Peter Jenkins (politician)
Encyclopedia
Peter Jenkins is a Canadian
politician
. Formerly deputy premier and health minister in the territorial government of the Yukon
, he is currently serving as mayor of Dawson City.
Jenkins, a hotelier, first ran for the territorial legislature in 1989 but lost to NDP cabinet minister Art Webster
. In that vote, Jenkins' campaign manager was future Liberal Premier Pat Duncan
.
Prior to entering provincial politics, he served as mayor of Dawson City from 1980 to 1994, earning the nickname "Pirate Pete" after he registered for satellite television
service under the name of a dead local pioneer and then redistributed the television signals to residents of Dawson City for free.
Jenkins was first elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly
in the 1996 election
in Klondike
for the Yukon Party
. He defended his seat in the 2000 election
, the only Yukon Party member to do so. He assumed the leadership of the party after the election. He held the position as sole MLA and leader until May and June 2002, when Dennis Fentie
crossed the floor from the NDP and won the leadership party's leadership, defeating Jenkins and former party president Darcy Tkachuk on the first ballot.
He defended his seat successfully in the 2002 general election and was sworn into cabinet in November, serving as Health Minister and Deputy Premier until November 28, 2005 when he resigned from the party and cabinet. Jenkins said this was because "the heart and soul of my community has been ripped out by the inefficiences of government at the municipal level, the territorial level." Fentie told the press at the time it was due to the ongoing loans file, which involved Jenkins owing $300,000 to the territorial government he was a part of. This eventually was cleared off the books in March 2006.
Jenkins sat as an Independent
MLA in the Assembly until dissolution, and chose not to run in the 2006 general election
. Jenkins later ran for another term as mayor of Dawson City in the 2009 municipal election, defeating incumbent John Steins by seven votes.
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...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. Formerly deputy premier and health minister in the territorial government of 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....
, he is currently serving as mayor of Dawson City.
Jenkins, a hotelier, first ran for the territorial legislature in 1989 but lost to NDP cabinet minister Art Webster
Art Webster
Art Webster is a former Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Klondike in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 1985 to 1992. He was a member of the Yukon New Democratic Party....
. In that vote, Jenkins' campaign manager was future Liberal Premier Pat Duncan
Pat Duncan
Pat Duncan is a former politician in the Yukon, Canada. Duncan served as leader of the Yukon Liberal Party from 1998 to 2005 and as the sixth Premier of Yukon from 2000 until 2002...
.
Prior to entering provincial politics, he served as mayor of Dawson City from 1980 to 1994, earning the nickname "Pirate Pete" after he registered for satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
service under the name of a dead local pioneer and then redistributed the television signals to residents of Dawson City for free.
Jenkins was first elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly
Yukon Legislative Assembly
-History:From 1900 to 1978, the elected legislative body in the Yukon was the Yukon Territorial Council, a ten-member body which did not act as the primary government, but was a non-partisan advisory body to the Commissioner of the Yukon...
in the 1996 election
Yukon general election, 1996
The 1996 Yukon general election was held on September 30, 1996 to elect the seventeen members of the Yukon Legislative Assembly in Yukon Territory, Canada. The governing Yukon Party, a conservative party, was defeated by the social democratic Yukon New Democratic Party . The NDP formed the...
in Klondike
Klondike (electoral district)
Klondike is an electoral district which returns a member to the Legislative Assembly of Yukon in Canada. It was the only seat won by the Yukon Party in the 2000 territorial election...
for the 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:...
. He defended his seat in the 2000 election
Yukon general election, 2000
The Yukon general election of 2000 was held on April 17, 2000 to elect members of the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the Yukon Territory in Canada...
, the only Yukon Party member to do so. He assumed the leadership of the party after the election. He held the position as sole MLA and leader until May and June 2002, when 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:...
crossed the floor from the NDP and won the leadership party's leadership, defeating Jenkins and former party president Darcy Tkachuk on the first ballot.
He defended his seat successfully in the 2002 general election and was sworn into cabinet in November, serving as Health Minister and Deputy Premier until November 28, 2005 when he resigned from the party and cabinet. Jenkins said this was because "the heart and soul of my community has been ripped out by the inefficiences of government at the municipal level, the territorial level." Fentie told the press at the time it was due to the ongoing loans file, which involved Jenkins owing $300,000 to the territorial government he was a part of. This eventually was cleared off the books in March 2006.
Jenkins sat as an Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
MLA in the Assembly until dissolution, and chose not to run in the 2006 general election
Yukon general election, 2006
The 36th Yukon general election was held on October 10, 2006, in Yukon, Canada, to elect members of the Yukon Legislative Assembly. The Premier of Yukon asked the territorial Commissioner for a dissolution of the Assembly on September 8, 2006...
. Jenkins later ran for another term as mayor of Dawson City in the 2009 municipal election, defeating incumbent John Steins by seven votes.