# 2011 Yukon general election

The 2011 general election in Yukon, Canada, took place on October 11, 2011, to return members to the 33rd Yukon Legislative Assembly.
The incumbent government was led by Darrell Pasloski, who was elected as leader of the Yukon Party at a convention on May 28, 2011, replacing former Premier Dennis Fentie. The Yukon Party won its third majority government, with Elizabeth Hanson's NDP becoming the Official Opposition, replacing the Liberal Party, whose leader Arthur Mitchell was unable to return to the Assembly.

## Pre-writ period
### Redistribution

In 2008, the Yukon Assembly struck a committee to review the electoral district boundaries for this election. The committee decided to increase the number of seats in the territory to 19. Yukon now matches the other territorial assemblies in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in terms of the number of seats.
The rural districts outside of the capital city of Whitehorse remained unchanged with the exception of Mount Lorne and Southern Lakes which were merged into a single district. The total number of rural districts dropped from 9 to 8.
The urban ridings in Whitehorse were increased to 11 from 9. Only three districts in Whitehorse had no boundary changes, Whitehorse Centre, Riverdale North and Riverdale South. The riding that received the most significant alteration was Copperbelt. That district was split into four ridings, primarily Copperbelt North and Copperbelt South, while McIntyre-Takhini was significantly expanded in western uninhabited part of Copperbelt and renamed Takhini-Kopper King. An entirely new riding was also created out of Copperbelt called Mountainview. The remaining urban districts all received minor boundary adjustments.
The boundary changes were adopted by the Yukon Legislative Assembly in 2009.

### Lake Laberge dispute

In the fall of 2009, Yukon Party MLA Brad Cathers had a falling out with Premier Dennis Fentie, and ended up sitting as an independent on the opposition side.
Cathers remained a party member despite his public criticism of Fentie. On May 19, 2010, the Yukon Party riding executive of Lake Laberge nominated Brad Cathers as a delegate to the party's 2010 convention. The meeting lasted three hours and saw the riding executive loyal to Fentie, including the President, walk out on the 60 members who attended. Former MLA Al Falle defended Cathers at the meeting. The meeting ended with a board of directors loyal to Cathers being elected.

## Summary of results

Official results.
Summary of Results :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Seats | Seats | Seats |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | 2006 | Dissolution | Elected | Change |
| | Yukon Party | 6,400 | 40.44 | 10 | 11 | 11 | +1 |
| | New Democratic | 5,154 | 32.57 | 3 | 1 | 6 | +3 |
| | Liberal | 4,008 | 25.33 | 5 | 5 | 2 | -3 |
| | Green | 104 | 0.66 | New | New | 0 | New |
| | First Nations Party | 81 | 0.51 | New | New | 0 | New |
| | Independents | 79 | 0.50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
| Vacant | Vacant | | | – | 1 | – | – |
| Total | Total | 15,826 | 100.00 | 18 | 18 | 19 | +1 |
Popular vote
Yukon Party
40.44%
New Democratic
32.57%
Liberal
25.33%
Green
0.56%
Others
1.10% :
Seats summary
Yukon Party
57.89%
New Democratic
31.58%
Liberal
10.53% :

## Candidates running

Bold incumbents indicates cabinet members and party leaders and the speaker of the assembly are italicized.

### Rural Yukon

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | Yukon | Yukon | NDP | NDP | Liberal | Liberal | Other | Other | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Klondike | | Steve Nordick 404 (37.4%) | | Jorn Meier 147 (13.6%) | | Sandy Silver 530 (49.0%) | | | Steve Nordick |
| Kluane | | Wade Istchenko 287 (37.9%) | | Eric Stinson 220 (29.0%) | | Timothy Cant 219 (28.9%) | | Gerald Dickson (FNP) 32 (4.2%) | Gary McRobb† |
| Lake Laberge | | Brad Cathers 528 (51.9%) | | Frank Turner 330 (32.4%) | | Mike Simon 159 (15.6%) | | | Brad Cathers |
| Mayo-Tatchun | | Elaine Wyatt 214 (31.6%) | | Jim Tredger 282 (41.7%) | | Eric Fairclough 181 (26.7%) | | | Eric Fairclough |
| Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes | | Deborah Fulmer 395 (37.9%) | | Kevin Barr 488 (46.8%) | | Ted Adel 111 (10.6%) | | Stanley James (FNP) 49 (4.7%) | Vacant Mount Lorne |
| Merged district ||
| Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes | | Deborah Fulmer 395 (37.9%) | | Kevin Barr 488 (46.8%) | | Ted Adel 111 (10.6%) | | Stanley James (FNP) 49 (4.7%) | Patrick Rouble† Southern Lakes |
| Pelly-Nisutlin | | Stacey Hassard 275 (49.4%) | | Carol Geddes 178 (32.0%) | | Carl Sidney 73 (13.1%) | | Elvis Presley (Ind.) 31 (5.6%) | Marian Horne |
| Vuntut Gwitchin | | Garry Njootli 52 (35.9%) | | | | Darius Elias 93 (64.1%) | | | Darius Elias |
| Watson Lake | | Patti McLeod 276 (37.8%) | | Liard McMillan 242 (33.1%) | | Thomas Slager 165 (22.6%) | | Patricia Gilhooly (Ind.) 48 (6.6%) | Dennis Fentie† |

