What did we learn in Cabin Radio’s mayoral broadcast?

Voters have two choices for Yellowknife’s next mayor. Over 90 minutes on Monday, the candidates set out how they would lead the city over the next four years.

Garett Cochrane and Melissa Syer answered more than 20 questions submitted by residents, about topics from revitalization of the city’s downtown to working with Indigenous governments.

Cochrane is Métis, was born and raised in Yellowknife, and has just finished his first term as a city councillor. He currently works as a community relations officer for the Giant Mine remediation project and has previously worked as a justice of the peace, a constituency assistant and at Yellowknife’s library.

Cochrane’s platform includes expanding housing options, reliable infrastructure, affordability and planning for growth and a diverse economy.

Syer has called Yellowknife home for the past decade after arriving as a naval warfare officer. She was formerly executive director of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce and Skills Canada NWT. More recently, she has served as the city’s manager of economic opportunities, investments and partnerships.

Syer’s platform, part of which is titled “a city people choose,” focuses on supporting housing development, a vibrant downtown, workforce readiness and a diverse economy, and quality of life.

Platforms and promises

During opening remarks, Cochrane highlighted his love for the city and experience on council, including serving as deputy mayor and on some occasions as acting mayor.

“This isn’t a learning exercise for me but rather a continuation of the momentum that I started in my first term,” he said of the mayoral role.

“I can do this job from day one with no training necessary.”

Cochrane promised to meet challenges with “unbending resilience and unending optimism.” He said residents could expect to see implementation of Yellowknife’s community plan, more housing, and the start of development of Frame Lake North with him in the mayor’s chair.

Syer stressed her experience working for 18 years in the Canadian Armed Forces had prepared her for the role of mayor, particularly during “a critical moment” when the federal government’s attention is on the North.

“That career taught me to stay calm under pressure, take care of people, do my homework, plan for the unexpected and make difficult decisions when they need to be made,” she said.

“I believe I have the leadership experience and leadership style that suits this moment: practical, collaborative, results-driven.”

Syer promised to “turn priorities into practical results” with action on housing, city services and economic opportunities over the next four years. She said residents should understand why council made the choices it did and what they cost.

Similarities and differences

Syer and Cochrane agreed on several areas: moving Aurora College’s Yellowknife headquarters to Centre Square Mall, the need to diversify the economy, helping local businesses, strengthening the downtown, and supporting more housing development.

Elements of Cochrane’s platform include a two-year tax abatement for new tourism and entertainment businesses, implementing a mandate-based budgeting process and a three-year fiscal strategy, a community wellness and public safety plan for the downtown, and changing procurement policies to prioritize Indigenous and northern businesses.

“I know where we are going. We have started this momentum in the last council,” he said. “I can take this vehicle that is defence spending and all the other operational aspects within the city and I can land that plane.”

Syer’s vision includes the city taking on a leadership role, advocating for Yellowknife to the federal government, shifting the culture at City Hall to better support development, and looking at recommendations and funding commitments through a lens of meeting goals without increasing the burden on taxpayers.

“I’m focused on setting clear priorities, working through the practical decisions and delivering the results at a scale the city can sustain,” she said.

Mayoral debate: Watch on demand | Listen on demand

The broadcast did illuminate some differences.

In a lightning round toward the show’s conclusion, Syer said she could see circumstances in which, “as a last resort,” some form of development eventually occurred on Tin Can Hill. Cochrane rejected the idea of development outright.

Asked where they would push back as mayor against the NWT government, Cochrane selected the municipal funding formula. “We’re $8 million underfunded while places like Sambaa K’e are 200-percent overfunded. This is absolutely absurd,” he said.

Syer said she would have pushed back at the decision not to host the 2035 Canada Games in Yellowknife and the NWT. “That was a tremendous opportunity for our city. I understand their reticence – resource management is an issue – but it seemed like the organization was willing to work with the territory and the city, and amend the delivery models and such to make it work for us,” she said.

The debate was hosted and broadcast by Cabin Radio in partnership with the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, Northern Mosaic Network, NWT Seniors’ Society, Yellowknife Women’s Society, YWCA NWT and Alternatives North.

Among the live audience were several of the 21 candidates vying for one of eight available seats on council. Cabin Radio is rolling out interviews with those candidates on its website, while council candidates take part in a separate forum on Tuesday evening.

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