Yolanda Burkhard (; October 27, 1930 – March 31, 1998) was 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 who served as mayor of

Dawson City Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...

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 ...

from 1976 to 1978."In remembrance of Yolanda Burkhard"
'' Hansard of Yukon'', April 2, 1998. She was the first woman ever elected mayor of the community;"Two women elected mayors in Yukon vote". ''

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 ...

'', December 13, 1975.

Ione Christensen Ione Jean Christensen, , ''née'' Cameron (born October 10, 1933) is a former Canadian Senator. The daughter of former North-West Mounted Police constable Gordon Irwin Cameron, and Dawson City born Martha Ballentine Cameron, her family moved to ...

was elected as the first woman mayor 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 Whitehorse, downtown ...

on the same day. Born in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, she was raised there until the death of her father, and then travelled to Dawson City with her mother on what was initially planned as a visit to a family friend. The family ended up settling in the town, where she married Frank Burkhard in 1951. In the 1960s and 1970s, she worked as the city clerk for Dawson City's municipal government, until being dismissed from her position by then-mayor

Colin Mayes Colin N. Mayes, (born April 11, 1948 in New Westminster, British Columbia) is a Canadian politician and was the Member of Parliament for the riding of Okanagan—Shuswap from 2006 to 2015. In the 2006 federal election, he ran as a member of the ...

in 1975. She subsequently worked as a bookkeeper for the local museum,"Canadian gold town mayor to visit Bendigo". ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', April 19, 1977. and successfully challenged Mayes in the 1976 municipal election. In 1977, she took a trip to

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban populat ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Dawson City's twin town in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, to attend the Australian National Gold-Panning Championship. She stepped down as mayor in 1978, moving to Whitehorse and taking a job with the mining recorder's office, and was succeeded as mayor by Vi Campbell. She died on March 31, 1998, in Whitehorse. Following her death, MLA Peter Jenkins gave a tribute speech in the Legislative Assembly of Yukon on April 2.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burkhard, Yolanda Mayors of Dawson City Women mayors of places in Yukon 1930 births 1998 deaths Swiss emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century Canadian politicians