Elaine Taylor (born December 3, 1967 in Watson Lake,

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician. She is the former Deputy Premier of the Yukon and represented the

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

Whitehorse West Whitehorse West is an electoral district which returns a member (known as an MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of the Yukon Territory in Canada. The Whitehorse district is the smallest riding, by size, in the Yukon and includes the subdivisions ...

in the

Yukon Legislative Assembly The Yukon Legislative Assembly (french: Assemblée législative du Yukon) is the legislative assembly for Yukon, Canada. Unique among Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada, three territories, the Yukon Legislative Assembly is the only terri ...

. First elected in 2002, and re-elected in 2006 and 2011, she was defeated in the 2016 Yukon general election by

Richard Mostyn Richard Mostyn is a Canadians, Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Yukon in the 2016 Yukon general election, 2016 election. He represents the electoral district of Whitehorse West as a member of the Yukon Liberal Pa ...

of the

Yukon Liberal Party The Yukon Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral du Yukon) is a political party in the territory of Yukon, Canada. The party is not organizationally linked to the federal Liberal Party of Canada in any official manner. Sandy Silver, MLA for Klond ...

. At the time of her defeat, she was the longest continuously serving Cabinet minister in Canada and longest-serving Cabinet minister in the Yukon. She is a member of the

Yukon Party The Yukon Party (french: Parti du Yukon) is a conservative political party in Yukon, Canada. It is the successor to the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party. Formation With Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative federal go ...

Political career

Taylor first attempted to enter electoral politics in the 2000 Yukon election by contesting

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

Cabinet minister Dave Sloan for his seat of

. Whitehorse West, the former seat of Yukon Government Leader

Tony Penikett Antony David John "Tony" Penikett (born November 14, 1945) is a mediator and negotiator and former politician in Yukon, Canada, who served as the third premier of Yukon from 1985 to 1992. Early life and political activity Born in Sussex, Engla ...

, had been held by the New Democrats since it was first established in 1978. Taylor, running for the

, and Sloan, both lost to

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate

Dennis Schneider Dennis Lars Schneider (June 10, 1942 – January 31, 2023) was a real estate agent and political figure in the Yukon, Canada. He represented Whitehorse West in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2002 as a Liberal. He was born in Flin F ...

, with Taylor finishing in third. Schneider had won as part of the Liberals' sweep of the City of

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

during that election.

31st Legislative Assembly

Taylor tried again to capture Whitehorse West in the 2002 election against Schneider. The short-lived Liberal government of

Pat Duncan Pat Duncan (born April 8, 1960) is a Canadian politician from Yukon. Duncan served as leader of the Yukon Liberal Party from 1998 to 2005 and as the sixth premier of Yukon from 2000 until 2002. Duncan was the first Liberal premier of the Yukon ...

had called a snap election in an effort to shore up its political support after a series of high-profile Cabinet defections reduced it to a minority government. Taylor was successful in capturing the riding from Schneider, and joined the

Dennis Fentie Dennis G. Fentie (November 8, 1950 – August 30, 2019) was a Canadian politician. He was the seventh premier of Yukon and leader of the Yukon Party, serving from 2002 to 2011, as well as the MLA for Watson Lake. Before entering politics, Fe ...

's Yukon Party caucus in forming a majority government. It was the first time the Yukon Party had succeeded in capturing the riding of Whitehorse West, though the nature of the riding had changed significantly since 1978. Taylor was sworn into Cabinet on November 30, 2002, as the Minister of Business, Tourism and Culture (later renamed to Tourism and Culture) and Minister of Justice. She was the only woman in both Cabinet and the Yukon Party caucus during her first term. Taylor was later appointed Minister of the Public Service Commission in July 2004, taking over from Cabinet minister

John Edzerza John Edzerza (August 14, 1948 – November 25, 2011) was a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of McIntyre-Takhini in the Yukon Legislative Assembly. Political career Born in British Columbia in 1948, he first entered ...

