Ted Staffen 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, who 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 ...

Riverdale North Riverdale North is an electoral district which elects a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of the Yukon Territory in Canada. Along with Riverdale South, it makes up the subdivision of Whitehorse of Riverdale. ...

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 ...

as 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 ...

from 2002 to 2011. He served as the 9th

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and ter ...

from 2003 to 2011.

Early life

Staffen holds a bachelor's degree in political science from

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

, where he studied the political evolution of the Yukon. Staffen has worked in the private sector as an entrepreneur, a natural resources consultant, and in risk capital. He also served on the Board of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce. Prior to entering politics, Staffen worked in the Yukon,

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, and 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. ...

. He is a former researcher for the Yukon Legislative Assembly and senior political advisor for the

Yukon Government {{Infobox legislature , name = Legislature of Yukon , legislature = 34th Yukon Legislative Assembly , house_type = Unicameral , houses = Territorial Council (1898-1978) Legislative Assembly (1978-) , f ...

Cabinet Offices.

Political career

Staffen entered territorial politics in the 2002 Yukon election, recapturing the

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 ...

riding of

from Yukon Liberal incumbent and Cabinet minister

Dale Eftoda Dale Eftoda is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Riverdale North in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2002. He was a member of the Yukon Liberal Party caucus. Eftoda became the first openly gay member of ...

. The Liberals had seized the

stronghold A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

for the first time in the 2000 election. Staffen was elected as part of a Yukon Party majority government on November 4, 2002. He was re-elected in Riverdale North in the

2006 Yukon general election The 2006 Yukon general election was held on October 10, 2006, in Yukon, Canada, to elect members of the 32nd Yukon Legislative Assembly. The Premier of Yukon asked the territorial Commissioner for a dissolution of the Assembly on September 8, 2006 ...

. Staffen was sworn in as the Speaker of the 31st Yukon Legislative Assembly on February 27, 2003. He was re-elected Speaker for the 32nd Assembly on November 23, 2006. As Speaker, Staffen was credited with improving some of the decorum in the legislative assembly over his tenure, as well as restoring the dormant youth legislature program. Staffen announced his plans to retire from politics in June 2011, expressing a desire to return to the private sector.

Personal life

In 2012, Staffen was appointed director of regional affairs for federal Cabinet minister

Leona Aglukkaq Leona Aglukkaq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᓕᐅᓇ ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ; born June 28, 1967) is a Canadian politician. She was a member of the non-partisan Legislative Assembly of Nunavut representing the riding of Nattilik from 2004 until stepping ...

in her capacity as minister responsible for the Canadian North and the

Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor; french: l'Agence canadienne de développement économique du Nord) is a policy initiative announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper of the Federal Conservative Party in August 2009. The pu ...

. His political position was responsible for assisting the coordination of federal and territorial political operations. His appointment was not renewed when the

Conservative 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 i ...

government (and Leona Aglukkaq) were defeated in the 2015 federal election.Staffen: the Yukon’s new Conservative wrangler
''Yukon News'' (Genesee Keevil), February 24, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2017. Staffen has lived in the

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 ...

since 1969. He resides in

with his wife Susan, with whom he has two grown children, Jess and Bailey.

Electoral record

2006 general election

, - ,

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 ...

, Lesley Cabott , align="right", 373 , align="right", 38.3% , align="right", +3.6% ,

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 ...

, James McCullough , align="right", 172 , align="right", 17.6% , align="right", -4.2% , - !align=left colspan=3, Total !align= 974 !align= 100.0% !align= –

2002 general election

, - ,

, align="right", 355 , align="right", 34.7% , align="right", -18.2% ,

, Jan Slipetz , align="right", 223 , align="right", 21.8% , align="right", -5.3% , - !align=left colspan=3, Total !align= 1,024 !align= 100.0% !align= –

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staffen, Ted Yukon Party MLAs Living people Speakers of the Yukon Legislative Assembly Politicians from Whitehorse 21st-century Canadian politicians Year of birth missing (living people)