‘No one needs personal vehicles this large for everyday life’

The mayor of Yellowknife’s views on “car bloat” in the territorial capital are receiving attention on the social media platforms LinkedIn and Bluesky.

Last week, Ben Hendriksen used his LinkedIn account to post a photo showing modern trucks alongside a comparatively tiny vehicle that he described as an “early 2000s Ford Ranger.”

“No one can tell me with a straight face that personal vehicles this large are needed for everyday life,” he wrote of the larger trucks.

“No one can tell me that vehicles this large are not a safety hazard for others using the road.

“No one can tell me that vehicles like this do not contribute to the cost of living challenges we see and hear about every day.”

Hendriksen concluded that society had “experienced vehicle bloat without even noticing it, and marketing has convinced us that it is what we need.”

He ended with the hashtag #trucktoobig.

By Sunday evening, that post had received dozens of comments expressing a broad spectrum of opinions on vehicle size. Meanwhile, a separate Bluesky post from a transportation specialist picking up on Hendriksen’s words generated more than 400 reposts and dozens more perspectives.

Some commenters said comparing a Ford Ranger to larger modern models wasn’t an appropriate exercise. Others said Hendriksen failed to grasp why some northerners buy larger vehicles.

“You’re the mayor of Yellowknife and don’t understand our need for the towing capacity of a half-ton,” one person wrote.

“The Ranger driver obviously doesn’t need a half-ton. Good for them. My truck will be pulling my trailer loaded with wood for the winter, pulling my Ski-doo and driving to the mines. Most of which that Ranger cannot do.”

Others said large trucks were almost invariably unnecessary.

“These big vehicles endanger everyone else on the road,” one commenter wrote.

Jeremy Flatt, a Yellowknife resident who has long advocated for electric vehicles and energy efficiency in motoring, told Hendriksen: “Your willingness to walk into the middle of a pit of snakes and pull your pants down is admirable.”

Some people contributed photos of their own.

Eventually, Hendriksen – who has been city council’s resident transportation planning enthusiast for years – returned with more thoughts, stating his post had received more engagement “than I have ever garnered on any issue.”

At no time, he said in his follow-up remarks, had he criticized anyone for owning a vehicle of any size.

“The post is about the bloat of vehicles over time as a result of manufacturers. I see it here and I see it when I visit family and friends in other parts of Canada and overseas,” the mayor wrote.

“To those who say that I am disconnected from the real life of the North; vehicles were not this large 15-20 years ago and yet the North was still here and thriving.

“People were pulling their boats, trailers and snowmobiles across our beautiful landscapes to access untouched wilderness. I love that people have that freedom in the North, but freedom to access the land and the vehicle bloat mentioned above are two things that do not equal one another.”

In a further comment, he added: “Yellowknife is a city of many shape and size vehicles. The key is to recognize that people’s choices have been taken away by vehicle manufacturers.”