who in turn inherited her portfolio of Justice. In that same shuffle, Taylor gained responsibility for the Women's Directorate portfolio, which had been previously reduced to a branch of the Cabinet Offices under the Pat Duncan government. Taylor had been tasked with returning the Women's Directorate to a ministerial portfolio when she was first sworn into Cabinet. Taylor's higher profile in the Yukon Party caucus during its first term led Premier Fentie to name her acting Deputy Premier in December 2005, following the resignation of incumbent Peter Jenkins from Cabinet over an expense dispute with the Yukon Government. Fentie made Taylor's position permanent in January 2008. Taylor's role in the Yukon Party caucus became even more prominent in August 2006 when Cabinet minister John Edzerza defected from the Yukon Party caucus to run for the New Democrats in the 2006 election. Taylor inherited Edzerza's portfolios of Education and Justice - the latter of which she had surrendered to Edzerza in 2004 - until the election scheduled for October 2006.

32nd Legislative Assembly

Taylor sought re-election in Whitehorse West in the 2006 election and was re-elected by a large margin. She was once again sworn into Cabinet, retaining her interim Deputy Premier title and her position as Minister of Tourism and Culture and Minister responsible for the Women's Directorate. Her portfolios of the Public Service Commission, Education, and Justice were transferred to other colleagues. During the 32nd Assembly, Taylor served as the Government House Leader, and also as Chair of the Legislative Overview Committee, the Cabinet Committee on Legislation, and the Standing Committee on Appointments to Major Government Boards and Committees. She was also a member of the Standing Committee on Rules, Elections and Privileges. In a 2008 Cabinet shuffle, Taylor handed over responsibility for the Women's Directorate portfolio to Justice Minister

Marian Horne Marian Horne is a Canadian politician, who represented the rural Yukon electoral district of Pelly-Nisutlin in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2011. She is a member of the Yukon Party. Political career Horne was elected to the Yuko ...

, but Fentie appointed her once again as Minister of the Environment in July 2008; a portfolio Fentie had held since the 2006 election. Taylor held the Environment post until 2010 when, in a surprise move, now-New Democrat MLA John Edzerza once again crossed the floor the Yukon Party. Fentie had lost his majority when Cabinet minister Brad Cathers had left caucus to sit as an independent when it was revealed that Fentie had been engaged in secret talks to privatize Yukon Energy through a sale to

ATCO Electric ATCO Electric is an electric utility company. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, ATCO Electric transmits and distributes electricity to two thirds of Alberta, namely in north and east-central Alberta, as well as communities in Yukon and the Northwest Terr ...

. Cathers resigned in protest over Fentie's lack of transparency and treatment of both ministers and political staff. Edzerza's floor crossing re-established Fentie's majority in the legislature. Taylor, though publicly upset about having to surrender the Environment portfolio, nevertheless complied. In 2011, Fentie announced that he would resign as Premier and leader of the Yukon Party. Taylor chose to endorse local businessman Rod Taylor (no relation) for the Yukon Party leadership, but Rod Taylor pulled out of his leadership bid in favour of local pharmacist

Darrell Pasloski Darrell Thomas Pasloski (born December 2, 1960) is a territorial politician from Yukon, Canada, who was leader of the Yukon Party, and served as the eighth premier of Yukon from 2011 to 2016. His party was defeated in the general election of No ...

, who had run unsuccessfully for the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

in the federal riding of

in the 2008 federal election. Despite having endorsed Pasloski's opponent, Taylor was kept on in her Deputy Premier capacity and remained in Cabinet.

