MLAs vote down three new districts but rename Great Slave

Proposals that would add new MLAs to the NWT legislature were defeated by existing MLAs this week, though they voted in favour of renaming the Great Slave district to Yellowknife East.

During the first day of the legislature’s October sitting, many MLAs spoke against a recommendation from the Electoral Boundaries Commission that Yellowknife be given two new representatives and the Tłı̨chǫ region a second seat.

Earlier this year, the five-person commission concluded a 22-MLA model would best ensure electoral districts have roughly equal numbers of voters, while protecting representation for smaller communities.

But this week, MLAs said constituents had told them issues like housing and healthcare were more important. They also said adding more MLAs would be too costly and residents already feel well represented by the current group of 19.

“Representation should be measured by how well we serve our residents and respond to their needs,” said Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya.

Vince McKay, the MLA for Hay River South, said NWT politicians already represent “significantly fewer residents than anywhere else in Canada.”

The current average district size is 2,418, with the smallest district population being the Dehcho at 1,127 and the largest being Yellowknife North with 4,279, according to 2025 population estimates and the commission’s final report.

“At a time when the government’s resources are limited, I believe maintaining the current 19 districts represents a model that is most practical and a cost-effective approach,” said McKay, adding he would support a slight redistricting – the movement of district boundaries to adjust the number of people each MLA represents.

The estimated annual cost is $250,000 for an MLA based in Yellowknife and $315,000 for those living outside the Yellowknife area, including salary, pensions, benefits and allowances.

Based on that, the commission said a 22-MLA model would result in a little less than a $900,000 annual spending increase, or about 0.038 percent of the territory’s budget.

Addressing financial concerns, Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart – who supported the 22-MLA model – said the GNWT has previously added assistant deputy ministers and created a senior envoy position “without batting an eye.”

Testart, Great Slave’s Kate Reid and MLA for Yellowknife Centre Robert Hawkins spoke in favour of the commission’s recommendation and cited legal requirements for effective representation.

“Consciously and deliberately choosing to reject the recommendation of the commission violates both the fundamental democratic principle and the highest laws of the land,” said Reid.

Lucy Kuptana, MLA for Nunakput, said her constituents were worried that more Yellowknife MLAs would lead to a “centralization of power,” while many Yellowknife MLAs said that wouldn’t be the case.

Yellowknife North MLA Shauna Morgan said having more MLAs would mean a smaller pot of money to fund programs and services rather than more money going to a community or region.

“I’m worried that by taking away a million dollars from our operational budget each year, we would end up decreasing the budget available for critical programs and services for residents, and could actually decrease the quality of those things,” said Morgan, speaking against the recommendation.

All but one motion defeated

The first vote of the night was whether to delay the changes until the 2031 territorial election. The amendment was brought forward by Kam Lake MLA Caitlin Cleveland, who said the Legislative Assembly needs time to “do 22 seats properly.”

Cleveland said that delay would allow time for a transition plan and other preparatory adjustments.

“These are practical reforms that deserve serious consideration before we ask taxpayers to fund an expanded legislature,” said Cleveland.

The amendment was defeated. Some MLAs said it would just send the question further down the road for another assembly to deal with.

The overall proposal to add three seats was also defeated with Hawkins, Testart, Reid, Monfwi MLA Jane Weyallon Armstrong and Yellowknife South’s Caroline Wawzonek voting in favour.

Remaining voting MLAs – Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson was not present and Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh MLA Richard Edjericon was acting as chair – opposed the motion.

Weyallon Armstrong then moved to add a second Tłı̨chǫ-region MLA without the two Yellowknife seats, arguing Hay River has a similar population to the Monfwi district and has two MLAs.

While Weyallon Armstrong, both Hay River MLAs, Hawkins, Testart and Inuvik Boot Lake MLA Denny Rodgers voted in favour of this motion, it was defeated.

Lastly, Hawkins moved to add two Yellowknife MLAs, saying he was doing so to protect the GNWT from a legal challenge. That motion was defeated with only Hawkins and Testart in favour and Weyallon Armstrong abstaining.

The lone recommendation from the Electoral Boundaries Commission to pass was renaming the Great Slave district to Yellowknife East.

A number of MLAs spoke in favour of changing legislation to make future recommendations from the Electoral Boundaries Commission binding.