# 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.

## Election

On September 6, 2019, Premier Bob McLeod announced that he would not seek re-election.
Four other incumbents announced they would not seek re-election, including three of seven cabinet ministers — Health Minister Glen Abernethy, Housing Minister Alfred Moses, and Finance Minister Robert C. McLeod.
Not counting the three acclaimed MLAs (RJ Simpson, Frederick Blake Jr, and Jackson Lafferty), only four incumbent members out of 11 running won reelection: Kevin O'Reilly, Julie Green, Shane Thompson, and Caroline Cochrane. Cochrane was the only cabinet minister from the 18th Assembly to return to the legislature. Three ridings, including Cochrane's, were subject to automatic recounts due to the narrow margins of victory; however, all of the recounts upheld the original results.
The election represented a historic breakthrough for women in Northwest Territories politics. The territory had just two female MLAs in the previous assembly, ranking last among all of Canada's elected legislatures for female representation; in the 2019 election, however, the territory elected nine women, representing nearly half of the 19-seat legislature— the highest percentage of female representation in any Canadian legislature.

## New premier and cabinet

Given that the territory operates on a consensus government system, MLAs elected on October 1 chose the new premier in the first session of the 19th Assembly. Four MLAs — Jackson Lafferty, R. J. Simpson, Caroline Cochrane and Frieda Martselos — indicated that they would stand for the premiership; Cochrane was selected as the premier on October 24.
Simpson, Paulie Chinna, Katrina Nokleby, Diane Thom, Shane Thompson and Caroline Wawzonek were selected as the cabinet members in the same session of the legislature.

## Results

The Legislative Assembly is run on a consensus government system, in which all MLAs sit as independents and are not organized into political parties. Note, accordingly, that colours in the following charts are used solely to indicate candidate status, not political party affiliations.

### Statistics

Reelection statistics :
| | Seats | Did not run again | Defeated | Reelected |
| All MLAs | 19 | 5 | 7 | 7 |

### Candidates

Candidates by district :
| District | Winner | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | Incumbent |
| Deh Cho | Ronald Bonnetrouge 283 | Michael Nadli 253 | | | | | Michael Nadli |
| Frame Lake | Kevin O'Reilly 357 | Dave Ramsay 346 | | | | | Kevin O'Reilly |
| Great Slave | Katrina Nokleby 454 | Patrick Scott 389 | | | | | Glen Abernethy |
| Hay River North | R. J. Simpson (Jr.) acclaimed | | | | | | R. J. Simpson |
| Hay River South | Rocky Simpson Sr. 350 | Wally Schumann 322 | | | | | Wally Schumann |
| Inuvik Boot Lake | Diane Thom 239 | Eugene Rees 179 | Desmond Loreen 94 | Jimmy Kalinek 47 | | | Alfred Moses |
| Inuvik Twin Lakes | Lesa Semmler 470 | Sallie Ross 106 | Donald Hendrick 41 | | | | Robert C. McLeod |
| Kam Lake | Caitlin Cleveland 262 | Robert Hawkins 224 | Kieron Testart 220 | Rommel Silverio 125 | Abdullah Al-Mahamud 63 | Cherish Winsor 61 | Kieron Testart |
| Mackenzie Delta | Frederick Blake Jr. acclaimed | | | | | | Frederick Blake Jr. |
| Monfwi | Jackson Lafferty acclaimed | | | | | | Jackson Lafferty |
| Nahendeh | Shane Thompson 536 | Mike Drake 190 | Randy Sibbeston 111 | Eric Menicoche 40 | | | Shane Thompson |
| Nunakput | Jackie Jacobson 231 | Herbert Nakimayak 143 | Annie Steen 127 | Holly Campbell 107 | Sheila Nasogaluak 101 | Alisa Blake 48 | Herbert Nakimayak |
| Range Lake | Caroline Cochrane 439 | Hughie Graham 421 | | | | | Caroline Cochrane |
| Sahtu | Paulie Chinna 309 | Daniel McNeely 287 | Caroline Yukon 135 | Wilfred McNeely Jr. 120 | | | Daniel McNeely |
| Thebacha | Frieda Martselos 504 | Denise Yuhas 454 | Don Jaque 139 | Louis Sebert 70 | | | Louis Sebert |
| Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh | Steve Norn 206 | Richard Edjericon 130 | Lila Fraser Erasmus 117 | Paul Betsina 103 | Nadine Delorme 9 | | Tom Beaulieu |
| Yellowknife Centre | Julie Green 291 | Arlene Hache 260 | Niels Konge 185 | Thom Jarvis 103 | | | Julie Green |
| Yellowknife North | Rylund Johnson 501 | Cory Vanthuyne 496 | Jan Vallillee 380 | | | | Cory Vanthuyne |
| Yellowknife South | Caroline Wawzonek 687 | Gaeleen Macpherson 299 | | | | | Bob McLeod |