The Hon Dennis Fentie, Premier of Yukon, yesterday called a general territorial election to be held on 10 October.  Election rumours and speculation had been in the air for months, but Mr Fentie decided to hold off until near the close of his party’s mandate.  He heads the Yukon Party, which defeated the Liberal Party in 2002 to form the government.  The New Democratic Party is the other contender in the territory.  (And, yes, the Yukon Party used to be the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party, but changed its name during the dark days when Canada’s prime minister was the infinitely unpopular Progressive Conservative Brian Mulroney.)

From yesterday’s Whitehorse Star:

In a 25-minute speech at this afternoon’s luncheon, Fentie reminded attendees, comprised mostly of MLAs, legislature employees and the business community, of the work the Yukon Party has done over its almost four-year mandate.

He highlighted the economy, the environment, a pan-northern collaborative approach, relationships with first nations, and social issues in his address.

“The Yukon Party was given a mandate to take the helm, and then steer the territory’s economy in a positive direction,” Fentie said.

Well, that’s enough partisan political nattering.  Don’t want anyone to fall asleep.

The Yukon economy is in very good shape indeed.  According to Statistics Canada’s latest Labour Force Survey results, also released yesterday (but not yet available online), Yukon’s August unemployment rate was 4.9%, well below the national rate of 6.5%.  Only three provinces now have lower unemployment than Yukon.  In 2002, the year the Yukon Party assumed power, unemployment stood at 9.3%.  Total employment has risen by about 2,000 in the past four years, and the territory’s population is up significantly as well.

In view of the favourable economic progress made under Mr Fentie’s tenure, it is understandable that the opposition Liberals will try to divert attention away from the economy.

“As premier, I would put ethics on the agenda,” [Liberal leader Arthur] Mitchell said.

He said he feels issues such as the environment, child care and education have been largely ignored over the Yukon Party’s mandate.

“We believe government should be about people and not projects,” he said.

“It’s time to elect a government that will put people first.”

Cutting unemployment almost in half sounds to me like putting people first.  But what do I know—I’m not a Liberal.

The Yukon is divided into 18 constituencies with an average of about 1,000 voters each.  However, the electorate is far from equally divided among the ridings.  Whitehorse, with over two-thirds of the territory’s population, has only nine seats, one-half of the total.  (Maps of Yukon electoral districts are posted here, and detailed Whitehorse maps here.)  Because of the small number of voters, Yukon election results are volatile.  Seats are commonly won or lost by margins of a few votes, so minuscule swings can have a huge effect on the outcome.  As well, voter turnout is high, typically well over 75%.

One sad note has already sounded in this election.  Yukon NDP leader Todd Hardy is in a Vancouver hospital receiving treatment for leukemia.  He is not pleased with the election call.

The Oct. 10 election means that Hardy, who has just completed a 28-day treatment program, will miss at least some of the campaign, though he's optimistic he'll be back in the territory before it's over.

Mr Hardy’s reaction is understandable, but the premier’s options were becoming limited.  An election call has been expected for months, and by law the date could not be set later than 4 November, four years from the previous general election.

There has been much switching of parties by MLAs in the past year.  Last November, I blogged the story on Yukon Party MLA Peter Jenkins, who quit, or was forced to quit, to sit as an independent.   You can read the tawdry details on the rest of the party-jumpers in this CBC story.

By the way, I live in Whitehorse West and my MLA is Elaine Taylor (Yukon Party).

Previous related posts: