Ted Staffen is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician, who represented the

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Riverdale North Riverdale North is an electoral district which elects a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of the Yukon Territory in Canada. Along with Riverdale South, it makes up the subdivision of Whitehorse of Riverdale ...

in the

Yukon Legislative Assembly The Yukon Legislative Assembly () is the legislative assembly for Yukon, Canada. Unique among Canada's three territories, the Yukon Legislative Assembly is the only territorial legislature which is organized along political party lines. In contr ...

as a member of the

Yukon Party The Yukon Party, formerly the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party, is a conservative political party in Yukon, Canada. History The Yukon Progressive Conservative Party was founded in April 1978. Long time Yukon legislator Hilda Watson was ...

from 2002 to 2011. He served as the 9th

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and terr ...

from 2003 to 2011.

Early life

Staffen holds a bachelor's degree in political science from

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

, where he studied the political evolution of the Yukon. Staffen has worked in the private sector as an entrepreneur, a natural resources consultant, and in risk capital. He also served on the Board of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce. Prior to entering politics, Staffen worked in the Yukon,

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, and the

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 ...

. He is a former researcher for the Yukon Legislative Assembly and senior political advisor for the Yukon Government Cabinet Offices.

Political career

Staffen entered territorial politics in the 2002 Yukon election, recapturing the

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

riding of

from Yukon Liberal incumbent and Cabinet minister Dale Eftoda. The Liberals had seized the

stronghold for the first time in the 2000 election. Staffen was elected as part of a Yukon Party majority government on November 4, 2002. He was re-elected in Riverdale North in the 2006 Yukon general election. Staffen was sworn in as the Speaker of the 31st Yukon Legislative Assembly on February 27, 2003. He was re-elected Speaker for the 32nd Assembly on November 23, 2006. As Speaker, Staffen was credited with improving some of the decorum in the legislative assembly over his tenure, as well as restoring the dormant youth legislature program. Staffen announced his plans to retire from politics in June 2011, expressing a desire to return to the private sector.

Personal life

In 2012, Staffen was appointed director of regional affairs for federal Cabinet minister Leona Aglukkaq in her capacity as minister responsible for the Canadian North and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. His political position was responsible for assisting the coordination of federal and territorial political operations. His appointment was not renewed when the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

government (and Leona Aglukkaq) were defeated in the 2015 federal election.Staffen: the Yukon’s new Conservative wrangler
''Yukon News'' (Genesee Keevil), February 24, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2017. Staffen has lived in the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

since 1969. He resides in

with his wife Susan, with whom he has two grown children, Jess and Bailey.

Electoral record

2006 general election

, - , Liberal , Lesley Cabott , align="right", 373 , align="right", 38.3% , align="right", +3.6% , NDP , James McCullough , align="right", 172 , align="right", 17.6% , align="right", -4.2% , - !align=left colspan=3, Total !align= 974 !align= 100.0% !align= –

2002 general election

, - , Liberal , Dale Eftoda , align="right", 355 , align="right", 34.7% , align="right", -18.2% , NDP , Jan Slipetz , align="right", 223 , align="right", 21.8% , align="right", -5.3% , - !align=left colspan=3, Total !align= 1,024 !align= 100.0% !align= –

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staffen, Ted Yukon Party MLAs Living people Speakers of the Yukon Legislative Assembly Politicians from Whitehorse 21st-century members of the Yukon Legislative Assembly Year of birth missing (living people)