Former journalist turned federal manager Matthew Spence says he’s joining the list of people hoping to become the next MLA for Yellowknife Centre.
Ambe Chenemu and Robert Hawkins have already announced they plan to run in the same district in November’s territorial election.
The incumbent is health minister Julie Green.
Spence says he grew up “at Giant Mine,” on Yellowknife’s doorstep, before reporting for Nunavut’s Nunatsiaq News and serving as an Iqaluit city councillor in the 1990s.
Returning to Yellowknife in 2001, he now works as the regional director-general for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (from which he has taken leave to run for office).
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“The North is a costly place to live and the housing shortage, waits in accessing health services, reduced investment in mining, the recent evacuation, and a shortage in labour are exacerbating the issue for residents and businesses,” Spence was quoted as saying in a press release announcing his plan to run.
“To prosper in the North, we need capable, healthy people that have the right supports and feel represented by their leadership.”
Spence said his “proven leadership [and] established relationships with various Indigenous groups and all levels of government” would be advantages if he became an MLA.
Election day is now November 14, having been pushed back by six weeks to allow for the time many communities spent under evacuation orders.
The election period formally begins on October 16, at which point people intending to run can file their papers and make their campaign official.
