Hay River’s RJ Simpson will be the new Northwest Territories premier after he defeated Kieron Testart in a run-off ballot.
Caroline Wawzonek was eliminated from the race in the first of two rounds of voting. The secret ballot’s final tallies were not given but the winner needed a majority among the 19 voting MLAs.
Simpson will be joined in cabinet by Wawzonek, Lesa Semmler, Caitlin Cleveland, Lucy Kuptana, Jay Macdonald and Vince McKay.
“We’re no longer in an era where the GNWT thinks it’s the boss and is doing everything,” Simpson said, briefly addressing reporters after his win. “We have to work together.”
RJ Simpson: “I want people’s lives to be noticeably better”
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The result returns the premiership to an MLA representing a community outside Yellowknife for the first time since 2011. Both Wawzonek and Testart represent Yellowknife districts.
Earlier, Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson became the NWT’s speaker-elect as he emotionally dropped out of the race to become premier.
Thompson, formerly the environment and communities minister, said he had been encouraged to become the speaker and help the new government set a more respectful tone.
More: Why Shane Thompson chose to become the speaker
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His withdrawal from the race to lead the territory left Simpson, Testart and Wawzonek in a three-way contest. Simpson, whose election received a standing ovation in the legislature, will be formally sworn in alongside cabinet on Friday.
Proceedings were broadcast live. Watch catch-up video and read text updates from the day on this page.
How it worked
Thursday’s action began at 9am with the acclamation of Thompson as speaker – he was the only candidate. In a change from 2019, clerk Glen Rutland ran the entire day’s events rather than the speaker-elect taking over. Thompson remained a voting member of caucus throughout the day.
A Q&A took place with candidates for premier throughout the morning before the secret-ballot vote.
The final act on Thursday involved selecting six cabinet members.
Cabinet follows a formula of two from north of Yellowknife, two from Yellowknife and two from south of Yellowknife, and MLAs had to abide by that when they voted.
Thirteen MLAs put their names forward. It’s easier to list those who didn’t: George Nerysoo, Julian Morse, Kate Reid and Sheryl Yakeleya.
Testart ultimately missed out on both the premiership and a cabinet place as Wawzonek and Cleveland took the two Yellowknife slots. Semmler and Kuptana were chosen from the north, with Macdonald and McKay from the south.
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Updates as they happened
Text updates appear latest-first.
Lots of experience in the new cabinet. Wawzonek and Simpson are returning ministers, Kuptana has been Tuk's SAO through significant climate crises, Semmler and Cleveland were highly regarded regular MLAs for the past four years, and both Macdonald and McKay have experience in municipal governance.
That concludes the selection process and our live coverage. Expect reaction from various quarters to today's events on our website soon.
To recap:
Speaker of the House: Shane Thompson
Premier: RJ Simpson
Cabinet: Lesa Semmler, Caitlin Cleveland, Lucy Kuptana, Jay Macdonald, Vince McKay, Caroline Wawzonek
Thanks for reading and have a lovely evening. We'll be right here to closely follow the next four years.
Your cabinet is: Lesa Semmler, Caitlin Cleveland, Lucy Kuptana, Jay Macdonald, Vince McKay, Caroline Wawzonek.
So it's taking a wee while to count these votes.
MLAs agree to abandon holding a Q&A for cabinet candidates (a small mercy) so we're straight into the voting. MLAs vote for all three regions at once – north, south and Yellowknife – and have to pick up to two candidates for each.
Here goes with the voting. We may need multiple rounds here, too.
Caroline Wawzonek says "we all have a responsibility to bring vision within our departments and vision to our responsibilities as minister," setting out why she should return to cabinet for a second term – even if not as premier. (Not sure how many people, Wawzonek included, have contemplated the possibility of Wawzonek being a regular MLA, but it's not fully out of the question.)
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Kieron Testart congratulates RJ Simpson. "I would like nothing more than to help him realize his 50-year vision for the territory," Testart says in a short speech seeking a cabinet spot, recognizing that MLAs heard plenty from him earlier.
RJ Simpson will give his first one-on-one interviews to reporters as NWT premier tomorrow afternoon, we've just been told.
Shauna Morgan, a two-term Yellowknife city councillor, also studied international development and worked for the Pembina Institute on renewable energy and climate change. She says she's a quick learner with a passion for community and the land. "I'm the one who'll spend time trying to understand the people around me and the complexity of the situations that we're facing."
One vaguely wonders how it feels to lose an election for premier and then have to sit there listening to a dozen people's 10-minute autobiographies while quietly stewing.
I'm sure they're shaking it off better than I might.
Robert Hawkins, entering his fourth term in office (but his first after eight years away), says he dreaded, as a regular MLA, the "minister of no." He pledges to MLAs that he'll work hard to listen to concerns. "I can't promise I won't say no, but I'll certainly resist it at every chance I get," he says.
