Pat Duncan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Pat Duncan is a former politician in the Yukon

Yukon

Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Duncan served as leader of the Yukon Liberal Party

Yukon Liberal Party

The Yukon Liberal Party is a political party in the Yukon Territory in Canada.Arthur Mitchell is the Leader of the Yukon Liberal Party.-History:...

from 1998 to 2005 and as the sixth Premier of Yukon

Premier of Yukon

The Premier of Yukon is the first minister for the Canadian territory of Yukon. They are the territory's head of government and de facto chief executive, although their powers are considerably smaller than that of a provincial premier.From 1978 to 1990 and from 1992 to 1996, the term Government...

from 2000 until 2002. Duncan was the first Liberal premier of the Yukon and the first female premier in the Yukon, and only the second woman in Canadian history to win the premiership of a province or territory through a general election.

Life before politics

Duncan was born in Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

in 1960, and moved with her family to Whitehorse

Whitehorse, Yukon

Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in...

, Yukon in 1964. She graduated from the University of Ottawa

University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...

with a Bachelor of Arts in political science.

Professional background

Prior to entering politics, Duncan was a small business owner. She also served as executive director of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce. In the mid-1980s, Duncan served as a special assistant to Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

Deputy Prime Minister Erik Nielsen

Erik Nielsen

Erik Hersholt Nielsen, PC, DFC, QC was a Canadian politician, and longtime Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Yukon....

. Duncan remained in this position until Nielsen's retirement in 1987.

Yukon politics

Duncan was first elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the 1996 general election. Duncan was elected as a Liberal to represent the Porter Creek South riding, a riding located in Whitehorse

Whitehorse, Yukon

. In the 1996 general election, Piers McDonald

Piers McDonald

Piers McDonald, OC is a Yukon politician and trade unionist.Born in Kingston, Ontario, McDonald, a miner by profession, was vice-president of the Yukon Federation of Labour from 1981-1982...

(New Democratic Party

Yukon New Democratic Party

The Yukon New Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in the Yukon territory of Canada.The Yukon NDP first formed the government of the territory under the leadership of Tony Penikett from 1985 to 1992, and under the leadership of Piers McDonald from 1996 to 2000. The party's...

) won a majority government. Duncan was one of three Liberals elected. Liberal leader at the time, Ken Taylor, was unsuccessful in winning his Mount Lorne riding.

In 1998, Duncan was elected leader of the Yukon Liberal Party

Yukon Liberal Party

The Yukon Liberal Party is a political party in the Yukon Territory in Canada.Arthur Mitchell is the Leader of the Yukon Liberal Party.-History:...

. From 1998-2000, Duncan served as the Leader of the Official Opposition in the legislature. In the 2000 general election Duncan lead the Yukon Liberal Party to a majority government, defeating New Democratic incumbent Piers McDonald

Piers McDonald

Piers McDonald, OC is a Yukon politician and trade unionist.Born in Kingston, Ontario, McDonald, a miner by profession, was vice-president of the Yukon Federation of Labour from 1981-1982...

. The Liberals were elected in 10 ridings and received 42.7% of the popular vote. Early in 2002, the Liberal majority was reduced to a minority after the defection of three Liberal MLAs, Mike McLarnon

Mike McLarnon

Mike McLarnon is a lifelong Yukoner and former Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Whitehorse Centre in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2002....

, Don Roberts

Don Roberts (politician)

Don Roberts is a former Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Porter Creek North in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2002....

and Wayne Jim

Wayne Jim

Wayne Jim is a former Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of McIntyre-Takhini in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2002....

. The catalyst for the defections was reported to be Duncan's allegedly heavy-handed and secretive leadership style.

On October 4, 2002, only two years into Duncan's five year term, she called a general election for November 4, 2002. The rationale for the election was to achieve certainty in the legislature, however many Yukoners were angered at the quick election. The Yukon Liberals were reduced to only one seat after the election - Duncan's own riding of Porter Creek South. Yukon Party

Yukon Party

The Yukon Party , is a conservative political party in the Yukon Territory of Canada. It was previously known as the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party.-Declining fortunes:...

leader Dennis Fentie

Dennis Fentie

Dennis G. Fentie, MLA is a Canadian politician. He was the seventh Premier of Yukon and leader of the Yukon Party, serving from 2002 to 2011, as well as the MLA for Watson Lake.-Background:...

, a former NDP MLA, lead his new party to victory. The Liberals were reduced to third party status with Duncan as the sole Liberal MLA.

At the 2005 Yukon Liberal Party

Yukon Liberal Party

The Yukon Liberal Party is a political party in the Yukon Territory in Canada.Arthur Mitchell is the Leader of the Yukon Liberal Party.-History:...

leadership convention, Duncan was defeated by Arthur Mitchell

Arthur Mitchell (politician)

Arthur Mitchell is the leader of the Yukon Liberal Party. He is a former real estate agent and an assistant to John Ostashek, the Yukon Party government leader from 1992 to 1996. He was elected leader in June 2005 in a leadership race against Pat Duncan, the Yukon's first Liberal premier...

by a margin of 357 votes to 303. Citing health concerns, she did not seek re-election in the 2006 general election.

Election results

|-

| style="width: 130px" |Liberal

Yukon Liberal Party

The Yukon Liberal Party is a political party in the Yukon Territory in Canada.Arthur Mitchell is the Leader of the Yukon Liberal Party.-History:...

Yukon Party

The Yukon Party , is a conservative political party in the Yukon Territory of Canada. It was previously known as the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party.-Declining fortunes:...

|Lynn Ogden
|align="right"|301
|align="right"|38.15
|align="right"|

|NDP

Yukon New Democratic Party

Yukon Liberal Party

The Yukon Liberal Party is a political party in the Yukon Territory in Canada.Arthur Mitchell is the Leader of the Yukon Liberal Party.-History:...

Yukon Party

The Yukon Party , is a conservative political party in the Yukon Territory of Canada. It was previously known as the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party.-Declining fortunes:...

|Larry Carlyle
|align="right"|235
|align="right"|24.87
|align="right"|

|NDP

Yukon New Democratic Party

Yukon Liberal Party

The Yukon Liberal Party is a political party in the Yukon Territory in Canada.Arthur Mitchell is the Leader of the Yukon Liberal Party.-History:...

Yukon Party

The Yukon Party , is a conservative political party in the Yukon Territory of Canada. It was previously known as the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party.-Declining fortunes:...

|Alan Nordling

Alan Nordling

Alan Nordling is a former Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Whitehorse Porter Creek West from 1985 to 1992, and Porter Creek South from 1992 to 1996, in the Yukon Legislative Assembly. He was a member of the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party.Nordling was first...

|align="right"|397
|align="right"|39.19
|align="right"|

|NDP

Yukon New Democratic Party

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