Election 2025 in the NWT: Kimberly Fairman’s interview

Kimberly Fairman is hoping to become the next Member of Parliament for the Northwest Territories.

The NWT’s Conservative candidate since last summer, Fairman’s background involves serving as executive director of the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research.

She has also highlighted her experience working for federal agencies like CanNor and Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

More: Read the Conservative Party’s platform

In an interview with Cabin Radio, Fairman prioritized safety in northern communities, affordability, and access to services like childcare and dental care.

As an Indigenous mother and grandmother, she said she would bring a unique perspective to Parliament when decisions are made that will affect future generations.

With the Conservatives lagging in national polls at the time of the interview, Fairman stressed her focus was on presenting herself as a northern voice rather than the national picture, and “ensuring people know who I am and what I stand for, and how I am offering to serve them.”

Her party, she said, features “people who are very much like me: they want to work hard for their constituents, they’re smart, they’re diverse.”

Federal Election 2025: Cabin Radio’s election hub
Register to vote: Learn more from Elections Canada

Four candidates are running to be the NWT’s next MP in the April 28 election.

Rebecca Alty is running for the Liberal Party, Kelvin Kotchilea for the New Democratic Party and Rainbow Eyes (Angela Davidson) for the Green Party. Cabin Radio is publishing interviews with all four this week.

A live radio debate featuring three of the four candidates will be broadcast from 8pm on Thursday, April 10. Fairman declined an invite to take part.

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This interview was recorded on March 28, 2025. The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Ollie Williams: To you, what are the two or three most important issues in the North this election?

Kimberly Fairman: Thanks very much for having me, first of all. I’m really happy to be here.

I’ve had an opportunity to chat with people in communities as well as in Yellowknife. What I’m hearing from people is that they are very concerned about safety in their communities, number one. There’s a lot of violent crime, there are drugs, there are things happening that are impacting on people in the community, families, and it impacts on the workforce, who are trying to deal with the issues as well.

I’ve also heard from many people that they are concerned about their income and affordability in communities. Everybody I’ve talked to has some concern about their ability to plan for the future, about access to food and other things that are essential for their families. They want to see change in terms of affordability in the communities.

The third thing is really around some of the services that are available, so childcare, dental care, these kind of things they’re concerned about, access to those types of programs.

What do you think makes you as a person the best candidate among the four we have?

I was born in the Northwest Territories, I was raised here. I haven’t actually moved very far from Yellowknife my whole life. I’ve had a number of experiences outside of the territory through work, schooling and that kind of thing, but really I get a lot of strength from the people who live here and from being in this part of the world.

I think of my ability to listen to a number of different viewpoints, to think about how elements of those viewpoints should be considered in some of the issues that we’re facing. I have four children and four grandchildren who also live here in Yellowknife, they’re all individuals as well, and I think they’ve really taught me a lot about how important it is to listen to what people are saying and thinking, and be able to consider that in any kind of move-forward plan.

I think also it’s very unique as a mother and a grandmother to think about the issues we’re leaving behind. When we make decisions in government, often those decisions will have longstanding impacts. For me, it’s very important to consider what that means. For example, if we’re leaving a deficit behind that my grandchildren and potentially their children will be dealing with, I find that very hard to live with.

I think those are the kinds of things that drive me to want to do this type of work. It’s really about making a difference for the people here in the Northwest Territories, making a difference for families who want to make their lives here, and thinking about a future that is better for all of us.

Did you have a political background before deciding you wanted to run for federal office?

No more than anybody else. I think I’ve always had opinions. I think I’ve always been able to consider how the politics of any situation influences the way that people make decisions.

I would say that not having had a political focus in my career doesn’t mean I haven’t had experiences that have brought me to this place – experiences obviously working in the federal and territorial public service, having lived in the Northwest Territories most of my life, understanding those systems and the cycles of decision-making and how they influence plans and the execution of those plans from a government perspective.

