These three people want to be the NWT’s Conservative candidate

The Conservative Party in the NWT is celebrating a run-off between at least three of the territory’s residents for the role of candidate at the next federal election.

A contest involving multiple people is a significant step up from the 2021 election, when a woman who lived in Thunder Bay had to be recruited in the absence of any other interest.

Lea Mollison finished third behind Liberal winner Michael McLeod and the NDP’s Kelvin Kotchilea.

The next election must be held on or before October 20, 2025.

Former territorial politicians Wally Schumann and Jackie Jacobson are joined by Kimberly Fairman, who is currently executive director of the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research, in seeking the nomination to be the next NWT Conservative candidate.

There may be others.

Approached for a full list of nominees last week, the NWT’s Conservative electoral district association hadn’t provided details by Tuesday evening. A final list from the party’s national office is said to be likely to appear later in the week.

Schumann and Fairman told Cabin Radio they had met the April 17 deadline to file their nomination.

Jacobson announced his nomination on Facebook.

The process from here has not yet been made public by the Conservatives.

‘We need stability’

Schumann, a former NWT industry minister who lost out to Vince McKay in the battle to become Hay River South MLA last fall, said the time was right to try federal politics.

“There was always some talk about me running. Then Senator Dennis Patterson retired and I thought that was going to leave a huge void in the North for a voice in Ottawa,” Schumann told Cabin Radio.

“Him leaving really pushed me to step up and have a voice.”

Schumann says he’s a “straight shooter” as a politician who wants to see more of a focus on the North and can use his existing connections in Ottawa to make that happen.

Jacobson, who served three terms as Nunakput’s MLA including a term as speaker of the House, stepped down as an MLA last October. He has been approached for more information about his bid.

Fairman said she made the decision about a year ago to pursue federal politics. She said she had moved to Yellowknife from Inuvik in the mid-1970s and, after raising four children in the North, wants to see “things that happen in the North move toward positive change.”

“We need some stability and an ability to bring back what I experienced growing up here, which was a very positive community environment with a lot of potential for growth and a lot of opportunity that people felt in terms of living here and raising families,” she said.

Asked what makes her a conservative, Fairman said she had reached that conclusion after two decades’ experience in the federal and territorial governments, witnessing the “complex” needs of communities.

“The values that I hold around family and community, I see that sort-of reflected in the national policies and the platform of the Conservatives,” she said.

“What I like about the approach is that to me, it puts government in the right lane in terms of how we respond to issues. There isn’t an inability to take people’s concerns seriously. There’s no ideology that prevents us from listening and really understanding what it is that everyday people are struggling with – they’re worried about their kids, they’re worried about their jobs, they’re worried about their children having a future and they want to be involved in the solutions.

“I don’t think that ignoring them, as we sort-of see in the Liberal approach to things, is what individuals need. Instead, we need policies that deal with those issues. And I see that in the Conservative approach.”

Schumann described himself as a “fiscal conservative” who doesn’t believe in the Liberal approach to the economy.

The latest federal budget, he said, was an example of spending that will “drive our economy right into the ground.”

Pressed on the socially conservative aspects of his chosen party, Schumann said: “That’s the question you’ve got to ask yourself when you put your name forward to run for party politics.”

He continued: “You may not firmly believe in everything, necessarily, the party stands for but … it’s no different, I guess, than being on cabinet in the Northwest Territories. You may get outvoted in the cabinet room, but you’re still going to stand behind whatever cabinet decides. There’s going to have to be a balance there.”

Good for the party

There hasn’t been a conservative MP representing the Northwest Territories since Dave Nickerson in the late 1980s. The MPs since have been Ethel Blondin-Andrew (Liberal, 1988-2006), Dennis Bevington (NDP, 2006-2015) and McLeod.

Schumann added “the best thing” is having a run-off where more than one person wants the job of being the candidate.

“It’ll raise our platform, create more awareness and create some excitement around whoever the candidate may be to represent the Northwest Territories,” he said.

Jacobson said on Facebook he is hosting a fundraiser on Wednesday evening with Bob Zimmer, the Conservative northern affairs critic and MP for parts of Prince George, Fort St John and Fort Nelson.

Jacobson and Zimmer held a press conference together in Yellowknife in November last year to oppose the carbon tax. At the event, Zimmer called him a “carbon tax warrior” for his fierce resistance to the tax in the territorial legislature.

“What we’ve been doing here in the NWT isn’t working,” said Fairman, speaking in broader economic and environmental terms.

“From a federal perspective, the Conservatives are offering some real discussion around how to increase growth economically across the board,” she said.

“It’s complicated. People are equally concerned about the environment and that’s something we need to be able to have that discussion around. Those things aren’t exclusive.”

Correction: April 24, 2024 – 12:20 MT. This article initially stated Wally Schumann had confirmed he’s a nominee in the race. In fact, Schumann says he hasn’t yet been told his nomination was accepted.