Faro (electoral district)

Faro was an electoral district that returned a member (known as an MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of the Yukon Territory in Canada between 1978 and 2002.[1] It was created out of the riding of Pelly River and encompassed the community of Faro. It was situated on the traditional territory of the Ross River Dena Council of the Kaska Dena.

Faro

Yukon electoral district
Defunct territorial electoral district
Legislature	Yukon Legislative Assembly
District created	1978
District abolished	2002
First contested	1978
Last contested	2000
Demographics
Electors (2000)	234
Census subdivisions	Faro

The riding was dissolved in 2002 and amalgamated into the new riding of Pelly-Nisutlin, which includes the communities of Faro, Teslin, Ross River, and Little Salmon.

Faro is the former seat of Yukon Liberal leader Jim McLachlan and New Democrat Trevor Harding, who briefly served as interim leader of the Yukon New Democratic Party and interim Leader of the Official Opposition after his party's defeat in the 2000 territorial election.

History

When partisan politics were first introduced to the Yukon, Faro was one of the territory's nine rural seats. Originally bordered by the ridings of Tatchun and Campbell, at the time of its dissolution it was bordered by the ridings of Mayo-Tatchun and Ross River-Southern Lakes.

Faro is the home of the Faro Mine, at one point the largest open pit lead–zinc mine in the world as well as a significant producer of silver and other natural resource ventures. At its peak in 1982, the community was home to 2,100 residents, but at the time of the riding's dissolution, the community of Faro was home to just 400 people. When the Faro Mine's operators announced the indefinite closure of the operation, the effect devastated the territorial economy, as it represented approximately 40% of territorial GDP.[2] Several corporations sought to restart the Faro Mine, but the final attempt, that of Anvil Range Mining Corporation, ceased in January 1998, followed by the bankruptcy of Anvil Range.

Faro continued to shrink in population as a community as the successive mining operations went under. In 2002, the Yukon Electoral District Boundaries Commission ruled that Faro's population had fallen far below acceptable levels to merit its own riding.[3] The riding of Faro was dissolved and the community of Faro joined the communities of Teslin, Ross River, and Little Salmon to form the new riding of Pelly-Nisutlin.

MLAs

Legislature	Years	Member		Party
28th	1978-1981		Maurice Byblow	Independent
	1981-1982			NDP
29th	1982-1985
30th	1985-1989		Jim McLachlan	Liberal
31st	1989-1992		Maurice Byblow	NDP
32nd	1992-1996		Trevor Harding
33rd	1996-2000
34th	2000-2000
	2000-2002		Jim McLachlan	Liberal

Electoral results

2000 By-election

2000 By-election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Jim McLachlan	129	65.5%	+42.6%
	NDP	Harold Boehm	66	33.5%	-43.1%
Total			197	100.0%	–

• On the resignation of Trevor Harding (2000).

2000 general election

2000 Yukon general election[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	NDP	Trevor Harding	177	76.6%	-17.7%
	Liberal	Jim McLachlan	53	22.9%	+17.7%
Total			231	100.0%	–

1996 general election

1996 Yukon general election[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	NDP	Trevor Harding	530	94.3%	+41.1%
	Liberal	Ed Peake	29	5.2%	-41.0%
Total			562	100.0%	–

1992 general election

1992 Yukon general election[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	NDP	Trevor Harding	388	53.2%	+10.4%
	Liberal	Jim McLachlan	337	46.2%	+9.1%
Total			729	100.0%	–

1989 general election

1989 Yukon general election[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	NDP	Maurice Byblow	194	42.8%	+9.3%
	Liberal	Jim McLachlan	168	37.1%	-2.2%
	Progressive Conservative	Mel Smith	90	19.9%	-7.0%
Total			453	100.0%	–

1985 general election

1985 Yukon general election[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Jim McLachlan	142	39.3%	+17.1%
	NDP	Sibyl Frei	121	33.5%	-15.8%
	Progressive Conservative	Ted Bartsch	97	26.9%	-1.4%
Total			361	100.0%	–

1982 general election

1982 Yukon general election[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	NDP	Maurice Byblow	357	49.3%	+10.4%
	Progressive Conservative	Doris Gates	205	28.3%	+28.3%
	Liberal	Wayne Peace	160	22.1%	+22.1%
Total			724	100.0%	–

1978 general election

1978 Yukon general election[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent	Maurice Byblow	361	60.1%	–
	NDP	Stuart McCall	231	38.9%	–
Total			594	100.0%	–

References

1. Yukon Territory (1986). Revised Statutes of the Yukon, 1986: A Revision and Consolidation of the Statutes of the Legislature of the Yukon Territory : Proclaimed and Published Under Authority of the Revised Statutes Act. 1. Queen's Printer for the Yukon Territory. p. 75. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
2. Down and out in the Yukon Territory, New York Times, July 28, 1985. Retrieved 2017-01-05 frepubli
3. Final Report, 2002 Electoral District Boundaries Commission. Elections Yukon, 2002. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
4. Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of the Yukon on a By-election in Faro - November 27, 2000 Elections Yukon, 2000. Retrieved January 24, 2017
5. Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Yukon on the 2000 General Election Elections Yukon, 2000. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
6. Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Yukon on the 1996 General Election Elections Yukon, 1996. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
7. Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Yukon on the 1992 General Election Elections Yukon, 1992. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
8. Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Yukon on the 1989 General Election Elections Yukon, 1989. Retrieved January 21, 2017
9. Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Yukon on the 1985 General Election Elections Yukon, 1985. Retrieved January 21, 2017
10. Yukon Elections Board Report on the 1982 Election Elections Yukon, 1982. Retrieved January 21, 2017
11. Yukon Elections Board Report on the 1978 Election Elections Yukon, 1978. Retrieved January 21, 2017

External links

• Elections Yukon