George Braden (November 4, 1949 – May 25, 2015) was a Canadian politician from the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

, Canada. Elected as "Government Leader", Braden would retroactively become the second

premier of the Northwest Territories The premier of the Northwest Territories is the Premier (Canada), first minister and head of government for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian territory of the Northwest Territories. The premier is the territory's head of government ...

, after a motion was passed in 1994 to change the official title.

Political career

Prior to seeking election as member of the

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories (with Northwest hyphenated as North-West until 1906), is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a uni ...

, Braden worked extensively with Charles "Bud" Drury, a former federal cabinet minister, who was assigned to look at further constitutional development in the Northwest Territories. Appointed to the position of Deputy Minister for the Northwest Territories, Braden worked from

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario with Walter Slipchenko (Inter-governmental Policy Analyst). Braden was first elected to the NWT Legislative Assembly in 1979. At that time the

Commissioner of the Northwest Territories The commissioner of the Northwest Territories (french: Commissaire des Territoires du Nord-Ouest) is the Government of Canada's representative in the Northwest Territories. Similar in certain functions to a lieutenant governor, the commissioner s ...

, appointed by the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

, was also the head of the Government of the NWT. In 1980, for the first time, the Legislative Assembly elected the Government Leader, selecting Braden, who served until 1984. Braden was the second person to hold the title as

Frederick Haultain Sir Frederick William Alpin Gordon Haultain (November 25, 1857 – January 30, 1942) was a lawyer and a long-serving Canadian politician and judge. His career in provincial and territorial legislatures stretched into four decades. He served ...

had been appointed to the position in 1897. Some of the changes implemented by Braden allowed for additional representation in the legislative council, the removal of the appointed commissioner and deputy commissioner from the executive council and for the allowance of control of territorial affairs to elected members. In 2009, Braden accepted the position of Policy Analyst for

Dennis Patterson Dennis Glen Patterson (born December 30, 1948) is a Canadian politician and lawyer. He served as MLA for Frobisher Bay and Iqaluit from 1978 to 1995, as NWT Minister of Education, Justice and Municipal Affairs and was chosen as the fifth prem ...

, who was, earlier the same year, appointed to the

Canadian Senate The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

for

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

Personal life

Braden was the owner and CEO of his own company in Ottawa, Ontario from 1994.The Percy Letter
Having met in 1989, Braden married Lise Beaudry in August 1998. As of 2009 they lived in

Barrhaven Barrhaven is a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located about southwest of the city's downtown core. Prior to amalgamation with Ottawa in 2001, Barrhaven was part of the City of Nepean. Its population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 103, ...

, Ontario. He was diagnosed with gastric cancer on 7 March 2015, at the age of 65 years. He died at home with Lise on 25 May 2015.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories list of premiers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braden, George Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Premiers of the Northwest Territories People from Yellowknife People from Rosthern, Saskatchewan 1949 births 2015 deaths