# 2021 Yukon general election

The 2021 Yukon general election was held on April 12, 2021, to return members of the 35th Yukon Legislative Assembly. The election resulted in a hung parliament where the incumbent governing Yukon Liberal Party and the opposition Yukon Party won 8 seats each, while the Yukon New Democratic Party held the remaining 3. As the incumbent party given the first opportunity to form government, a Liberal minority government was sworn in on April 23, 2021. The Liberals and NDP announced the establishment of a formal confidence and supply agreement on April 28, 2021.
During the 2016 election, the Liberals included a commitment in their platform to introduce fixed election dates in the territory. In October 2020, the government introduced legislation to amend the Elections Act and create fixed election dates. The legislation passed in December 2020, and took effect after the 2021 election.
Voter turnout dropped almost twelve percentage points compared to 2016, caused to an extent by the introduction of a standing List of Electors, resulting in a higher percentage of Yukoners being registered. More votes were cast than in 2016, in part due to the territory's strong population growth since the last election.

## Results

The final seat standing for the election was only resolved on April 19, 2021, because of a 78–78 vote tie in the Vuntut Gwitchin riding, the territory's smallest by population. After the tie was upheld by a judicial recount, drawing of lots gave the seat to the NDP's Annie Blake, denying the Yukon Liberals a one-seat plurality over the Yukon Party.
Summary of the 2021 Legislative Assembly of Yukon election results :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | Seats | Seats | Seats |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | +/– | 2016 | Dissolution | Elected | Change |
| | Yukon Party | 7,477 | 39.32 | +5.84 | 6 | 6 | 8 | +2 |
| | Liberal | 6,155 | 32.37 | -7.04 | 11 | 10 | 8 | -3 |
| | New Democratic | 5,356 | 28.17 | +1.94 | 2 | 2 | 3 | +1 |
| | Independents | 26 | 0.14 | -0.06 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ±0 |
| Total | Total | 19,014 | 100.00 | – | 19 | 19 | 19 | 0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 19,014 | 99.56 | | | | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 84 | 0.44 | | | | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 19,098 | 100.00 | | | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 29,637 | 64.44 | | | | | |
Popular vote
Yukon
39.32%
Liberal
32.37%
New Democratic
28.17%
Independent
0.14% :
Seats summary
Yukon Party
42.11%
Liberal
42.11%
New Democratic
15.78% :

## Results by Riding

Each candidate stands in a single electoral district.
Bold indicates party leaders and cabinet members are italicized † - denotes a retiring incumbent MLA

### Rural Yukon

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | Liberal | Liberal | Yukon | Yukon | NDP | NDP | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Klondike | | Sandy Silver 526 (47.2%) | | Charlie Dagostin 364 (32.7%) | | Chris Clarke 224 (20.1%) | Sandy Silver |
| Kluane | | Luke Campbell 219 (28.0%) | | Wade Istchenko 352 (45.0%) | | Dave Weir 211 (27.0%) | Wade Istchenko |
| Lake Laberge | | Tracey Jacobs 229 (17.8%) | | Brad Cathers 799 (62.1%) | | Ian Angus 259 (20.1%) | Brad Cathers |
| Mayo-Tatchun | | Jeremy Harper 238 (37.7%) | | Peter Grundmanis 186 (29.4%) | | Patty Wallingham 208 (32.9%) | Don Hutton† |
| Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes | | John Streicker 446 (39.0%) | | Eric Schroff 406 (35.5%) | | Erik Pinkerton 292 (25.5%) | John Streicker |
| Pelly-Nisutlin | | Katherine Alexander 97 (13.6%) | | Stacey Hassard 362 (50.8%) | | George Bahm 254 (35.6%) | Stacey Hassard |
| Vuntut Gwitchin | | Pauline Frost 78 (50.0%) | | | | Annie Blake 78 (50.0%) | Pauline Frost |
| Watson Lake | | Amanda Brown 237 (43.1%) | | Patti McLeod 313 (56.9%) | | | Patti McLeod |
In Vuntut Gwitchin, both candidates each received 78 votes, resulting in a tie. A judicial recount took place and there remained a tie vote. Therefore, a random draw determined that Annie Blake would fill the seat.

