Elizabeth Hanson (born 1951), also known as Liz Hanson, is a Canadian politician from the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

. She was the leader of the

Yukon New Democratic Party The Yukon New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique du Yukon) 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 P ...

from 2009 until 2019, and represented the electoral district of

Whitehorse Centre Whitehorse Centre is an electoral district (Canada), electoral district which returns a member (known as an MLA) to the Yukon Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly of the Yukon in Canada. It was created in 1992 from an amalgamation of the rid ...

in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 2010 to 2021. On November 22, 2018, Hanson announced her intent to resign as leader of the Yukon NDP.

Early life

Prior to attending university, Hanson's resume included involvement with high school student council, youth groups and community social action/justice movements including organizing committee(s) Miles for Millions, Arusha Cross Cultural Centre. Hanson attended the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

and obtained degrees in political science and social work. After graduating university, Hanson took a job as a social worker in Souris,

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. In Yukon, Hanson first worked as a regional social worker for the Department of Indian and Inuit Affairs, with a region that spanned from Old Crow, Yukon to Good Hope Lake,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

. She subsequently worked for INAC in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "Hub City," which was ...

, British Columbia and in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

, returning to Yukon in 1989 to lead a federal self-government negotiations team. She served as Yukon director of land claims and Indian government for the federal government until 2003, when she became the regional director general of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada in the Yukon, charged with reorganizing the department's regional presence to reflect the federal presence "post land claims and devolution". She retired from this position in 2007. Hanson and her family completed a federal interchange to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, with the Aboriginal and Torres Islander Commission. She owns a property at Crag Lake, Yukon

Political career

After her retirement from INAC, Hanson became actively involved with the

and became president of the party. On September 26, 2009, Hanson was acclaimed as leader of the Yukon NDP, following the resignation of previous leader Todd Hardy, who had resigned due to an ongoing struggle with leukemia. Following Hardy's death on July 28, 2010, Hanson won the resulting

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...

on December 13, 2010 in

by a large margin. She retained her seat comfortably in the 2011 election, leading the Yukon New Democrats from third party status to Official Opposition, with six of the legislature's 19 seats. During both the 32nd and 33rd Legislative Assemblies, Hanson served on the Members’ Services Board and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. She Chaired the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in the 33rd Legislative Assembly (2011-2016). Hanson sought re-election again in 2016 election, and although she was narrowly successful in her own riding, Hanson's party lost four of its six seats to the Yukon Liberals and was reduced to third party status - it was also the Yukon New Democrat's worst electoral showing since 1978. The Yukon Liberals, formerly the Third Party, formed a majority government. Hanson has stayed on as New Democrat leader since the election. She is currently a member of the Members' Services Board, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, and the Standing Committee on Rules, Elections and Privileges. Additionally, she serves as the New Democrat caucus critic for the Department of Finance, the Executive Council Office, the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Justice, the Department of Highways and Public Works, the Public Service Commission, the Department of Tourism and Culture, the Yukon Workers Compensation Health and Safety Board, and the Yukon Liquor Corporation. Hanson announced her intent to resign as leader of the Yukon New Democrats in November 2018, though she remained as MLA for Whitehorse Centre. A leadership convention to replace her on May 4, 2019 selected Kate White as the next leader of the Yukon NDP. Hanson endorsed Ontario

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

Charlie Angus Charles Joseph Angus (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian author, journalist, broadcaster, musician and politician. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Angus has been the federal Member of Parliament for the riding of Timmins—Ja ...

for leader of the federal

New Democrats New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

in the race to replace outgoing leader

Thomas Mulcair Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) Thomas is a male given name of Aramaic origins. The English spelling "Thomas" is a transliteration; through Latin "Thomas", of the approximate Greek translite ...

. Hanson cited Angus' "commitment to reconciliation, and understanding economic inequalities that are only amplified in the North", in addition to their history of collaboration, as reasons for her endorsement.Niki Ashton gains support of Manitoba NDP leader, Charlie Angus woos Yukon leader
''The Hill Times'' (Chelsea Nash), May 10, 2017. Access May 10, 2017. Angus ultimately lost to Ontario MPP

Jagmeet Singh Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal ( ; born January 2, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) since 2017. Singh has sat as the member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby South since 2019.

Electoral record

2016 general election

, - , NDP , Liz Hanson , align="right", 487 , align="right", 43.8% , align="right", -18.3% , Liberal , Tamara Goeppel , align="right", 432 , align="right", 38.9% , align="right", +23.6% , - , - ! align=left colspan=3, Total ! align= 1,112 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

2011 general election

, - , NDP , Liz Hanson , align="right", 525 , align="right", 62.1% , align="right", +9.6% , - , - , Liberal , Patrick Singh , align="right", 104 , align="right", 12.3% , align="right", -13.9% , - ! align=left colspan=3, Total ! align= 846 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

2010 by-election

, NDP , Liz Hanson , align="right", 356 , align="right", 51.6% , align="right", +5.0% , - , Liberal , Kirk Cameron , align="right", 181 , align="right", 26.2% , align="right", -1.3% , - , - ! align=left colspan=3, Total ! align= 690 ! align= 100.0% ! align= – *''Held upon the death of Todd Hardy, July 28, 2010.''

References

External links

Yukon NDP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Elizabeth 1957 births Female Canadian political party leaders Living people Politicians from Whitehorse Politicians from Edmonton Yukon New Democratic Party leaders Yukon New Democratic Party MLAs Women MLAs in Yukon 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians