1967 Northwest Territories general election
The 1967 Northwest Territories general election took place on July 4, 1967. This was the 11th general election in the history of the Northwest Territories.
Tragedy would ensue after this election as member-elect Bill Berg died in a plane crash while flying into Yellowknife on October 1, only a few days before the new council was to open.
This would be the first time since 1905 where more elected members would sit than appointed members.
This is also the first election in the history of the territories that electoral districts covered the entire territories. The redistribution of districts was a result of the Carruthers Commission. It would also be the last general election that had members appointed to the Northwest Territories council.
Election summary
| Election summary [1] | # of candidates | Popular vote | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incumbent | New | # | % | |
| Elected candidates | 1 | 5 | ? | ? |
| Acclaimed candidates | 0 | 1 | ||
| Appointed Members | 2 | 3 | ||
| Defeated candidates | ||||
| Total | 6,463 | 100% | ||
| Turnout 64.6% | ||||
Members elected
For complete electoral history, see individual districts
| 6th Northwest Territories Legislative Council | |||
| District | Member | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Arctic | Robert Williamson | ||
| Eastern Arctic | Simonie Michael | ||
| Mackenzie Delta | Lyle Trimble | ||
| Mackenzie North | David Searle | ||
| Mackenzie River | Bill Berg | ||
| Mackenzie South | Donald Morton Stewart | ||
| Western Arctic | Duncan Pryde | ||
Appointed members
| Council members appointed on November 9, 1967 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Member | New / Re-appointed | ||
| Lloyd Barber | New | ||
| Hugh Campbell | Re-appointed | ||
| John Tetlichi | New | ||
| James Gordon Gibson | New | ||
| John Havelock Parker | Incumbent Deputy Commissioner | ||
The final phase of the general election was the appointments of four council seats after the writs from the general election had returned. A fifth appointed seat also existed automatically going to the incumbent Deputy Commissioner who was reserved a seat on council.
Only one incumbent was appointed from the previous council that was retired Air Marshal Hugh Campbell. Abraham Okpik the first Inuit member of the council was dropped due to the election of Simonie Michael. The federal government felt that Okpik who had been appointed to represent Inuit in the eastern arctic was better served by Michael, the first elected Inuit. He was replaced on council by Chief John Tetlichi from Fort McPherson who was the first status Indian ever appointed to council.
The other two appointments went to James Gordon Gibson and Lloyd Barber. Gibson was living in Vancouver at the time having moved from the Yukon where he grew up. He had served in the logging industry on the west coast at the time of this appointment. The final appointee was Lloyd Barber a Dean of Commerce at the University of Saskatchewan. He had served on the Royal Commission on Government Administration in 1965.[2]
The appointments were announced on November 9, 1967 by Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Arthur Laing. He also announced that this would likely be the last appointments to the council as the government was considering plans to reform the council into a fully elected body.[2] The federal government kept the appointments for another term until 1975.
References
- Dickerson, Mark. Whose North?: Political Change, Political Development, and Self-Government in the Northwest Territories. UBC Press. p. 118. ISBN 0-7748-0418-1.
- "N.W.T. Seat to Barber". Vol LVIII No 263. The Leader Post. November 10, 1967. p. 4.