### Whitehorse

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | Liberal | Liberal | Yukon | Yukon | NDP | NDP | Other | Other | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Copperbelt North | | Ted Adel 346 (25.1%) | | Currie Dixon 717 (51.9%) | | Saba Javed 318 (23.0%) | | | Ted Adel |
| Copperbelt South | | Sheila Robertson 259 (20.3%) | | Scott Kent 726 (57.0%) | | Kaori Torigai 289 (22.7%) | | | Scott Kent |
| Mountainview | | Jeanie McLean 402 (38.2%) | | Ray Sydney 268 (25.5%) | | Michelle Friesen 356 (33.8%) | | Coach Jan Prieditis 26 (2.5%) | Jeanie McLean |
| Porter Creek Centre | | Paolo Gallina 646 (38.4%) | | Yvonne Clarke 704 (41.8%) | | Shonagh McCrindle 334 (19.8%) | | | Paolo Gallina |
| Porter Creek North | | Staci McIntosh 331 (28.9%) | | Geraldine Van Bibber 562 (49.2%) | | Francis van Kessel 250 (21.9%) | | | Geraldine Van Bibber |
| Porter Creek South | | Ranj Pillai 309 (47.2%) | | Chad Sjodin 262 (40.0%) | | Colette Acheson 84 (12.8%) | | | Ranj Pillai |
| Riverdale North | | Nils Clarke 469 (41.7%) | | Cory Adams 280 (24.9%) | | Vanessa Thorson 375 (33.4%) | | | Nils Clarke |
| Riverdale South | | Tracy-Anne McPhee 415 (39.3%) | | Cynthia Lyslo 307 (29.1%) | | Jason Cook 334 (31.6%) | | | Tracy-Anne McPhee |
| Takhini-Kopper King | | Raj Murugaiyan 198 (16.4%) | | Morgan Yuill 244 (20.3%) | | Kate White 763 (63.3%) | | | Kate White |
| Whitehorse Centre | | Dan Curtis 312 (29.5%) | | Eileen Melnychuk 249 (23.5%) | | Emily Tredger 498 (47.0%) | | | Liz Hanson† |
| Whitehorse West | | Richard Mostyn 398 (39.7%) | | Angela Drainville 376 (37.5%) | | Ron Davis 229 (22.8%) | | | Richard Mostyn |
The Yukon Green Party did not run any candidates in the election; as a result, the party has been deregistered by Elections Yukon.

### Incumbent MLAs who were defeated

| Party | Name | Constituency | Year elected | Seat held by party since | Defeated by | Party |
| Liberal | Ted Adel | Copperbelt North | 2016 | 2016 | Currie Dixon | Yukon |
| Liberal | Paolo Gallina | Porter Creek Centre | 2016 | 2016 | Yvonne Clarke | Yukon |
| Liberal | Pauline Frost | Vuntut Gwitchin | 2016 | 2016 | Annie Blake | NDP |

## Opinion polls

| Polling firm | Last date of polling | Link | Liberal | Yukon | NDP | Green | Other | Margin of error | Sample size | Polling method | Lead |
| Léger | February 7, 2021 | HTML | 31 | 32 | 33 | - | 4 | | 600 | phone | 1 |
| DataPath Systems | December 20, 2017 | HTML | 47 | 36 | 11 | 5 | 1 | ±4.8 pp | 424 | online | 11 |
| Election 2016 | November 7, 2016 | PDF | 39.4 | 33.4 | 26.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | | | | 6 |

## Aftermath

The election resulted in a hung parliament, with no party winning the requisite 10 seats to form a majority in the legislature. The Yukon Party and the Liberals, with 8 seats each, entered discussions with the NDP to determine support for a minority government. The Liberals, as the incumbent governing party, were given the opportunity to continue as government and test the confidence of the legislature. The Yukon Party publicly stated that they were not included in any talks to form a coalition government or provide other support to the Liberals, while the NDP did not indicate the content of their leader's discussion with the Liberals. On April 28, 2021, the Liberals and NDP announced a formal confidence and supply agreement to allow the Liberals to form a minority government.
Following the tie vote in Vuntut Gwitchin, which declared NDP candidate Annie Blake as the winner following the drawing of lots, outgoing Liberal MLA Pauline Frost filed a legal challenge challenging the results; Frost initially claimed that two votes had been counted from the district that "should not have been cast." Only one vote was actually formally challenged by Frost in court, on the grounds that as a prisoner in the Whitehorse Correctional Centre the voter should have registered to vote in Whitehorse rather than his home community; the challenge was rejected by Suzanne Duncan of the Supreme Court of Yukon in August, affirming Blake's victory.