Kimberly Fairman has won a contest to become the NWT’s Conservative candidate in the next federal election, unofficial results suggest.
Party members in the territory spent most of June deciding between either Fairman – who is the executive director of the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research – or Jackie Jacobson, the former Nunakput MLA.
Two party members aware of the unofficial result said Fairman had received 73 votes to Jacobson’s 67.
On Sunday, the local Conservative association – which did not confirm the provisional result – said the official outcome will only become available on Thursday, July 4.
“Both Jackie and Kimberly have the option to file an appeal and/or complaint within five days of the results, which is why we cannot publicly release any vote results yet,” wrote Jennifer Phillips, vice-president of the NWT’s Conservative electoral district association.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
Fairman has said she would fight the carbon tax and federal gun laws as an elected MP, welcome new development to strengthen the territory’s economy, and push for a mix of public and private healthcare options.
If confirmed as the winner of June’s contest, Fairman will become the territory’s Conservative candidate when the next federal election is called.
When that will be is not yet clear, though an election must take place on or before October 20, 2025.
The New Democrats have already selected Kelvin Kotchilea as their NWT candidate for the next election. Kotchilea was praised for his showing in 2021, when he earned 32 percent of the vote to winner Michael McLeod’s 38 percent. (That year, the Conservatives were represented by a woman from Thunder Bay who had never been to the territory and said not one word out loud during the campaign, leading to the party’s worst NWT result in its history.)
Liberal McLeod has been the MP for the territory since 2015. Whether he will stand again at the next election is not clear.
