The 2007 Northwest Territories general election took place on October 1, 2007. Nineteen members were elected to the Legislative Assembly from single member districts conducted under

first-past-the-post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

voting system. The election was called on September 3, 2007, when the writ of returns was dropped by Chief Electoral Officer Saundra Arberry. This election was the first in

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

history to be conducted on a fixed election date calendar. The territory operates on a consensus government system with no

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

; the

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

is subsequently chosen by and from the

Members of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nationa ...

(MLAs).

Election campaign

The final list of candidates was released on September 7, 2007. Three incumbents were returned by

acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

. Four other high-profile incumbents were not running for re-election, including Premier Joe Handley representing

Weledeh Weledeh (or Yellowknife - Weledeh) was a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It was one of seven districts that represent Yellowknife, and included the more rural communities of Dettah ...

, cabinet minister and dean of the legislature Charles Dent representing

Frame Lake Frame Lake is located in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. It is an endorheic basin, endorheic freshwater body located between the city's downtown section and a larger residential area. The Frame Lake Trail circles it, and city hall an ...

, cabinet minister Brenden Bell and private member Bill Braden (brother of former Premier

George Braden George Braden (November 4, 1949 – May 25, 2015) was a Canadian politician from the Northwest Territories, Canada. Elected as "Government Leader", Braden would retroactively become the second premier of the Northwest Territories, after a moti ...

Premier retires

Joe Handley the 10th Premier of the Northwest Territories, announced his retirement.

Rehab

Former candidate Peter Liske withdrew his candidacy shortly before the nomination deadline closed in

. Liske's campaign came under scrutiny after he promised to enter

rehab Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation hospital, hospitals devoted to the rehabilitation of patients w ...

for

alcohol abuse Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of alcohol-related substance abuse. This spectrum can range from being mild, moderate, or severe. This can look like consumption of more than 2 drinks per day on average for men, or more than 1 drink per ...

if he was elected. His campaign promise acquired international attention after the story was picked up by

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

as part of the Headlines segment. The original news story ''Dettah chief candidates debate issues'' featured in the Headlines segment was published by the Northern News Service on August 6, 2007.

Criminal records

Four candidates who ran in 2007 have criminal records. Henry Zoe, former MLA for

North Slave The North Slave Region or ''Tłicho Region'' is one of five List of regions of the Northwest Territories, administrative regions in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the most populous of the five regions, with a population of almost 2 ...

, was twice convicted for spousal assault and

resisting arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be Interroga ...

. He resigned his seat over the latter charge in 2004. Hay River South candidate Greg McMeekin was convicted of assault, resisting arrest and making death threats; a warrant was out for his arrest for violating

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

Nahendeh NahendehConstituency map of the NWT
is a

Conflict of interest

In the electoral district of

Tu Nedhe Tu Nedhe was a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The district consists of Fort Resolution and Lutselk'e. The riding was dissolved for the 2015 election, merging with the district ...

, incumbent Bobby J. Villeneuve finished a distant fourth in a field of six candidates. He was disciplined by the Conflict of Interest commissioner in June 2007 after swearing a legal oath that he lived in

Fort Resolution Fort Resolution (''Denı́nu Kų́ę́'' (pronounced "deh-nih-noo-kwenh") "moose island place") is a hamlet in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is situated at the mouth of the Slave River, on the shores ...

, which allowed him access to a CA$25,000 a year living allowance for living accommodations in Yellowknife. The estimated cost to tax payers was $65,000. He was forced to reimburse $10,000.

Disqualification

A complaint was filed to the Chief Returning Officer Saundra Arberry over the disqualification of

candidate Noeline Villebrun. The former candidate sent her nomination paperwork and endorsement signatures by facsimile from

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, a half-hour before the nomination deadline on September 7, 2007. The returning officer from Elections NWT disqualified the paperwork on the grounds that the paperwork was not in the original ink. Villebrun's official agent filed a complaint on the basis that submitting paper work by fax is not forbidden under the ''Elections Act''. Arberry upheld the decision of the Returning Officer and advised the Villebrun campaign to seek legal counsel. Villebrun was attempting her second run at office, she last ran as a candidate in the

1999 Northwest Territories general election The 1999 Northwest Territories general election was held on December 6, 1999. This was the first election under the new boundaries that were created when Nunavut was carved out of the Northwest Territories. 19 members were elected, five fewer tha ...

in the same electoral district.

NWT Party

In past elections, political parties have appeared claiming to run slates of candidates.

Yellowknife Centre Yellowknife Centre is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is one of seven districts that represent Yellowknife. Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) Election results ...

candidate Bryan Sutherland claimed to lead the ''NWT Party'', and was the only candidate in this election representing the party in its slate. Sutherland said that whether or not he was elected he would push for the party to be formally registered. The Northwest Territories has no laws recognizing or validating any political parties operating on the territorial level. Sutherland was defeated, finishing a distant fourth in his district.

New Premier selected

On October 17, 2007

Inuvik Boot Lake Inuvik Boot Lake is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Together with Inuvik Twin Lakes, it is one of two electoral districts that represent Inuvik; both were created in 1999 from ...

MLA

Floyd Roland Floyd K. Roland (born November 23, 1961) is a politician from the Northwest Territories, Canada. He was the 11th premier of the Northwest Territories, having held office from October 17, 2007 to October 26, 2011. Previously a town councillor an ...

was elected as the eleventh Premier of the territory by the Legislative Assembly. He ran for Premier against Thebacha MLA Michael Miltenberger. After being elected Premier, Roland promised to push the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

to give the

provincial powers enjoyed by other jurisdictions.

Election summary

District and candidate results

Notes: *Candidates in bold denotes incumbents. *With the exception of Michael McLeod, Floyd Roland and Norman Yakeleya, who were all acclaimed, the results are currently unofficial.Unofficial Results from Elections NWT

References

External links

Elections NWTElection Almanac - Northwest Territories Territorial Election
{{Northwest Territories elections 2007 elections in Canada Elections in the Northwest Territories October 2007 in Canada 2007 in the Northwest Territories