I think it’s important, when you come into this arena, that you have had those types of experiences, that you understand that the people who really understand the programs and the policies are the ones who are having to deal with them on a day-to-day basis. And I think, from a government lens, sometimes we can discredit or not listen completely to people’s views, thinking that they don’t really understand the policy.

In my opinion, the people that have to deal with the policies and legislation daily – and the way they impact their lives personally – really, they know whether these things are working or not.

How would a Conservative government address differently some of the problems we’re seeing in the North to do with the illicit drug trade and drug-related crime?

The Conservative Party has been really clear about the ways they want to address crime and, in particular, the worst criminals that exist in our society. What we’re talking about is crimes like human trafficking, exporting or importing illegal firearms, some of the hard and illicit drugs that exist, and how we deal with those criminals.

What we’re hoping to do is change this sort of catch-and-release approach where people who are committing these crimes over and over and over again are not facing more serious penalties, but they’re also being released almost immediately on bail. My understanding of the issue is that even when there are conditions on people who are being released on bail, those conditions aren’t always abided by, and it’s having impacts across the North in different communities.

Smaller communities, I think, feel very vulnerable to this type of repeat offender. Certainly from a Conservative perspective, we would be doing more to ensure that those people are not able to reoffend.

Is there a danger there, if we keep people in jail but we haven’t proved they’re guilty yet? Is that a concern?

It’s always going to be a concern.

What we’re talking about, for example, is when we have people who have been convicted of five or more counts of human trafficking. There’s a pattern that exists there. I think what’s also important to consider is the context – if we were dealing with a justice system in isolation. But we don’t have the wraparound services to support people when they’re out in community and I think this is a really important thing to consider, as well.

When you look at the statistics, violent crime under the current government is up over 50 percent. I think people in the NWT, for example, have been the victims of violent assaults, robberies, and there have been increases in things like shootings and that kind of thing. And I think there is a real concern that we’ve gone too far on the other side.

You mentioned wraparound services. A lot of that is a territorial responsibility. Is there a role for an MP in trying to ensure the territory’s residents have those services the way they need to have them?

I think it’s important for me, understanding that these are territorial responsibilities, to be able to advocate for what I’ve been hearing in communities. I think it’s also important to understand that levels of government obviously have to work together and that collaboration has to be there.

Your campaign literature promises to help rebuild the northern economy. What does that look like?

It’s going to be challenging. I think in the North, what we’re faced with now is the mining industry essentially slowing down. We know that mines will be closing. We’ve had very little to no exploration for new mining. This has been a major industry, a major player in the economic outcomes for people who live here.

To me, rebuilding the economy looks like that kind of investment in opening up new mines, certainly trying to boost exploration. People in the Northwest Territories would like to have jobs, right? And like to have an income that would support either their families or extended families. There’s lots of sectors we could support.

And obviously housing is another one where, without that, we don’t have families who want to move here. We don’t have opportunities for people in a community to be independent.

Your campaign has said you’d work to remove housing barriers in communities. What barriers are you thinking of?

The way that housing investment has happened, it’s not considering some of the context. For example, we’re seeing delays in permitting in Yellowknife, there is an issue of available land. In other communities, there is as well. I think there are some solutions we could work towards that maybe haven’t been considered.

I think it’s also imperative that when we talk about municipalities, we’re all working in the same direction in terms of housing and land availability.

You mentioned solutions that haven’t been considered. What are you thinking of?

Well, from our campaign platform, for example, the federal government also has land or assets that could be considered for housing.

Let’s talk about reconciliation. I find it personally hard to work out exactly what Pierre Poilievre’s approach to reconciliation is. What are you promising your party is going to do to make life better for Indigenous peoples in the North?

I think the underlying principle from the party’s perspective is that we want First Nations to be as successful as they can be. From a platform perspective, the consideration is: where are First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in terms of what they would like to see?

Certainly in the communities, I have been hearing from most individuals that, in one way or another, settling land claims is an important priority for them.

