Caroline Cochrane (formerly Caroline Cochrane-Johnson; born December 5, 1960) is a former Canadian politician, who served as the 13th

premier of the Northwest Territories The premier of the Northwest Territories is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian territory of the Northwest Territories. The premier is the territory's head of government, although the powers of the office are considerably ...

, from 2019 to 2023. She is the second female premier of the Northwest Territories after Nellie Cournoyea, who served from 1991 to 1995.

Early life and career

Cochrane was born in

Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located withi ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, in 1960 and moved with her family to

Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...

in 1963, where she grew up. She received a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University College of the Cariboo (now known as

Thompson Rivers University Thompson Rivers University (commonly referred to as TRU) is a Public university, public research university located in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. The university's name comes from the two rivers which converge in Kamloops, the North Thomp ...

or TRU) in

Kamloops, British Columbia Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the administrative centre ...

, in 1999. In 2023 Cochrane was recognized as a distinguished alumni at TRU and was awarded for her public service. She was first elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories (with Northwest hyphenated as North-West until 1906), is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a u ...

in the 2015 election, representing the electoral district of Range Lake. Prior to her election to the legislature, Cochrane was CEO of the Centre for Northern Families, a social-service agency administered by the Yellowknife Women's Society in

. In October 2019, Cochrane defeated three other candidates after three rounds of secret-ballot votes and was elected

Premier of the Northwest Territories The premier of the Northwest Territories is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian territory of the Northwest Territories. The premier is the territory's head of government, although the powers of the office are considerably ...

. Following one term as premier and two terms as MLA, Cochrane announced her retirement from politics in September 2023 and announced that she would not seek re-election in the 2023 Northwest Territories general election.https://x.com/ccochrane_nwt/status/1707515569715446171?s=46&t=9djKJBBlL73ZRHqi-HiBJQ

References

1960 births Living people Female first ministers of Canada Canadian Métis women Members of the Executive Council of the Northwest Territories People from Flin Flon Premiers of the Northwest Territories Women government ministers of Canada Women MLAs in the Northwest Territories 21st-century Canadian women politicians Female heads of government Thompson Rivers University alumni 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories {{NorthwestTerritories-politician-stub