Pelly-Nisutlin

Pelly-Nisutlin is an electoral district which returns a member (known as an MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of the Yukon Territory in Canada. It was created in 2002 out of the districts of Faro and Ross River-Southern Lakes. The riding includes the communities of Teslin, Faro, Ross River, Little Salmon, and Johnsons Crossing. It encompasses the traditional territory of the Teslin Tlingit Council and the Ross River Dena Council of the Kaska Dena. Pelly-Nisutlin is bordered by the rural ridings of Mayo-Tatchun, Lake Laberge, Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes, and Watson Lake.

Pelly-Nisutlin

Yukon electoral district
Boundaries of Pelly-Nisutlin
Territorial electoral district
Legislature	Yukon Legislative Assembly
MLA	Stacey Hassard Yukon Party
First contested	2002
Last contested	2016
Demographics
Electors (2016)	752
Census subdivisions	Faro, Johnsons Crossing, Ross River, Teslin (Teslin land), Teslin (village) Teslin Post 13, Yukon, Unorganized

The current MLA is Stacey Hassard, interim leader of the opposition Yukon Party. He was first elected on October 11, 2011. It was formerly represented by his brother, Dean Hassard, also of the Yukon Party, from 2002-2006.

The riding is considered a Yukon Party stronghold,

Boundary Commission Controversy

Yukon electoral boundaries are examined by a commission every ten years to determine whether they should be adjusted. When Pelly-Nisutlin was created, it drew criticism from the Village of Teslin and the Teslin Tlingit Council, which argued that it should not be part of the same riding as Ross River and Faro, but rather Carcross and Tagish. There was concern not only that the MLA representing the district would face challenges representing and travelling to the communities of such a vast area (Faro is better accessed through Whitehorse), but also because there were greater commonalities between the Teslin Tlingit Council and the Carcross/Tagish First Nation.[1]

Accordingly, the commission considered dismantling the electoral district and redistributing it into neighbouring districts, but rejected the option as it would create a greater imbalance between rural and urban seats in the Yukon. It also rejected the suggestion that Teslin form its own riding, since it was seen as too small in population. The report concluded: "while we acknowledge that the relationship of the Teslin area to the remainder of the electoral district is somewhat of an anomaly, we are unable to propose a justifiable solution other than to retain the district within its current boundaries."[2]

MLAs

Parliament	Years	Member		Party
2002	2002–2006		Dean Hassard	Yukon Party
2006	2006–2011		Marian Horne
2011	2011–2016		Stacey Hassard
2016	2016–present

Election results

2016 general election

2016 Yukon general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Yukon Party	Stacey Hassard	280	42.3%	-7.1%
	NDP	Ken Hodgins	207	31.2%	-0.8%
	Liberal	Carl Sidney	152	23.0%	+9.9%
	Green	Frank de Jong	22	3.3%	+3.3%
Total			661	100.0%	–

2011 general election

2011 Yukon general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Yukon Party	Stacey Hassard	275	49.4%	+7.3%
	NDP	Carol Geddes[3]	178	32.0%	+6.5%
	Liberal	Carl Sidney	73	13.1%	-12.3%
	Independent	Elvis Presley	31	5.5%	-1.5%
Total			557	100.0%	–

2006 general election

2006 Yukon general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Yukon Party	Marian Horne	241	42.1%	-4.3%
	NDP	Gwen Wally	146	25.5%	+0.2%
	Liberal	Hammond Dick	145	25.4%	-2.9%
	Independent	Elvis Aaron Presley ("Tagish" Elvis)	40	7.0%	+7.0%
Total			572	100.0%	–

2002 general election

2002 Yukon general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Yukon Party	Dean Hassard	297	46.4%	–
	Liberal	Jim McLachlan	181	28.3%	–
	NDP	Buzz Burgess	162	25.3%	–
Total			640	100.0%	–

References

1. Yukon Electoral Boundaries Commission Final Report (2008) Elections Yukon, p. 16-17.
2. Yukon Electoral Boundaries Commission Final Report (2008) Elections Yukon, p. 16-17.
3. "Territorial Election 2011". Yukon NDP. June 17, 2011. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2011.