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Northern Politics Potpourri
May 16, 2011 - 1:36pm
Tununiq MLA James Arvaluk has resigned from Nunavut's legislative assembly for health reasons.
Arvaluk notified the assembly of his resignation on Monday, officials have confirmed.
Arvaluk, 63, had a heart attack and a stroke last year and spent weeks in an Ottawa hospital before returning home to Pond Inlet, where he has been recovering since.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2011/05/16/nunavut-arvaluk-res...
Both Territories are now in election mode... as a politics junky, the Yukon interest me more... and
Yukon Votes: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/yukonvotes2011/
NWT Votes: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nwtvotes2011/
This is going to be very excititng, its a race in the Yukon as the NDP have a stellar website (days before the election it changed from a bland mostly white page to a very colourful, vivid site). The NDP moved into Second place in the last poll in August and have a very well rounded cast of candidates.
Also, the contract between the two systems will be easy to see. What are peoples thoughts on the NWT/Nunavut concensus (no parties) system vs the party system?
The high-profile election race in the Northwest Territories riding of Thebacha could end up influencing who becomes premier.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nwtvotes2011/story/2011/09/13/north-nwt-vo...
I think the Yukon NDP are really pushing this election, they are second in the last set of polls and now are brinigng out some big guns... Olivia Chow will help the YKNDP campaign! Does this mean the NDP have a serious shot at winning?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/yukonvotes2011/story/2011/09/30/yukonvotes...
This poll does not indicate support levels but it shows the NDP has some positive momentum and is doing well on the issues.
A July pre-election poll pegged support at: Yukon Party 40% NDP 35% Liberal 15% Green 7%
The NDP has been picking up a lot of positive coverage on the CBC. Sounds like the party could do well on October 11th.
George Lessard shared this article about the NWT elections on rabble last week, where he discusses the distinctive character of elections there: "Here in the NWT, when we vote, we have no firm idea who will be our premier. We cannot vote for or against any particular political philosophy or party platform. We can neither re-elect a government whose policies we support, nor oust one whose actions we reject. We can only vote for a candidate running in the particular riding in which we live. This time 'round there are 48 candidates for 19 seats, with three acclamations."
He set up this open group on facebook, to try to get discussion going across the territories.
I wonder if in the NWT even though it is officially non-partisan, unofficially there are candidates who atre known to be NDP leaning or CPC leaning etc...I wonder if Dennis Bevington ever endorses anyone?
In NWT elections, you really, really REALLY have to trust the candidates on a personal level...since, in terms of post-election policy, as Forrest Gump would say "You never know what you're gonna get". Do the Babblers who live there think the pols they have are actually deserving of this kind of faith?
So in the NWT, it looks like the political landscape today doesn't look much different than it did yesterday "All incumbents who ran for re-election won on Monday night, with the exception of former transportation minister Michael McLeod, who lost his Deh Cho seat to Michael Nadli, a former grand chief of the Dehcho First Nations from 1997 to 2003. The other four fresh faces were elected in ridings where there were no incumbents." More on CBC.
Guess what? I live in Toronto and I just got robo-called on my land line by the Yukon Party - telling me I must vote Yukon Party to stop the NDP!
The only poll that I recall had them 5 points behind the Yukon Party, with the Liberals trailing badly.
Given the importance of incumbency in remote northern areas to politics, and for the third-place NDP to be in serious contention?
Only one word for that: Wow!
The one and only poll of the Yukon election campaign was released today.
http://www.datapathsystems.net/
It is a dead heat:
NDP 35%
Yukon Party 35%
Liberals 26%
Greens 2%
First Nations 2%
Based on sample size, the margin of error is +/- 5.1%.
Interesting. Maybe Vuntut Gwitch'in will decide it again like in 1985. On second thought we better hope not, as the NDP isn't running a candidate there. I think we can probably say that the NDP will pick up a number of seats and likely displace the Liberals as official opposition, if not the Yukon Party as government (although that is still a possibility). I don't think a majority is likely in any case.
This fits an earlier poll on who was most trusted on the issues.
http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/yukonvotes2011/story/2011/09/27/yukonvo...
And according to the latest datapath poll, when asked who they would most like to see as Premier, Elizabeth Hanson was the preference for 36% of Yukoners, followed by Darrell Pasloski at 26% and Arthur Mitchell at 19%.
Numbers are smaller, but the NDP is ahead in Whitehorse, where there are 11 seats, with 37% and the Yukon Party ahead outside of Whitehorse.
So, is there anyone from Yukon on Rabble? Is there any local insight to offer?
Lewis Rifkund has been blogging on the Yukon elections, a bit: http://rabble.ca/blog/23546
Leading and elected YP 9 NDP 6 LIB 2
Upset: Lib Fairclough defeated by NDP
ETA: Jim Tredger victorious
NDP: Kevin Barr, Lois Moorcroft, Jan Stick, Liz Hanson elected
YP 11 NDP 6 Lib 2
CBC: A gay NDPer (one of the first gay marriages in the province) almost defeated YP leader Pasloski
Likely recount in Lois Moorcroft's riding. Liberal leader Mitchell defeated in Whitehorse.
CBC projects YP government.
CBC projects YP majority government
Strong representation of NDP women among the potentially elected (Kate White leading)
Ridiculously slow results.
Liberal leader Mitchell resigns
Jim Tredger was elected in Mayo Tatchun, and Kate White is still ahead in Takhini-Kopper King.
The CBC's interactive map is all wonky, but near as I can tell the numbers are YP 11, NDP 6, LIB 2 (including a 3-vote squeaker for the NDP in Copperbelt South).
Must be the cold
Anybody know why the NDP did not run a candidate in Vuntut Gwitchin (Old Crow)? IIRC the NDP has held the seat in the not too distant past. This must be the smallest population riding anywhere in Canada - the Liberals won 93-52!
Kate White elected handily in Takhini-Kopper King. So the results seem to be final except for "Landslide Lois" facing a recount. Not quite the closest in Yukon history, as I can remember a tie and a two vote margin.