List of Northwest Territories general elections

Categories: Canada-related lists | Northwest Territories | Northwest Territories elections | Politics of the Northwest Territories

This is a list of territorial elections in Northwest Territories, Canada since 1870. The Northwest Territories operates on a consensus government using the First Past the Post electoral system. The territory does not presently recognize political parties.

Contents 1 Voting and consensus government 2 History 3 Elections and Appointed Councils 4 Notes 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

Voting and consensus government

Northwest Territories elects members to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories under a non-partisan system known as consensus government. The election only decides who represents each district. The newly elected members of the assembly convine after the election to vote amongst themselves to decide which members become part of the Executive Council.^† This system of government has evolved in the Northwest Territories since 1870.

The voting method to elect members is the First Past the Post electoral system. Voters under this system pick the top candidate by the number of votes cast regardless of the percent of votes earned by a candidate. With a few historical exceptions all electoal districts in the Northwest Territories are represented by a single member. First Past the Post has been used since the first election in 1881. Elections NWT is the independent regulatory body in charge of overseeing elections.

History

The Northwest Territories has been through a number of distinct changes in how the territory is governed and how government has been selected. These changes have coincided with several major boundary changes since the Government of Canada acquired the territory in 1870.^† From 1869 to 1876 the Northwest Territories was run by an interim government, first led by lieutenant-governor William McDougall, and a council appointed by Ottawa. This council was governed under the Temporary Government of Rupert's Land Act, 1869 and the Manitoba Act, 1870 The council itself sat in Manitoba and was made up of Members of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly.^†

In 1876 the Temporary Council was dissolved and a new council was appointed under the Northwest Territories Act. Members could be elected to join the council if an area of 1000 square miles had 1000 inhabitants. The first such electoral district was created in 1881. According to the Act, when the council reached twenty members, it would gain control of territorial affairs from the crown. The Council achieved this requirement in 1886. The council was renamed to an assembly and was dissolved in 1888. Twelve elections to rotate and elect members to new districts were held during the period between 1876 and 1888.^†

Five general elections would occur between 1888 to 1905, as the territories underwent significant growth. After the fourth general election in 1898, the territories experienced a short lived period of partisan politics that led to the Northwest Territories Liberal-Conservative Party^† being elected in the fifth general election, in 1902, and lasted into 1905. The government in this period was made of members from the populated regions in the south. No members from the Arctic region would sit in government until 1947.^† In 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan were carved out of the Northwest Territories. As a result, the population dropped from approx 160,000 to 17,000, of which 16,000 were aboriginal and had no right to vote under Canadian law.^† The government of the Northwest Territories defaulted back to its 1870 constitutional status, and once again came under federal control. This period of the 2nd council, which governed from Ottawa, lasted from 1905 to 1951.

In 1951, the 2nd council was dissolved in order to return to elections. Rather than being fully elected body, the Councils and Assemblies were a mix of elected and appointed members. After 1975 the they became fully elected bodies. In 1999 the Northwest Territories underwent one last division as the territory of Nunavut was created out of the eastern half of the territory.

The boundary changes have resulted in a disconnect in four periods of the territorial government. The records of the temporary council falls under the archives of the Manitoba government, while the archives and electoral records of the period of government from 1876 to 1905 were retained by the Saskatchewan government. The archives of the council from 1905 to 1951 are under the Canadian Government who appointed the council from that period.

In 1870, NWT covered much of Canada. The government was in the south part of the territory. A number of boundary changes would occur over the next 35 years but have little effect on the government until 1905.

The Northwest Territories boundary change in 1905 marked a major shift in the territorial government and demographics of the remaining population.

The government evolved again under the 1912 to 1999 boundaries. The issue of splitting the territory in half surfaced in the early 1960's.

The current Northwest Territories as of 1999 was decided by a series of plebiscites and capped over a decade of consultation, committee work and land claim agreements.