33rd Legislative Assembly

Taylor chose to seek re-election for a third term in the 2011 election in Whitehorse West. She once again won comfortably with more than half the vote and was appointed to Pasloski's Cabinet as Deputy Premier, Minister of Community Services, Minister of the Public Service Commission, Minister responsible for the Women’s Directorate, the Minister responsible for the French Language Services Directorate. As Minister of Community Services, Taylor was handed responsibility for the beleaguered Whistle Bend subdivision development project that had been subject to slow progress and stagnant demand. Taylor was shuffled into the position of Education minister in August 2013, taking over from Minister

Scott Kent Scott Kent is a Canadian politician, who was elected to in the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the 2000, 2011 and 2016 Yukon elections. He currently represents the Whitehorse electoral district of Copperbelt South as a member of the Yukon Party c ...

who had endured several controversies regarding his department's management of a string of controversies in the Catholic school system. Taylor remained in that position until Pasloski's final Cabinet shuffle in January 2015, when she once again retained responsibility for Tourism and Culture. Taylor stayed as Minister of Tourism and Culture, and kept her portfolio responsibilities for the Women's Directorate and the French Language Services Directorate for the rest of 33rd Assembly. By the end of the 33rd Assembly, Taylor was the longest-serving incumbent Cabinet minister in Canada and the longest-serving Cabinet minister in Yukon history. Taylor sought another term in the 2016 election, but was narrowly defeated by a margin of 22 votes by Liberal candidate and former journalist

. Taylor joined Premier Pasloski and Cabinet ministers

Doug Graham Sir Douglas Arthur Montrose Graham (born 12 January 1942) is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1984 to 1999, representing the National Party. Early life and family Graham was born in Auckland, and attended Southwell School a ...

and

Mike Nixon Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

in defeat on election night, when the Yukon Party was reduced to Official Opposition status by a Liberal majority government.

Personal life

Prior to running for elected office, Taylor served as Executive Assistant to

John Ostashek John Ostashek (May 10, 1936 – June 10, 2007) was a Yukon politician. An entrepreneur, he was elected leader of the Yukon Party in June 1992 and led it to victory in the fall 1992 election in which he also won a seat in the legislature for the ...

, Yukon Government Leader and leader of the

, before his defeat in the 1996 Yukon election. She was also a researcher and constituency caseworker for the Yukon Party Caucus and a visitor receptionist in the Yukon Department of Tourism.Taylor, Hon. Elaine, B.A. (Whitehorse West)
Canadian Political Encyclopedia (2005). Taylor, born and raised in Watson Lake, Yukon, holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

Electoral record

Yukon general election, 2016

, - ,

, align="right", 455 , align="right", 45.8% , align="right", +17.1% , - , - ,

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National ...

, Stu Clark , align="right", 106 , align="right", 10.7% , align="right", -2.2% , - ! align=left colspan=3, Total ! align= 994 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

Yukon general election, 2011

, - , - ,

, Cully Robinson , align="right", 209 , align="right", 28.7% , align="right", -9.9% , - ,

, Louis Gagnon , align="right", 94 , align="right", 12.9% , align="right", +5.1% , - ! align=left colspan=3, Total ! align= 729 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

Yukon general election, 2006

, - , - ,

, Mike Walton , align="right", 371 , align="right", 38.6% , align="right", +0.6% , - ,

, Rhoda Merkel , align="right", 75 , align="right", 7.8% , align="right", -6.1% , - ! align=left colspan=3, Total ! align= 963 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

Yukon general election, 2002

, - , - ,

, align="right", 319 , align="right", 38.0% , align="right", -2.5% , - ,

, Rachel Grantham , align="right", 117 , align="right", 13.9% , align="right", -17.4% , - ! align=left colspan=3, Total ! align= 840 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

Yukon general election, 2000

, - ,

, align="right", 621 , align="right", 40.5% , align="right", +8.4% ,

, Dave Sloan , align="right", 480 , align="right", 31.3% , align="right", -9.4% , - ! align=left colspan=3, Total ! align= 1,535 ! align= 100.0% ! align= –

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Elaine 1967 births Yukon Party MLAs Living people Women MLAs in Yukon Deputy premiers of Yukon Politicians from Whitehorse 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Women government ministers of Canada