Kimberly Fairman praised her campaign team late on Monday as she conceded defeat to Rebecca Alty in the Northwest Territories riding.
The Conservative candidate said she had seen “a lot of strong support and people who were motivated to get out,” even as her campaign finished in second place, some 20 percentage points behind Liberal Alty.
NDP candidate Kelvin Kotchilea was third and Green candidate Rainbow Eyes fourth.
“I think there’s a lot of challenges in the NWT, particularly around crime and cost of living. These are the two main things that I heard about,” said Fairman, discussing issues the territory’s new MP must confront.
“I think people are also feeling isolated and just not heard. I think its really important that we re-establish this dialogue with people in NWT.”
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
Fairman congratulated Alty and paid tribute to the campaigns of Kotchilea and Rainbow Eyes.
“Knowing that this is my third election, what I came to realize and understand is that it’s democracy. People have the right to choose their elected official,” said Kotchilea, who came second in the 2021 federal election and had previously run unsuccessfully in a territorial by-election.
“I’m just happy that with the campaign I was able to engage with residents and it was a great opportunity just to give it another shot,” he said, contrasting the pandemic-affected 2021 race with his ability to campaign face-to-face this time around.
Later, on Facebook, Kotchilea said he would not run again.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“I have decided to step away from future federal elections to focus on my family,” he wrote.
“While it was my hope to serve and be a strong voice for the people of the Northwest Territories, I recognize that challenging times lie ahead and now is the time to ensure my family is supported and well.”
Fairman expressed some interest in running again in future.
“I’ve got other work that I have to do,” she said. “Right now, the team is anticipating we can build on the support I have now, which is amazing.”
Rainbow Eyes, in a written comment on Tuesday morning, stated: “It was an exciting night watching the numbers come in. Rebecca spoke well in the forum. All the candidates did so well.
“I hope Rebecca is a voice to push the government to help the Nations and people. I hope she’s able to step outside of the box. We must in order to create the change needed.”
Aastha Sethi and Claire McFarlane contributed reporting.