I think that the reconciliation piece, as an Indigenous woman, is something I have time to consider in my personal life as well as professionally. It can be very complicated, and I think it’s important certainly for me to understand where individuals are in terms of their expectations around reconciliation.

I think it’s important to have somebody who can articulate that at a professional or government or party level. What does that mean? What’s my understanding of it? I think it’s hugely important that we understand this, as well, as a process of living together, of solving problems together, of really respect and dignity.

Opponents of Mr Poilievre have made great play of past statements he made some time ago about Indigenous peoples and residential schools. I’m interested in how you, as an Indigenous woman, looking for a party that you wanted to represent in a federal election, decided: you know what? I’m comfortable with this party. I’m comfortable with that leader. This is the one for me.

That’s a very personal sort of determination. When I began getting involved, which was several years ago now, my impression of the party and the people who were involved was really of people who are very much like me: they want to work hard for their constituents, they’re smart, they’re diverse.

I found a very inclusive group as well. People are interested to know what you think. I don’t feel that my views are ignored or that they’re not welcome. In fact, for the most part, it’s the most that I’ve felt people actually invite and are inclusive about hearing different perspectives.

Let’s look at climate. If the carbon tax isn’t the right way to address our rapidly changing climate – and it seems now, to a degree, that both the Liberals and Conservatives consider that to be the case – what should we do that helps to protect northerners from the big shifts we can all already see happening around us?

I obviously see these changes as well in terms of the infrastructure and some of the experiences we’ve had of late with the fires and that kind of thing.

I do feel that climate is a very complex issue. I don’t think it is one that can be dealt with exclusively, either. I think when you look around, a number of players are actually involved in finding ways to deal with the issue, including industry, government, private individuals. I think that work needs to continue.

I don’t, again, think it’s exclusive from the things we’re prioritizing. And in fact, we know people want to have good income and well-paying jobs and be able to contribute.

But they also want to have a house that’s not on fire, so there’s a balance there. They don’t want to be flooded. They don’t want to have droughts. And we’re looking at all of those things right now, and things do seem to be changing. What is the Conservative policy? What is the Conservative Party pledging to do on climate?

I think, certainly, any development, economic or industry, we’ve talked about it being done responsibly and in consideration of the environment.

The Conservatives have a clearly defined vision of a deeply stripped back or potentially even entirely defunded CBC. What’s your vision for the CBC?

I think the principle underlying the CBC funding is really one where we want to encourage diversity in that industry.

I think that when there is, for example, a private market that supports certain types of programming, continually having government funding to that entity doesn’t really offer the opportunity for the programming to be available to less mainstream. And I think to me, all those voices are important. I think when there is a market that supports that particular sector, then we should really carefully consider government funding.

That being the case – and I think that was quite a careful answer – what do you imagine the impact being on CBC North if a Conservative government is elected?

I don’t really have the details on what that would look like for the North.

A better question might be: What do you hope the impact is?

In communities, I have been hearing from people that CBC is considered important to a number of people. I’ve also heard the other side of that story as well. I think there is a real diversity in how people in communities and in the North get their news and where they get it from, and so I am going to be listening carefully over the next several weeks to see how people feel about that and how I can represent that the most effectively.

In the polls right now, a combination, I guess, of Donald Trump’s US leadership style and Mark Carney taking over the Liberals appears to have not only wiped out the Conservative lead but installed the Liberals as clear favourites at this point. How do you want your party leader to change his messaging? What do you think will resonate with northerners, with Canadians, that he’s not doing? Because it feels like things aren’t resonating right now.

The context has changed quite a bit in the last few months, particularly with Trump.

I think it’s important for people to feel that they can make a choice here in the Northwest Territories for who they think will represent them the best in the Canadian Parliament.

I know that it’s distracting and, of course, it’s worrisome for people to see what’s happening nationally and internationally, but again, they would be voting for me – or for, you know, a territorial MP – and that’s where I’m really focused. Where I’m spending my energy now is ensuring that people know who I am and what I stand for, and how I am offering to serve them.