pandemic — some in the territory may believe the election outcome means a different approach to disaster management. But with new budget pressures resulting from astronomical wildfire expenses, and formal reviews of the response not yet underway, major changes aren't likely any time soon.

Still, a number of key figures in the last assembly won't be returning. House speaker Frederick Blake Jr., and previous cabinet ministers Paulie Chinna (Housing) and Diane Archie (Infrastructure) were given the boot.

It won't be such a fresh house when the legislature reconvenes in December, though. 

Three MLAs-elect return after a hiatus: Danny McNeely in Sahtu and Kieron Testart in Range Lake both served in the 18th Legislative Assembly, but weren't re-elected in the 2019 general election. Robert Hawkins returns as the MLA for Yellowknife Centre after being defeated by Julie Green in 2015.

And the acclaimed ridings — Kam Lake, Monfwi and Yellowknife South — are all held by incumbents.

All told, nine of 19 MLAs-elect are brand new.

Voter turnout, and whether any ridings will go to a judicial recount, was unclear by the end of Tuesday night. Elections NWT will publish official results in the coming weeks. 

Cleaning house

Voters expressed their dissatisfaction with a number of regular MLAs, as well.

After a single term as the MLA for Thebacha, Frieda Martselos lost her seat to Jay Macdonald, deputy mayor of Fort Smith. 

Macdonald came to territorial prominence during this summer's wildfire briefings, speaking on behalf of Fort Smith's ill mayor after the town was evacuated in mid-August.

In the Dehcho riding, voters picked Sheryl Yakeleya over incumbent Ron Bonnetrouge, who had expressed his desire for the premiership. 

Meanwhile Hay River South voters chose Vince McKay, a firefighter and former town councillor, over incumbent Rocky Simpson. 

A referendum on Shane Thompson

It's been just three months since two-thirds of the territory's population were forced to leave their homes due to wildfires, and the Hamlet of Enterprise was virtually razed to the ground. 

For political observers, the race in Nahendeh was something of a referendum on the leadership of incumbent Shane Thompson, the minister of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) and Environment and Climate Change in the last government.

It was Thompson who suddenly ordered the evacuation of 22,000 people from Yellowknife, Ndılǫ, Dettah and Ingraham Trail on Aug. 16, as a massive wildfire burned about 17 kilometres from the capital city. 

His order came without a city-wide alert going out first, and contained no information on where evacuees should go. 

In Enterprise, people questioned why the government didn't put more effort into protecting their community, which lost about 80 per cent of its structures (Thompson blamed extreme wind and environmental conditions for the devastation). 

Despite general frustration over the wildfire response, Thompson still has the confidence of his Nahendeh constituents.

He cruised to victory Tuesday, defending his seat by a relatively wide margin in a packed race of six candidates.

He also didn't rule out running for premier. 

"It's an honour just being asked about it, but I need to make some phone calls tomorrow and talk to some leaders across the Northwest Territories before making that final decision," he said. 

The 20th Assembly will be Thompson's third term in office.

Nokleby knocked out

In the tight race for Yellowknife's Great Slave Riding, Kate Reid, an N.W.T. government worker beat out controversial incumbent Katrina Nokleby.

Reid, who grew up in and still lives in Great Slave, took 35 per cent of the votes, with Stacie Arden Smith coming in a close second. 

"I think all the folks running in the riding ... had really good things that they wanted to talk about and things that were important to the residents of Great Slave," Reid said. 

"I'm really proud of all of us to be honest."

During the campaign, Reid said the high cost of living is the biggest issue facing the territory right now.

She also said that if elected, she'd push for the N.W.T. to pilot a guaranteed basic income program, and for Ottawa to pay for it.

The MLA-elect handily pushed out Nokleby, who incurred the ire of her colleagues at several points throughout her single term in the Legislative Assembly.

Called "a bit of a bull in a china shop" by a fellow MLA, Nokleby was booted from cabinet in 2020 after Premier Caroline Cochrane alleged she insulted staff and threw "continual tantrums" in meetings.

Most recently, the territory's integrity commissioner ruled that Nokleby should be fined and censured for returning to Yellowknife in August, when the city was under an evacuation order. 

But to many of her constituents, Nokleby was known as a fearless and outspoken advocate. 

She supported the construction of Indigenous-led treatment centres in the territory, and was against the divisive proposal to build a polytechnic university on Yellowknife's Tin Can Hill, which is in her riding. 

Fewer women elected

In 2019, a record number of women were elected to the Legislative Assembly — nine out of 19 MLAs. 

The results meant the N.W.T. would have the highest proportion of women legislators of anywhere in Canada. When Jane Weyallon Armstrong won the Monfwi byelection in 2021, she became the first woman to represent the riding, and brought women in the legislature into the majority.

Tuesday night saw a slight regression, with just eight women poised to join the 20th assembly. 

While three women incumbents were replaced by men, the Dehcho, Nunakput and Yellowknife North ridings will now be represented by women.

Though the voters have spoken, it will be some weeks still before they know who their premier will be.

Members of the 20th assembly will vote for the next premier and cabinet ministers on Dec. 7.