2007 Northwest Territories general election

The 2007 Northwest Territories general election took place on October 1, 2007. It was the 21st in the history of the Northwest Territories of Canada. Nineteen members were elected to the Legislative Assembly from single member districts conducted under first-past-the-post voting system.

Result map of the 2007 general election

The election was called on September 3, 2007, when the writ of returns was dropped by Chief Electoral Officer Saundra Arberry. This election was the first in Northwest Territories history to be conducted on a fixed election date calendar.[1]

The territory operates on a consensus government system with no political parties; the premier is subsequently chosen by and from the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

Election campaign

The final list of candidates was released on September 7, 2007. Three incumbents were returned by acclamation.[2] Four other high-profile incumbents were not running for re-election, including Premier Joe Handley representing Weledeh, cabinet minister and dean of the legislature Charles Dent representing Frame Lake, cabinet minister Brenden Bell and Private member Bill Braden brother of former Premier George Braden representing Great Slave.

Premier retires

Joe Handley the 10th Premier of the Northwest Territories, announced his retirement.

Rehab

Former candidate Peter Liske withdrew his candidacy shortly before the nomination deadline closed in Weledeh.[2] Liske's campaign came under scrutiny after he promised to enter rehab for alcohol abuse if he was elected. His campaign promise acquired international attention after the story was picked up by The Tonight Show as part of the Headlines segment.[3] The original news story Dettah chief candidates debate issues featured in the Headlines segment was published by the Northern News Service on August 6, 2007.

Criminal records

Four candidates who ran in 2007 have criminal records. Henry Zoe, former MLA for North Slave, was twice convicted for spousal assault and resisting arrest. He resigned his seat over the latter charge in 2004. Hay River South candidate Greg McMeekin was convicted of assault, resisting arrest and making death threats; a warrant was out for his arrest for violating probation. Nahendeh candidate Arnold Hope was convicted for drug possession in 2006 and unsafe storage of a firearm. Marc Bogan was convicted of the misdemeanor charge of mischief for releasing live crickets all over the Yellowknife Courthouse in 2005.[4]

Conflict of interest

In the electoral district of Tu Nedhe, incumbent Bobby J. Villeneuve finished a distant fourth in a field of six candidates. He was disciplined by the Conflict of Interest commissioner in June 2007 after swearing a legal oath that he lived in Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories, which allowed him access to a CA$25,000 a year living allowance for living accommodations in Yellowknife. The estimated cost to tax payers was $65,000. He was forced to reimburse $10,000.[5]

Disqualification

A complaint was filed to the Chief Returning Officer Saundra Arberry over the disqualification of Tu Nedhe candidate Noeline Villebrun. The former candidate sent her nomination paperwork and endorsement signatures by facsimile from British Columbia, a half-hour before the nomination deadline on September 7, 2007. The returning officer from Elections NWT disqualified the paperwork on the grounds that the paperwork was not in the original ink. Villebrun's official agent filed a complaint on the basis that submitting paper work by fax is not forbidden under the Elections Act. Arberry upheld the decision of the Returning Officer and advised the Villebrun campaign to seek legal counsel.[6] Villebrun was attempting her second run at office, she last ran as a candidate in the 1999 Northwest Territories general election in the same electoral district.

NWT Party

In past elections, political parties have appeared claiming to run slates of candidates. Yellowknife Centre candidate Bryan Sutherland claimed to lead the NWT Party, and was the only candidate in this election representing the party in its slate. Sutherland said that whether or not he was elected he would push for the party to be formally registered.[7] The Northwest Territories has no laws recognizing or validating any political parties operating on the territorial level. Sutherland was defeated, finishing a distant fourth in his district.

