Yukon Party
Encyclopedia
The Yukon Party is a conservative
political party in the Yukon
Territory of Canada
. It was previously known as the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party
.
Brian Mulroney
's Progressive Conservative
federal government's increasing unpopularity, the Yukon Progressive Conservatives decided to sever their relations with the federal Conservatives, and renamed themselves the "Yukon Party" prior to the 1992 election
.
However, two Progressive Conservative MLAs, Bea Firth
and Alan Nordling
, quit the party in protest and subsequently sat as independent MLAs until 1996. Nordling later returned to the fold, being defeated as a Yukon Party candidate in the 1996 election
, while Firth retired from politics.
After seven years in power, the NDP was defeated in 1992 and the Yukon Party's John Ostashek
became Premier
of Yukon. His government became very unpopular by increasing taxes and cutting services. Ostashek was voted out of office in 1996 after only one term. The Yukon Party won only three seats, falling to third place for the first time behind the Yukon Liberal Party
.
vote moved to the Yukon Liberal Party, putting the Liberals in power for the first time in the territory's history.
Liberal Premier Pat Duncan's government was plagued with internal dissent, however, and despite having won an outright majority of seats in the general election, defections and resignations reduced the Liberals to a minority government
within two years. Premier Duncan called a snap election
for 4 November 2002, in an effort to regain her majority, but the early election call backfired.
The Yukon Party had elected Dennis Fentie
, a rural Member of the Yukon Legislative Assembly
(MLA), who had defected from the NDP, as its new leader in June 2002. Despite being caught by surprise by the election call, the party was able to win a majority government
with 12 seats compared to five for the NDP. The Liberals were reduced to a single seat. Fentie became the second Yukon Premier from a rural riding.
On 10 October 2006, the Yukon Party was re-elected, holding 10 seats in the Yukon Legislative Assembly
. The Yukon Liberals won five seats and the Yukon New Democrats won three.
. Darrell Pasloski
was chosen after only one ballot.
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
political party 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....
Territory of 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...
. It was previously known as the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party
Yukon Progressive Conservative Party
The Yukon Progressive Conservative Party was a conservative political party in the Yukon Territory of Canada. It is now known as the Yukon Party.-History:...
.
Declining fortunes
With Prime MinisterPrime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
's 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....
federal government's increasing unpopularity, the Yukon Progressive Conservatives decided to sever their relations with the federal Conservatives, and renamed themselves the "Yukon Party" prior to the 1992 election
Yukon general election, 1992
The 1992 Yukon general election was held on October 19, 1992 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the territory of Yukon, Canada. It was won by the Yukon Party.-Results by party:-Yukon Votes 1992:...
.
However, two Progressive Conservative MLAs, Bea Firth
Bea Firth
Beatrice Ann Firth was a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Riverdale South in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 1982 to 1996. She was a member of the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party....
and 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...
, quit the party in protest and subsequently sat as independent MLAs until 1996. Nordling later returned to the fold, being defeated as a Yukon Party candidate 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...
, while Firth retired from politics.
After seven years in power, the NDP was defeated in 1992 and the Yukon Party's John Ostashek
John Ostashek
John Ostashek was a former Yukon politician. An entrepreneur, he was elected leader of the Yukon Party in June 1992 and led it to victory in the fall 1992 election in which he also won a seat in the legislature for the first time....
became Premier
Premier (Canada)
In Canada, a premier is the head of government of a province or territory. There are currently ten provincial premiers and three territorial premiers in Canada....
of Yukon. His government became very unpopular by increasing taxes and cutting services. Ostashek was voted out of office in 1996 after only one term. The Yukon Party won only three seats, falling to third place for the first time behind 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:...
.
Since 2000
The party's fortunes continued to decline at the 2000 general election. The Yukon Party was reduced to a single seat in the legislature as the right wingRight-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
vote moved to the Yukon Liberal Party, putting the Liberals in power for the first time in the territory's history.
