The 2023 Northwest Territories general election was held on November 14, 2023. Nineteen members were elected to the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly. The Assembly is run on a consensus government system, in which all MLAs sit as independents and are not organized into political parties. Due to the Northwest Territories wildfire evacuations in August, territorial chief election officer, Stephen Dunbar, proposed delaying the election one month to November, due to the possibility that some residents of the territory may still be displaced from their homes during the currently scheduled campaign period.Carrie Tait and Alanna Smith
"Wildfires could push Northwest Territories fall election back a month"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', August 21, 2023. Some cabinet ministers expressed support for his proposal, with the Assembly meeting on August 28 to debate rescheduling the election. The election was officially delayed from the original October 3 date to November 14, six weeks later. On September 28, incumbent Premier

Caroline Cochrane Caroline Cochrane (born December 5, 1960) is a Canadian politician, who is the 13th and current premier of the Northwest Territories. She is one of three currently serving female premiers in Canada and the second female premier of the Northwest ...

announced she would not seek re-election.

Results

The Legislative Assembly is run on a consensus government system, in which all MLAs sit as independents and are not organized into political parties. Note, accordingly, that colours in the following charts are used solely to indicate candidate status, not political party affiliations.

Statistics

Candidates

Analysis

In the election, 12 out of the 19 seats in the legislature elected new MLAs. In addition, the number of women elected to the legislature decreased, from nine in 2019 to eight. Given that the territory operates on a consensus government system, MLAs elected on November 14 chose the new premier in the first session of the 20th Assembly on December 7, with

Hay River North Hay River North is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is one of two districts that represent Hay River Hay River may refer to: Places * Hay River, Northwest Territories * Hay Ri ...

MLA R. J. Simpson being elected premier. Candidates included Simpson,

Kieron Testart Kieron Testart is a former Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in the 2015 election. He represented the electoral district of Kam Lake until the 2019 election, when he was defeated by Ca ...

Shane Thompson Shane Thompson is a Canadian politician, who is a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories for the district of Nahendeh. He is currently the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Minister of Lands, Minister Responsi ...

, and

Caroline Wawzonek Caroline Wawzonek is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in the 2019 election. She represents the electoral district of Yellowknife South Yellowknife South is a territorial electoral d ...

. Thompson was elected

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

the same day.https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/find-out-why-these-n-w-t-mlas-say-they-should-be-premier-1.7044502 The other members elected by MLAs to cabinet were, for the north, Lucy Kuptana and Lesa Semmler; for Yellowknife,

Caitlin Cleveland Caitlin Cleveland is a Canadians, Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in the 2019 Northwest Territories general election, 2019 election.Ollie Williams"Only Nahendeh left to elect MLA, 18 o ...

and

; and for the south, Vince McKay and Jay MacDonald.

References

{{Elections in Canada Northwest Territories General election Northwest Territories general election Elections in the Northwest Territories