The Yukon New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique du Yukon) is a
social-democratic
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
political party in the Yukon territory of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
The Yukon NDP first formed the government of the territory under the leadership of
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 ...
from 1985 to 1992, and under the leadership of
Piers McDonald
Piers McDonald, OC (born August 4, 1955) is a Yukon politician and businessman.
Born in Kingston, Ontario, McDonald, originally a miner by profession, is a long-time MLA, Cabinet minister, and the fifth premier of Yukon. He was leader of the Y ...
from 1996 to 2000. The party's current leader is
Kate White. The NDP sat as
official opposition
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...
to the current
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 ...
government 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 ...
until May 2006. In the
2006 Yukon election later that year, the three incumbent New Democrat
Members of the Legislative Assembly
A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...
were reelected, but the party failed to win any additional seats and remained in third place behind the five members 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 ...
and the ten member Yukon Party
majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
.
In January 2009 the NDP were reduced to two seats:
Todd Hardy
Todd Hardy (May 17, 1957 – July 28, 2010) was a Canadian carpenter, trade union activist, and politician who served as Leader of the Yukon New Democratic Party. He has also served as Leader of the Opposition in the Yukon Legislative Assembly f ...
(Whitehorse Centre) and
Steve Cardiff (Mount Lorne), after the Party's third member,
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 ...
, resigned to sit as an independent. Edzerza later rejoined the Yukon Party, for which he had originally been elected in the
2002 Yukon election.
Hardy died in July 2010, reducing the NDP to a single seat. On November 12, a by-election was called for his riding of Whitehorse Centre on December 13, which was won by the Party leader Hanson. Cardiff was killed in a car crash on July 7, 2011, again reducing the party to one seat in the legislature entering the
2011 election.
In the
2011 election the Yukon NDP under
Elizabeth Hanson
Elizabeth Hanson (born 1951), also known as Liz Hanson, is a Canadian politician from the Yukon. She was the leader of the Yukon New Democratic Party from 2009 until 2019, and represented the electoral district of Whitehorse Centre in the Yukon ...
elected six MLAs to form the territory's Official Opposition. The NDP was the only party to see an increase in its share of the popular vote over the
2006 Yukon election. In
the 2016 election, the NDP was reduced to two seats and third party status.
In May 2019,
Kate White the incumbent MLA for
Takhini-Kopper King
Takhini-Kopper King is an electoral district which returns a member (known as an MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Yukon in Canada. It was created in 2009 out of much of the former riding of McIntyre-Takhini. The riding includes the Whitehorse ...
was acclaimed as the new party leader, replacing Hanson. In the
2021 election the Yukon NDP under White won three seats. On April 23, the incumbent Liberals were sworn in with a
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
. On April 28, the NDP announced that they had entered into a formal
confidence and supply
In a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply are required for a ruling cabinet to retain power in the lower house.
A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of parl ...
agreement with the Liberals.
The Yukon NDP is a territorial section of the federal
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
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Leaders of the Yukon NDP
The following is a list of the Yukon NDP leaders since Yukon introduced political parties provincially in 1978.
Election results
See also
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List of articles about Yukon NDP members
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List of Yukon political parties
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List of premiers of Yukon
The Canadian territory of Yukon has had a responsible government since 1978. In the 19th century, Yukon was a segment of the Hudson's Bay Company-administered North-Western Territory and then the Canadian-administered Northwest Territories. ...
*
List of Yukon Leaders of Opposition
This is a list of the Leaders of the Opposition of the Yukon Territory, Canada, since 1978 when responsible government was given to the territory. Prior to 1978 the territory had a legislature which had a largely advisory role and no political p ...
References
External links
Yukon NDP websiteYukon NDP Caucus website
{{Yukon NDP Leaders
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 ...
Territorial political parties in Yukon
1978 establishments in Yukon
Social democratic parties in Canada