Wade Istchenko 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 was elected to 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 ...

in the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and 2021 elections. A former cabinet minister, he currently represents the rural Yukon district of Kluane as a member of the opposition

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 ...

caucus.

Political career

33rd Assembly

Istchenko was elected in November 2011 as a member of the

caucus in the rural Yukon riding of Kluane. The riding had been held since 1996 by long-time

New Democrat New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United States H ...

-turned- Liberal Gary McRobb, who had retired that year. Istchenko was sworn in as a member of the Executive Council (Cabinet) of

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 ...

Darrell Pasloski on November 5, 2011, and served as Minister of Highways and Public Works until being appointed Minister of Environment in January 2015. During the 33rd Legislative Assembly, he also served as a member of the Standing Committee on Statutory Instruments. Shortly before being sworn into Cabinet, Istchenko made headlines when he admitted to falsifying documents in 2008 to obtain a wilderness tourism operator permit. He apologized, and cited the incident as a lapse in judgment and admitted to paying a fine. Istchenko once again drew controversy in 2015, this time after a photo emerged of him drinking a beer while in the driver's seat of a parked all-terrain vehicle. He later apologized for the incident.

34th Assembly

Istchenko was re-elected in the 2016 Yukon election for the district of Kluane, defeating former Kluane First Nation chief and Liberal candidate Mathieya Alatini. The

was defeated by the Yukon Liberal Party in that election, however, so Istchenko returned to the legislature as a member of the Opposition. He is currently the Yukon Party caucus critic for the Department of Environment, the Yukon Housing Corporation, the Yukon Liquor Corporation (including the Yukon Lottery Commission), the Yukon Energy Corporation and the Yukon Development Corporation. He is also a member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

35th Assembly

As of September 29, 2024, Istchenko serves as the Official Opposition critic for Environment and Rural Services.

Personal life

Istchenko was born in

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 ...

and raised in Haines Junction, where he currently lives. He is a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, which he joined in 1984, and served with

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in Germany. He continues to be active in the

Canadian Rangers The Canadian Rangers () are a sub-component of the Canadian Army Reserve under Canadian Armed Forces reserves that provides a limited military presence in regions of Canada where stationing conventional Army units would not be practical or eco ...

as a Ranger Sergeant. Prior to entering the politics, Istchenko ran an outdoor adventure company, Kluane Ridin' Adventure Tours. He also served on the Kluane Park Management Board. Istchenko is the grandson of Hilda Watson, former MLA for the same electoral district of Kluane, and the first woman to lead a political party in Canada.Wade Istchenko
Yukon Party Caucus. Retrieved March 13, 2017.

Electoral record

2021 general election

2016 general election

, - , Liberal , Mathieya Alatini , align="right", 289 , align="right", 37.1% , align="right", +8.1% , NDP , Sally Wright , align="right", 153 , align="right", 19.2% , align="right", -9.8% , - ! align=left colspan=3, Total ! align= 780 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

2011 general election

, - , NDP , Eric Stinson , align="right", 220 , align="right", 29.0% , align="right", +15.2% , Liberal , Timothy Cant , align="right", 219 , align="right", 28.9% , align="right", -24.4% , - ! align=left colspan=3, Total ! align= 759 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Istchenko, Wade Yukon Party MLAs Living people 21st-century members of the Yukon Legislative Assembly Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Executive Council of Yukon Businesspeople from Yukon