Elections and Appointed Councils

Date Elections prior to 1888[1] † March 23, 1881 Lorne by-election #1 May 29, 1883 Edmonton by-election June 5, 1883 Lorne by-election #2 August 13, 1883 Moose Jaw, Regina, Qu'Appelle sub-election August 31, 1883 Broadview by-election June 28, 1884 Calgary, Moose Mountain by-election September 15, 1885 Territory wide sub-election October 14, 1886 Qu'Apelle by-election #2 July 8, 1886 Moose Mountain by-election #2 July 14, 1886 Calgary, by-election #2 May 24, 1887 Qu'Appelle by-election #3 September 5, 1887 Macleod by-election Date General elections June 30, 1888 1st Northwest Territories general election November 7, 1891 2nd Northwest Territories general election October 31, 1894 3rd Northwest Territories general election November 4, 1898 4th Northwest Territories general election May 21, 1902 5th Northwest Territories general election[2] September 17, 1951 6th Northwest Territories general election September 7, 1954 7th Northwest Territories general election August 19, 1957 8th Northwest Territories general election September 19, 1960 9th Northwest Territories general election March 31, 1964 10th Northwest Territories general election July 4, 1967 11th Northwest Territories general election December 21, 1970 12th Northwest Territories general election March 10, 1975 13th Northwest Territories general election October 1, 1979 14th Northwest Territories general election November 21, 1983 15th Northwest Territories general election October 5, 1987 16th Northwest Territories general election October 15, 1991 17th Northwest Territories general election October 16, 1995 18th Northwest Territories general election February 15, 1999 19th Northwest Territories general election November 24, 2003 20th Northwest Territories general election Next general election in 2007

Councils of the Northwest Territories Created Dissolution Council[3] 1870 1876 Temporary Council 1876 1888 1st Council 1905 1951 2nd Council Changes of seats and electoral districts Year Appointed Elected Districts 1870[4] 7 - 15[5]† 0 0 1872 11 0 0 1876 3 0 0 1878 4 0 0 1881 4 1 1 1883 5 6 6 1884 6 8 8 1885 6 13 11 1886 6 14 11 1888 3 22 19 1891 0 26 25 1894 0 29 29 1898 0 31 31 1902 0 35 35 1905 4 0 0 1921 6 0 0 1939 6 0 1 1951 5 3 3 1954 5 4 4 1967 5 7 7 1970 4 10 10 1975 0 15 15 1979 0 19 19 1983 0 22 22 1991 0 24 24 1999 0 19 19

Notes

1. ^  Please see the 1st Northwest Territories Council for election results prior to 1888
2. ^  The fifth general election was the only general election elected on party lines
3. ^  Councils listed for years prior and in between general elections. Please see List of Assemblies for other assemblies and councils.
4. ^  No members sat in Council between 1870 - 1872 and 1905 - 1921.
5. ^  Provisions existed for appointment from seven to fifteen members of the council in the Temporary Government of Rupert's Land Act.

References

• ^  Election Results and Dates 1876 - 1905 from Saskatchewan Archives
• ^  Election Results by party printed in the Calgary Herald various dates May 1902
• ^  History of Northwest Territories in Confederation
• ^  Territorial evolution in Canada
• ^  Temporary Government of Rupert's Land Act, 1869
• ^  History of the Northwest Territories from the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly
• ^  Making sense of consensus government CBC Radio clip October 22, 1985

See also

• List of Alberta general elections
• List of Saskatchewan general elections
• List of Nunavut general elections
• List of Yukon general elections
• List of Northwest Territories premiers
• List of Northwest Territories commissioners
• List of Northwest Territories lieutenant-governors
• List of Northwest Territories Legislative Assemblies
• List of Northwest Territories Plebiscites
• List of Northwest Territories capitals
• List of Northwest Territories speakers

External links

• Government of Northwest Territories
• Elections Northwest Territories
• Northwest Territories Elections Act
• Councils and Assemblies of the Northwest Territories dates and photos from 1951 to present
• Personnel of Northwest Territories Assembly 1888 - 1905

Politics of Northwest Territories	Image:NWT flag.png
Commissioner: Tony Whitford | Former commissioners | Former lieutenant-governors
Deputy Commissioner: Margaret Thom | Former Deputy Commissioners
Premier: Joe Handley | Former premiers
Executive Council (Cabinet)
Legislature: Current members | Former legislatures | Current electoral divisions
Consensus government (1870-1898) (1905-present)
Former Political parties (1898 - 1905): Liberal-Conservative | Liberals | Socialist
Elections: 2003 general election | Past elections | Plebiscites
Current issues: Devolution of provincial powers