Northwest Territories general election, 1951

Last updated

The Northwest Territories General election of 1951 held on September 17, 1951 was the sixth general election in the Northwest Territories, Canada, and the first since the 1902 election. The election came about after The Northwest Territories Act was amended to permit three elected members from the Mackenzie District to join the five appointed members on the Executive Council of the Northwest Territories. The Council, which had met in Ottawa, Ontario, outside of the Northwest Territories, shortly after the election, the council began to alternate sittings between Ottawa and Northwest Territories communities.

Northwest Territories Territory of Canada

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately 1,144,000 km2 (442,000 sq mi) and a 2016 census population of 41,786, it is the second-largest and the most populous of the three territories in Northern Canada. Its estimated population as of 2018 is 44,445. Yellowknife became the territorial capital in 1967, following recommendations by the Carrothers Commission.

Canada Country in North America

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States, stretching some 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi), is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, with 70% of citizens residing within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Contents

Background

The bill to re initiate territorial elections in the Northwest Territories was introduced in the Canadian House of Commons by Federal Resources Minister Robert Henry Winters. [1]

Aboriginal vote

The 1951 election was the first in the territory to allow aboriginal peoples to vote and stand for election. [2] However the electoral districts created for the election included only the west portion of the territories thus disenfranchising the prominently aboriginal eastern portion of the territory. When the nominations closed on August 20, 1951 no aboriginals stood for office.

Female suffrage

Unlike the small elections in the Territories prior to the first general election in 1888, this was considered a general election, since it was based on the dissolution of the previous legislature. It was the smallest general election in Northwest Territories history.

This was the first election in the Northwest Territories in which women had the right to vote. Female suffrage was permitted under the Northwest Territories Elections Ordinance of 1951, this was the last jurisdiction in Canada to grant voting rights to women. The first woman candidate in the territory's history also ran in this election: Vivian Roberts from Aklavik.

The writ for the election was dropped on July 3, 1951 and the nominations closed on August 20, 1951.

Election summary

Election summary# of candidatesPopular vote
#%
Elected candidates31,47153.39%
Defeated candidates81,23344.76%
Rejected ballots511.85%
Total112,755100%

Appointed members

1st Northwest Territories Legislative Council
MemberNew/Re-appointed
Louis Audette Re-appointed
William Clements New
Donald McKay ?
Leonard Nicholson New
Frank Cunningham 1Re-appointed

Note:

1 Frank Cunningham was also Deputy Commissioner

Elected members

For complete electoral history, see individual districts

1st Northwest Territories Legislative Council
DistrictMember
Mackenzie South James Brodie
Mackenzie West Frank Carmichael
Mackenzie North Mervyn Arthur Hardie

See also

The 2nd Council of the Northwest Territories, known formally as the Council of the Northwest Territories, was the governing body of Canada's Northwest Territories from 1905 to 1951. In 1905 when Alberta and Saskatchewan were carved out the Northwest Territories, the remaining population was too small to legally hold elections. The Northwest Territories reverted to 1870 constitutional status. Political parties and the position of Lieutenant Governor was abolished. The government came under the direct control of Ottawa.

Related Research Articles

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories

The Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories, is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a unicameral elected body that creates and amends law in the Northwest Territories. Permanently located in Yellowknife since 1993, the assembly was founded in 1870 and became active in 1872 with the first appointments from the Government of Canada.

Beauce (electoral district) Federal electoral district

Beauce is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1867. In 2006, it had a population of 103,617 people, of whom 82,123 were eligible voters.

Alexander Morris (politician) Canadian politician

Alexander Morris was a Canadian politician. He served in the cabinet of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald (1869–1872), and was the second Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (1872–1877). He also served as the founder and first Lieutenant Governor of the District of Keewatin.

Winnipeg North Federal electoral district

Winnipeg North is a federal electoral district in Canada that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1917. It covers the northern portion of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Pontiac (electoral district) Federal electoral district

Pontiac is a federal electoral district in western Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1949 and since 1968.

District of Keewatin former territory of Canada

The District of Keewatin was a territory of Canada and later an administrative district of the Northwest Territories. It was created in 1876 by the Keewatin Act, and originally it covered a large area west of Hudson Bay. In 1905, it became a part of the Northwest Territories and in 1912, its southern parts were adjoined to the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, leaving the remainder, now called the Keewatin Region, virtually uninhabited. On April 1, 1999, the Keewatin Region was formally dissolved, as Nunavut was created from eastern parts of the Northwest Territories, including all of Keewatin.

Kildonan—St. Paul Federal electoral district

Kildonan—St. Paul is a federal electoral district in the Winnipeg Capital Region of Manitoba, Canada. It has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004.

Strathcona (provincial electoral district) Alberta provincial electoral district

Strathcona was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. It is not to be confused with Edmonton-Strathcona, a different provincial electoral district within the city of Edmonton created in 1971, nor with the federal electoral district Edmonton—Strathcona.

1902 Northwest Territories general election

The Northwest Territories general election of 1902, occurred on 21 May 1902 and was the fifth general election in the history of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. This was the last election held until 1951, and was the last in the Northwest Territories to have political parties.

The Northwest Territories general election of 1888 was the first general election in the history of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Elections were held in various districts between 20 June and 30 June 1888. This was the only general election, where the writs were issued to return on various days.

History of Northwest Territories capital cities

The history of Northwest Territories capital cities begins with the purchase of the Territories by Canada from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869, and includes a varied and often difficult evolution. Northwest Territories is unique amongst the other provinces and territories of Canada in that it has had seven capital cities in its history. The territory has changed the seat of government for numerous reasons, including civil conflict, development of infrastructure, and a history of significant revisions to its territorial boundaries.

Elections NWT is an independent, non-partisan public agency responsible for the administration of territorial general elections, by-elections, and plebiscites in accordance with the Elections and Plebiscites Act. Elections NWT is headed by the Chief Electoral Officer, an officer of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories.

The New Democratic Party of Canada ran a full slate of candidates in the 1993 federal election, and won nine seats out of 295. This brought the NDP below official party status in the House of Commons of Canada for the first, and to date only time in its history.

Lena Pedersen or Lena Pederson is a politician and social worker from Nunavut, Canada. In 1959, she moved from Greenland to the Northwest Territories and lived in Coppermine (Kugluktuk), Pangnirtung and Rae (Behchoko) before moving to Cape Dorset where she participated in the artwork sales of the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative.

Richard Nerysoo is a territorial level politician from the Northwest Territories, Canada. He was a member of the Northwest Territories Legislature from 1979 to 1995 and served as the third Premier and Speaker.

Dr. Major Harold Wigmore McGill was a Canadian physician and politician provincial. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the Council of the Northwest Territories.

Michael McLeod is the current Member of Canadian Parliament representing the Northwest Territories. He was first elected in 2015 Canadian federal election unseating Dennis Bevington, who was the former New Democratic Party MP for the riding. McLeod was a former member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada, as well as the former mayor of Fort Providence.

Mark Evaloarjuk, CM was a northern Canadian business pioneer and politician. He served as a member of the Northwest Territories Legislature from 1975 until 1983, and served as President of Arctic Cooperatives Ltd. In 1981, he became inducted as member of the Order of Canada.

References

  1. ↑ "People". Vol 58 No. 140. Winnipeg Free Press. March 12, 1951. p. 2.
  2. ↑ "First Municipal Voted Slated for N.W.T.". Vol 58 No. 237. Winnipeg Free Press. July 3, 1951. p. 4.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.