Yellowknife election 2026: Donna Lee Demarcke interview

After moving to Yellowknife in 2020 to become the CEO of NWT Tourism, Donna Lee Demarcke is now hoping to win a seat on Yellowknife’s city council.

Demarcke said her family moved to Hay River 40 years ago for what was meant to be a two-year stint.

“My daughter and I moved here and Yellowknife is definitely our home now, and we are definitely proud NWTers,” said Demarcke.

For 30 years in Hay River, she said she worked at just about every position at the Aurora Ford dealership, including general manager.

Demarcke also served three terms on Hay River’s town council, including two as deputy mayor – roles she says have prepared her for a term on Yellowknife’s city council.

“I know what work is involved, and I know this is something that I really want to be involved in for Yellowknife,” she said. “I think we’re at a crucial time right now in our history, in our future, and I think I bring some value to the table with some of the experience that I’ve had.”

Over the past five and a half years, she has also served on the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors.

Cabin Radio is aiming to interview all 21 candidates are running for eight council seats. We have asked every candidate to list their four top priorities to guide those interviews.

Melissa Syer and Garett Cochrane are running for mayor.

Cabin Radio is hosting a mayoral candidates debate on October 5 from 7-8:30pm at city hall, which will be broadcast live on our Facebook page, website and app.

Election day is October 19. Early voting begins on October 5 and runs until October 16.

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This interview was recorded on September 29, 2026. The transcript has been edited for clarity.

Claire McFarlane: What does it mean to make the city attractive to people who want to live here, stay here and build businesses here?

Donna Lee Demarcke: I think a place where it’s easy to do business. Knowing that you can come to the city hall and there will be navigators to help you get done what it is that you need to get done. Whether it’s a business licence, whether it’s a building permit, whether it’s a water and sewer turn off and turn on, or advise on what land is available for sale.

I think just showing that we are a place that’s easy to do business, that we’re a place that is open for business, but also a place that’s friendly and welcoming, and that you feel safe in. Those are important things for people to want to live here and for people to want to come and do business here.

You served three terms on town council in Hay River. Could you tell me about what you learned as part of that work, and how you would apply that here in Yellowknife?

One of the most important things I learned is you have to work as a team. Sure, you’re one person running for one seat, but the reality is, when you get there, you have to work with the other seven people at the table, and the mayor, and the administration, and you have to figure out how to work together to try to accomplish the goals you need to accomplish.

What I really learned is figuring out what you, as a team, want to accomplish, and then figuring out how to accomplish that together. Setting some goals right from the beginning, and then reminding everybody as you go through, because it’s very easy in that role to get sidetracked – things come at you all over the place, and sometimes you have to – but always reminding you of what your goals are, what it is that you’re trying to achieve.

I think I’m very focused on that. I’ve seen that and experienced that, and so I think I will add value in that space.

You said you’d like to see a safe and vibrant Yellowknife. Tell me what that looks like to you.

One of the things I’ve really been advocating for over the last couple years is a community that our residents and our visitors feel safe in.

One of the things I’ve discussed is an ambassador program. I don’t think it’s the answer to everything that ails us, but I do think it’s part of an answer. We have, unfortunately, a bit of a negative presence in our downtown core and in some of our pockets around the city, and I think adding an ambassador program will add a positive presence to that.

Through the city, we have tools to make sure people are looking after their properties. There are rules, and we want to make sure those tools and those rules are used.

How might an ambassador program work?

Over the last couple years, I have been working with the Yellowknife Chamber and the City of Yellowknife, and we’ve done some research on what other communities have been doing, trying to figure out how to get the best pieces of different programs from across the country.

We actually have a framework of what the ambassador program could look like. Basically, it’s having people on the streets on a regular basis that are very identifiable.

One, they would have some training and some understanding of what the resources are for our people that are in need, our residents that are in need, so they can help in that space.

They can also help our visitors. They’re identifiable and if tourists are needing to ask a question or wayfinding or anything like that, there’s these people out there helping, as well as for our residents, just to feel that positive presence on the streets at peak times.

Really, just having ambassadors out there that have some training, know what the resources are, but who also are there to navigate and help residents and visitors alike.

Your priorities include affordability and housing. How would you begin to address those issues?

The biggest thing is bringing land available so we have the option to build more housing on a larger scale and different types of housing for different types of people that want to live in Yellowknife.

There’s not one mold. We need to make sure we have different options. So having a large parcel of land that hopefully is going to be coming available, the north part of Frame Lake, where that will allow for different types of land or different types of housing, is I think a really important step in trying to solve that.

It is important for the city to have consistent access to land, so we have consistent access for growth – not all at once, but in increments when we’re looking for growth, because growth strengthens our tax base, which also strengthens our ability to support our community.

I think really looking at consistency of bringing land to market is really important. I know that is something being looked at, but I think it needs to be very much focused on over the next little while.

You’ve mentioned you’d like to see responsible spending. How do you balance responsible spending with investing in things like infrastructure and services?

Looking at the overall picture of what are the city’s responsibilities, people like to say, ‘dogs, ditches, and dumps,’ those are our priorities, but it’s not as basic as just that.

I don’t want to take away from the current administration or the current council, I think this is top of mind for everybody that works in this space. But really, making sure we’re making smart budget decisions. So when this next council sits down and goes through this next budget, I think it’s crucial to make sure our levels of service and what we’re are responsible for, that’s really what we’re focusing in on.

I know that in past experience, administration isn’t overly happy when the budget goes line by line by line. But I especially think for your first year, for a new council going in, that is crucial and really sets everybody up for success to know how we’re going to go into the next four years of a term, making sure we are honing in on what we’re responsible for, and we’re delivering the level of service we told the residents we’re going to deliver. That’s what the focus needs to be.

Is there anything currently in the budget that you think could be trimmed or slimmed?

I don’t know that there’s anything specific I could call out. I think until you get through that exercise and really have a good understanding and a dialogue back and forth between administration and council, that’s when you have the real knowledge of what can be cut and what can’t be cut, and the real understanding of what’s actually happening in that space.

Why do you think people should vote for you?

I’m a very good team player. I can work with people, we figure out how to make sure we’re working together to get those goals accomplished and try to stay focused on that.

I have a real passion for Yellowknife and I have a real passion for the Northwest Territories, and I want good for our community, and I’m always coming from that place of wanting good for our community.

We can’t be the answer to everybody for everything. It’s unfortunate, because I know that’s what everybody hopes for. But the reality is we have responsibilities to make sure we have a city and a community where people want to live, that they want to come and work here. It’s our responsibility to do the best we can in that space.

I want to be a part of that. I want to be a part of that team making that happen for the residents that want to live here.