In Whatì, have the NWT’s candidates been able to cut through?

Charlene Simpson, who grew up in the Tłı̨chǫ community of Whatì, says some of the people around her seem unlikely to vote in this federal election.

“I’ve heard from a couple friends who don’t know about who to vote for,” said Simpson. “It’s just it’s out of their brain.”

Simpson, though, said she has done her research to figure out how she’d like to vote.

“My heart wants to vote NDP, but I think I will vote for the Liberals,” said Simpson, who describing coming to that decision because it would be unlikely for the New Democrats to form a government.

“It would be nice to have an Indigenous person in Parliament but I would like to see a lot more change, and I do not agree with the Conservative governments,” said Simpson.

She voiced concern over comments made by Pierre Poilievre about residential schools.

In 2008, Poilievre – now the federal Conservative leader – said on an Ottawa radio program that compensation for residential school survivors was not worthwhile.

“My view is that we need to engender the values of hard work and independence and self-reliance. That’s the solution in the long run – more money will not solve it,” said Poilievre at the time.

He later apologized for the comments, saying in part: “I made remarks that were hurtful and wrong.” 

Simpson said that “words and recordings do not go away.”

More recently, Poilievre stood by a Conservative candidate in British Columbia who in 2019 and 2020 wrote on social media that what took place at residential schools did not constitute genocide.

There were no advance polls in Whatì last weekend. The closest advance polling location to the community of 600 people involved a four-hour round trip by car to Behchokǫ̀ using a highway that opened a little over three years ago.

Simpson said she’ll vote on election day, April 28, in the community.

“You have the voice to make a difference,” said Simpson.

She said some of the biggest issues she and other community members face are the high cost of living, the illicit drug trade and the housing crisis.

Simpson lives with her daughter, her two brothers and her sister. She said her niece and her son used to live with her, too, but they moved to Yellowknife to be closer to the hospital and because the waitlist for housing of their own in Whatì was long.

Doorhangers and Donald Trump

This year, 18-year-old Dakota Moosenose is eligible to vote for the first time in a federal election. Housing is on his mind, too.

“If you build more houses, it’d be better for everybody,” said Moosenose. He expressed concern for immigrants who may need access to affordable housing, as well as locals.

He is a skilled carpenter who said he enjoys math.

“It’s quite fun once you understand it,” said Moosenose.

He said he’s been catching up on school work lately and hasn’t had much time to follow the federal election.

Moosenose isn’t yet sure if he’ll vote but said promises to help make life more affordable would persuade him to cast his ballot.

Additionally, he said, Whatì is in need of paved roads to help prevent flat tires and help cut down the dust that people track inside.

“It’d be a lot less dirty – like, for example, you walk in people’s homes and it’s just all that dirt [from the roads],” said Moosenose.

Scott Supra, a Grade 9 teacher at the Mezi Community School in Whatì, said his concerns this election lie with the economy, Canada’s relationship with the United States and the “guy down under – the orange man.”

“What are our candidates going to do in order to create a more economically stable environment for the youth?” asked Supra.

“I know mining is a big aspect for the economy here so with tariffs, the isolationism that’s starting to rise, are we going to see more of the wilderness that we enjoy here conveyed more towards mines and in that development for our resources?”

He said he hasn’t heard much from the NWT candidates but did find a doorhanger on his front door earlier in the day. He couldn’t immediately recall which campaign it came from.

“I would say that was probably the most exposure I have,” said Supra.

The doorhanger was likely from Liberal candidate Rebecca Alty’s campaign.

On Tuesday, she travelled to Whatì to hang posters, speak with local officials and go door-knocking.

Alty said she heard in Whatì what she has heard in other parts of the NWT: concerns about the illicit drug trade and lack of affordable housing.

To tackle these issues, Alty said that if elected, she and the Liberal government would look to hire 1,000 more RCMP officers and 1,000 more customs agents at boarders.

“Enforcement is key, but also the treatment and addictions and housing,” said Alty. “Once you’re done treatment, you’ve got to be able to come back and and have a place to stay.”

More: What every federal party is promising northerners

Alty is pledging $500 million more in federal funding for emergency treatment, as well as $6 billion for housing. Her rivals in this campaign are Green candidate Rainbow Eyes, the Conservatives’ Kimberly Fairman and New Democrat Kelvin Kotchilea.

Yellowknifer Lovingson Mtongwiza says he has spent every day of the election period volunteering for Alty’s campaign.

“It is that deep for me, because I do not want to see what’s happening in the US come over here,” said Mtongwiza.

“My other businesses that I do, I am managing them either in the evening or on my phone or I have people that are doing stuff, but I am 100 percent every day, fully committed and volunteering.”

He believes Alty has the experience to handle the role of MP because of her time in elected office.

“With her experience as the mayor of Yellowknife, I think she can really represent us – she understands the North,” said Mtongwiza.

Likewise, he thinks Mark Carney has the skills to defend Canada against the US.

“As somebody who’s lived in the US before – and I’ve seen what the US can do – I think Mark Carney will be the most qualified person now to really stand up to Donald Trump,” said Mtongwiza.

“This country has given me so much myself as a person. They’ve welcomed me, they’ve taken care of me, and now I’m giving back.”

Claire McFarlane is travelling the Northwest Territories to hear from residents across the territory ahead of election day, including time with each of the major parties’ candidates as they campaign.

To date, that has involved reporting from Hay River with the Fairman campaign, from Inuvik with Kotchilea, from Norman Wells and this report from Whatì. Claire now heads to Fort Simpson before election day on April 28.

Travel costs associated with this reporting are funded by the Covering Canada: Election 2025 Fund.