### Whitehorse

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | Yukon | Yukon | NDP | NDP | Liberal | Liberal | Other | Other | | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Copperbelt North | | Currie Dixon 520 (47.9%) | | Skeeter Miller-Wright 159 (14.6%) | | Arthur Mitchell 407 (37.5%) | | | Split district | Split district |
| Copperbelt North | | Currie Dixon 520 (47.9%) | | Skeeter Miller-Wright 159 (14.6%) | | Arthur Mitchell 407 (37.5%) | | | | Arthur Mitchell Copperbelt |
| Copperbelt South | | Valerie Boxall 394 (40.4%) | | Lois Moorcroft 397 (40.7%) | | Colleen Wirth 184 (18.9%) | | | | Arthur Mitchell Copperbelt |
| Split district ||
| Mountainview | | Darrell Pasloski 480 (44.8%) | | Stephen Dunbar-Edge 376 (35.1%) | | Dave Sloan 216 (20.1%) | | | New district | New district |
| Porter Creek Centre | | David Laxton 298 (38.6%) | | Jean-François Des Lauriers 230 (29.8%) | | Kerry Huff 245 (31.7%) | | | | Archie Lang† |
| Porter Creek North | | Doug Graham 400 (49.8%) | | Mike Tribes 253 (31.5%) | | Dawn Beauchemin 82 (10.2%) | | Mike Ivens (Green) 69 (8.6%) | | Jim Kenyon† |
| Porter Creek South | | Mike Nixon 257 (42.9%) | | John Carney 99 (16.5%) | | Don Inverarity 243 (40.6%) | | | | Don Inverarity |
| Riverdale North | | Scott Kent 366 (37.1%) | | Peter Lesniak 296 (30.0%) | | Christie Richardson 289 (29.3%) | | Kristina Calhoun (Green) 35 (3.5%) | | Ted Staffen† |
| Riverdale South | | Glenn Hart 314 (32.4%) | | Jan Stick 380 (39.3%) | | Dan Curtis 274 (28.3%) | | | | Glenn Hart |
| Takhini-Kopper King | | Samson Hartland 316 (31.7%) | | Kate White 458 (45.9%) | | Cherish Clarke 224 (22.4%) | | | | John Edzerza† McIntyre-Takhini |
| Whitehorse Centre | | Marian Horne 202 (24.3%) | | Elizabeth (Liz) Hanson 525 (63.2%) | | Patrick Singh 104 (12.5%) | | | | Elizabeth (Liz) Hanson |
| Whitehorse West | | Elaine Taylor 422 (58.2%) | | Louis R. Gagnon 94 (13.0%) | | Cully Robinson 209 (28.8%) | | | | Elaine Taylor |

## Timeline

* October 10, 2006, the Yukon Party, under Dennis Fentie, wins its second majority government in the 36th Yukon general election.
* January 2009, John Edzerza resigns from the YNDP to sit again as an independent.
* August 28, 2009, Brad Cathers, MLA for Lake Laberge resigns from cabinet and the government caucus to sit as an independent member over issues with Premier Dennis Fentie.
* September 26, 2009, the NDP chooses Elizabeth Hanson as party leader.
* October 22, 2009, John Edzerza joins the Yukon Party (which he had previously been a member of until 2006) and now serves as Minister of the Environment.
* July 28, 2010, Todd Hardy, MLA for Whitehorse Centre and former leader of the Yukon New Democratic Party dies after a long battle with leukemia at age 53.
* September 17, 2010, the United Citizens Party of Yukon is registered.
* December 13, 2010, in a by-election, Elizabeth Hanson is elected MLA of Whitehorse Centre with 51% of the vote.
* February 28, 2011, the Yukon Green Party is registered.
* April/May 2011, United Citizens Party leader Willard Phelps resigns.
* May 28, 2011, the Yukon Party chooses Darrell Pasloski as party leader and Premier at a convention in Whitehorse.
* June 12, 2011, Darrell Pasloski is sworn in as Premier.
* June 29, 2011, Brad Cathers rejoins the Yukon Party.
* July 6, 2011, Steve Cardiff MLA for Mount Lorne dies in a car accident.
* August 2011, Kristina Calhoun is appointed leader of the Yukon Green Party.
* September 6, 2011, the Yukon First Nations Party is registered, Gerald Dickson is the leader.
* September 9, 2011, issue of the writs.
* September 19, 2011, 62 candidates are successfully nominated, none from the United Citizens Party, causing it to be deregistered.
* October 2 & 3, 2011, advance polling.
* October 5, 2011, CBC North hosts a leader's debate with Hanson, Mitchell, and Pasloski.
* October 11, 2011, polling day.
* October 17, 2011, return of the writs. Elections Yukon also announces the results of a recount in Copperbelt South, confirming Lois Moorcroft's three-vote margin of victory over Valerie Boxall.

### Retiring MLAs

| Member | District | Party | Reason |
| John Edzerza | McIntyre-Takhini | Yukon Party | Serious health issues |
| Dennis Fentie | Watson Lake | Yukon Party | Retire as Premier and from politics and will live full-time in Watson Lake |
| Jim Kenyon | Porter Creek North | Yukon Party | Defeated in party nomination. |
| Archie Lang | Porter Creek Centre | Yukon Party | Retired for undisclosed reasons. |
| Gary McRobb | Kluane | Liberal | He'd been working too long as an MLA. |
| Patrick Rouble | Southern Lakes | Yukon Party | Attending the University of Calgary to attain a doctorate degree. |
| Ted Staffen | Riverdale North | Yukon Party | Interested in returning to business in the private sector |

## Opinion polls

| Polling Firm | Date of Polling | Yukon Party | New Democratic | Liberal | Green |
| DataPath Systems | October 2–6, 2011 | 35 | 35 | 26 | 2 |
| DataPath Systems | July 17–25, 2011 | 40 | 35 | 15 | 7 |
| DataPath Systems | July 2010 | 22 | 26 | 39 | |