Liberal Premier Pat Duncan's government was plagued with internal dissent, however, and despite having won an outright majority of seats in the general election, defections and resignations reduced the Liberals to a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
within two years. Premier Duncan called a snap election
Snap election
A snap election is an election called earlier than expected. Generally it refers to an election in a parliamentary system called when not required , usually to capitalize on a unique electoral opportunity or to decide a pressing issue...
for 4 November 2002, in an effort to regain her majority, but the early election call backfired.
The Yukon Party had elected 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 rural Member of 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...
(MLA), who had defected from the NDP, as its new leader in June 2002. Despite being caught by surprise by the election call, the party was able to win a majority government
Majority government
A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
with 12 seats compared to five for the NDP. The Liberals were reduced to a single seat. Fentie became the second Yukon Premier from a rural riding.
On 10 October 2006, the Yukon Party was re-elected, holding 10 seats in 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...
. The Yukon Liberals won five seats and the Yukon New Democrats won three.
2011 leadership election
On May 28, 2011, a leadership election was held to replace Dennis FentieDennis 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:...
. Darrell Pasloski
Darrell Pasloski
Darrell Thomas Pasloski is a territorial politician from the Yukon, Canada, currently serving as leader of the Yukon Party and as Premier of Yukon.-Court case:...
was chosen after only one ballot.
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Darrell Pasloski Darrell Pasloski Darrell Thomas Pasloski is a territorial politician from the Yukon, Canada, currently serving as leader of the Yukon Party and as Premier of Yukon.-Court case:... |
767 | 61.3% |
| Rob Taylor | 436 | 34.9% |
| Jim Kenyon Jim Kenyon Jim Kenyon is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Porter Creek North in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 2002 to 2011. He is a member of the Yukon Party.... |
48 | 3.8% |
| TOTAL | 1,251 | 100.0% |
Election results
| Year | Yukon Party Leader | No. Seats | % Popular Vote | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 Yukon general election, 1992 The 1992 Yukon general election was held on October 19, 1992 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the territory of Yukon, Canada. It was won by the Yukon Party.-Results by party:-Yukon Votes 1992:... |
John Ostashek John Ostashek John Ostashek was a former Yukon politician. An entrepreneur, he was elected leader of the Yukon Party in June 1992 and led it to victory in the fall 1992 election in which he also won a seat in the legislature for the first time.... |
7 | 35.9% | Minority Government |
| 1996 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... |
John Ostashek John Ostashek John Ostashek was a former Yukon politician. An entrepreneur, he was elected leader of the Yukon Party in June 1992 and led it to victory in the fall 1992 election in which he also won a seat in the legislature for the first time.... |
3 | 30.1% | Official Opposition |
| 2000 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... |
John Ostashek John Ostashek John Ostashek was a former Yukon politician. An entrepreneur, he was elected leader of the Yukon Party in June 1992 and led it to victory in the fall 1992 election in which he also won a seat in the legislature for the first time.... |
1 | 24.3% | Third Party |
| 2002 | 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:... |
12 | 40.3% | Majority Government |
| 2006 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... |
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:... |
10 | 40.6% | Majority Government |
| 2011 | Darrell Pasloski Darrell Pasloski Darrell Thomas Pasloski is a territorial politician from the Yukon, Canada, currently serving as leader of the Yukon Party and as Premier of Yukon.-Court case:... |
11 | 40.5% | Majority Government |
Leaders
- Chris Young 1991
- John OstashekJohn OstashekJohn Ostashek was a former Yukon politician. An entrepreneur, he was elected leader of the Yukon Party in June 1992 and led it to victory in the fall 1992 election in which he also won a seat in the legislature for the first time....
1991-2000 - Peter JenkinsPeter Jenkins (politician)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....
2000-2002 - Dennis FentieDennis FentieDennis 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:...
2002-2011 - Darrell PasloskiDarrell PasloskiDarrell Thomas Pasloski is a territorial politician from the Yukon, Canada, currently serving as leader of the Yukon Party and as Premier of Yukon.-Court case:...
2011-present
See also
- List of premiers of Yukon
- List of Yukon Leaders of Opposition
- Yukon Progressive Conservative PartyYukon Progressive Conservative PartyThe Yukon Progressive Conservative Party was a conservative political party in the Yukon Territory of Canada. It is now known as the Yukon Party.-History:...