17th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly

Last updated
17th Assembly
Type
Type
EstablishedOctober 3, 2011
Leadership
Premier
Seats19
Elections
Last election
2011
Meeting place
Yellowknife

The 17th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly was established by the results of the 2011 Northwest Territories general election on October 3, 2011. It was the 25th sitting of the Assembly in the territory's history. The Assembly was dissolved in 2015.

Contents

Term extension debate

Members voted on Motion 16-17(5) introduced by Hay River North MLA Jane Groenewegen to extend the term of the Assembly to five years starting with the 18th Legislature to match every other provincial and territorial jurisdiction in Canada. This change was approved by the federal government. In addition they voted to ask for permission of the federal government to extend the current mandate of the Assembly to postpone the 23rd general election and sit until October 2016. [1] The reason given was to avoid having an election during federal election and municipal elections in the territory scheduled at the same time, claiming voters will be fatigued. The decision by council prompted a petition calling for the Assembly to be dissolved early. [2]

The motion passed the legislature on a recorded vote with 11 members for and 7 against with one member absent

Motion 16-17(5) vote [3]
ForAgainstAbsent
Groenewegen, Yakeleya, Menicoche, Blake, Beaulieu, Abernethy, Miltenberger, McLeod –

Yellowknife South, Lafferty, Ramsay, McLeod – Inuvik Twin Lakes

Dolynny, Bouchard, Nadli, Hawkins, Bisaro, Moses, BromleyJacobson

Number of MLAs in the capital city

Currently, 7 of 19 of the Assembly's representatives are from the capital city of Yellowknife. The City of Yellowknife is launching a lawsuit to increase the number of Yellowknife-based MLAs to something more closely in line with the city's roughly 50 per cent of the NWT population. [4] However, some say increasing the number of Yellowknife-based MLAs would weaken the territories on the whole. [5]

Membership

A total of nineteen members were returned to council in the 2015 general election. Three members were acclaimed to office on September 9, 2011 with the rest in contested districts being returned on October 3, 2011.

[6] MemberDistrict
Michael Nadli Deh Cho
Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake
Glen Abernethy Great Slave
Robert Bouchard Hay River North
Jane Groenewegen Hay River South
Dave Ramsay Kam Lake
Robert McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes
Frederick Blake, Jr. Mackenzie Delta
Jackson Lafferty Monfwi
Kevin Menicoche Nahendeh
Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake
Jackie Jacobson Nunakput
Daryl Dolynny Range Lake
Norman Yakeleya Sahtu
Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe
Bob Bromley Weledeh
Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre
Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Standings and cabinet changes

Caucus2011
Sep. 9Oct. 3
Executive Council 0
Regular members319
Speaker 0
Vacant160
Total319
DateMemberDistrictReason
September 9, 2011 Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe Acclaimed in the general election
September 9, 2011 Bob McLeod Yellowknife South Acclaimed in the general election
September 9, 2011 Robert McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes Acclaimed in the general election
October 3, 2011See List of MembersElection day of the 22nd general election

Related Research Articles

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 41,790, it is the second-largest and the most populous of the three territories in Northern Canada. Its estimated population as of 2021 is 45,515. Yellowknife is the capital, most populous community, and only city in the territory; its population was 19,569 as of the 2016 census. It became the territorial capital in 1967, following recommendations by the Carrothers Commission.

2003 Northwest Territories general election

The 2003 Northwest Territories general election was held on November 24, 2003, to elect the 19 members of the Legislative Assembly.

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Single house of legislature of the Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, 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.

History of Northwest Territories capital cities Capitals of a Canadian territory (1870–)

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.

Frame Lake (electoral district)

Frame Lake is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories, Canada.

Weledeh was a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Yellowknife South

Yellowknife South is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Kam Lake Canadian politician

Kam Lake is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Range Lake

Range Lake is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Tu Nedhe was a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The district consists of Fort Resolution and Lutselk'e.

2007 Northwest Territories general election

The 2007 Northwest Territories general election took place on October 1, 2007. Nineteen members were elected to the Legislative Assembly from single member districts conducted under first-past-the-post voting system.

Floyd Roland

Floyd K. Roland, MLA is a politician from Northwest Territories, Canada. He was the 11th premier of the Northwest Territories, having held office from October 17, 2007 to October 26, 2011.

Michael McLeod is a Canadian politician, currently serving as a member of Parliament representing the Northwest Territories. He was first elected in the 2015 Canadian federal election, unseating Dennis Bevington, who was the incumbent 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.

Robert "Bobby" J. Villeneuve is a former member of the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly and former retail manager.

Wendy Bisaro is a Canadian politician who represented Frame Lake in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from 2007 to 2015.

The 2011 Northwest Territories general election was held on October 3, 2011. Nineteen members were returned to the 17th Legislative Assembly from single member districts conducted under first-past-the-post voting system.

Roger T. Allen in Aklavik, Northwest Territories, from Gwich'in First Nations, is a Canadian former cross-country skier who competed in the 1972 Winter Olympics and a former territorial level politician from Northwest Territories, Canada.

2015 Northwest Territories general election

The 2015 Northwest Territories general election was held November 23, 2015. Under the territory's fixed election date legislation, the election was supposed to be held on October 5, 2015, however, since the federal election date of October 19, 2015, overlapped with that date, the N.W.T. government moved the date of the territorial election. The election selected 19 members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories.

Julie Green is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in the 2015 election. She represents the electoral district of Yellowknife Centre. Green was re-elected in 2019. She was acclaimed to the Executive Council in August 2020 and was subsequently appointed Minister of Health and Social Services, Minister Responsible for Seniors and Minister Responsible for Persons with Disabilities.

2019 Northwest Territories general election

The 2019 Northwest Territories general election was held on October 1, 2019. Nineteen members were elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories.

References

  1. "Term Extension Debate". Elections NWT. March 10, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  2. "N.W.T. MLAs vote to ask for authority to postpone election". CBC News. March 11, 2014.
  3. "Hansard" (PDF). Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. March 10, 2014. p. 58. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  4. Rendell, Mark (November 4, 2014). "Mayor makes case for City's legal challenge over too few MLAs". Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
  5. Spitzer, Aaron (November 5, 2014). "Why giving YK more MLAs would be the opposite of fair".
  6. "Members Elect of the 17th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories" (PDF). Northwest Territories Legislature. October 4, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-26. Retrieved October 14, 2011.