New Premier selected

On October 17, 2007 Inuvik Boot Lake MLA Floyd Roland was elected as the eleventh Premier of the territory by the Legislative Assembly. He ran for Premier against Thebacha MLA Michael Miltenberger.[8] After being elected Premier, Roland promised to push the Government of Canada to give the Northwest Territories provincial powers enjoyed by other jurisdictions.[9]

Election summary
Election summary # of candidates Popular vote
Incumbent New # %
Elected candidates 10 6 6,992 54.14%
Acclaimed candidates 3 0
Defeated candidates 2 34 5,922 45.86%
Total 55 12,914 100%
Voter Turnout % Rejected Ballots

District and candidate results
District[10] Winner 2nd place 3rd place 4th place 5th place
Deh Cho Michael McLeod        
Frame Lake Wendy Bisaro
389		 Chris Johnston
162		 Jeff Groenewegen
137		    
Great Slave Glen Abernethy
336		 Doug Ritchie
206		 Christopher Hunt
103		 Beaton Mackenzie
101		 Mark Bogan
21
Hay River North Paul Delorey
514		 Vince McKay
329		      
Hay River South Jane Groenewegen
423		 Marc Miltenberger
384		 Greg McMeekin
10		    
Inuvik Boot Lake Floyd Roland        
Inuvik Twin Lakes Robert C. McLeod
306		 Denise Kurszewski
261		      
Kam Lake Dave Ramsay
489		 Brad Enge
118		      
Mackenzie Delta David Krutko
303		 Mary Joanne Clark
164		 Donald Robert
132		    
Monfwi Jackson Lafferty
579		 Henry Zoe
495		      
Nahendeh Kevin A. Menicoche
549		 Arnold Hope
203		 Bob Hanna
71		 Keyna Norwegian
70		  
Nunakput Jackie Jacobson
266		 Vince J. Teddy
150		 Eddie Dillon
142		 Calvin P. Pokiak
74		  
Range Lake Sandy Lee
564		 Ashley Geraghty
210		      
Sahtu Norman Yakeleya        
Thebacha Michael Miltenberger
531		 Peter Martselos
444		 Jeannie Marie-Jewell
197		    
Tu Nedhe Tom Beaulieu
252		 Steve Ellis
175		 Raymond Simon
26		 Bobby J. Villeneuve
12		 Andrew Butler
6		 James W. McPherson
6
Weledeh Bob Bromley
522		 Andy Wong
409		 Jonas Sangris
244		 Carol Morin
34		  
Yellowknife Centre Robert Hawkins
430		 Sue Glowach
258		 Ben McDonald
204		 Bryan Sutherland
29		  
Yellowknife South Bob McLeod
539		 Amy Hacala
278		 Garett Cochrane
57		    

Notes:

  • Candidates in bold denotes incumbents.
  • With the exception of Michael McLeod, Floyd Roland and Norman Yakeleya, who were all acclaimed, the results are currently unofficial.[11]
gollark: Code ploz.
gollark: Mankind is doomed.
gollark: ```python>>> <<= File "<stdin>", line 1 <<= ^SyntaxError: invalid syntax>>> x <<= yTraceback (most recent call last): File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>NameError: name 'x' is not defined>>> x <<<<<<<<<= y File "<stdin>", line 1 x <<<<<<<<<= y ^SyntaxError: invalid syntax>>> x <<= yTraceback (most recent call last): File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>NameError: name 'x' is not defined>>> x <<=>> y File "<stdin>", line 1 x <<=>> y ^SyntaxError: invalid syntax>>> x =>> y File "<stdin>", line 1 x =>> y ^SyntaxError: invalid syntax>>> x => y File "<stdin>", line 1 x => y ^SyntaxError: invalid syntax>>> x >>= yTraceback (most recent call last): File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>NameError: name 'x' is not defined```
gollark: `>>=` is also available.
gollark: ++destroy-server-as-I-leave

References
  1. "Election race underway in Northwest Territories". CBC News. September 3, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  2. "3 MLAs acclaimed in N.W.T. election". Yahoo News. September 7, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  3. "Northern headline becomes Leno punch line". Northern News Service Ltd. September 7, 2007. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  4. "At least 4 N.W.T. election candidates have criminal pasts". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. September 12, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  5. "N.W.T. MLA disciplined over Fort Resolution housing claim". CBC News. June 7, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  6. "N.W.T. election candidate protests disqualification". CBC News. September 18, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  7. "Fifteen signatures, $200 all it takes to run as candidate in NWT election". Canadian Press. September 21, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
  8. Cara Loverock (October 19, 2007). "Floyd Roland". Northern News Services. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
  9. "Floyd Roland chosen N.W.T. premier". CNEWS. October 17, 2007. Archived from the original on June 23, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
  10. "Elections Northwest Territories official candidates list". Elections Northwest Territories. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved September 6, 2007.
  11. Unofficial Results from Elections NWT Archived October 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
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