Commissioner of Yukon

The Commissioner of Yukon (French: Commissaire du Yukon) is the representative of the Government of Canada in the Canadian federal territory of Yukon. The commissioner is appointed by the federal government and, in contrast to the Governor General of Canada or the Lieutenant Governors of the Canadian provinces, is not a viceroy and therefore not a direct representative of the Canadian monarch in the territory eo ipso.

Commissioner of Yukon
Commissaire du Yukon
Badge of the Commissioner of Yukon
Flag of the Commissioner of Yukon
Incumbent
Angélique Bernard

since 12 March 2018[1]
Inaugural holderJames Morrow Walsh
FormationAugust 17, 1897
Websitecommissioner.gov.yk.ca

List of commissioners

Commissioners (1897–1918)

# Image Commissioner Term start Term end
1 James Morrow Walsh August 17, 1897 July 5, 1898
2 William Ogilvie July 5, 1898 March 11, 1901
3 James Hamilton Ross March 11, 1901 February 8, 1902
Henry William Newlands (interim) February 8, 1902 August 15, 1902
Zachary Taylor Wood (interim) August 15, 1902 March 4, 1903
4 Frederick Tennyson Congdon March 4, 1903 October 29, 1904
Zachary Taylor Wood (interim) October 29, 1904 May 27, 1905
5 William Wallace Burns McInnes May 27, 1905 December 31, 1906
John T. Lithgow (interim) December 31, 1906 June 17, 1907
6 Alexander Henderson June 17, 1907 June 1, 1911
Arthur Wilson (interim) June 1, 1911 February 1, 1912
7 George Black February 1, 1912 October 13, 1916
George Norris Williams (interim) October 13, 1916 April 1, 1918

Gold Commissioners

The offices of Commissioner and Administrator were abolished in 1918. Office replaced by the Gold Commissioner who was responsible to the federal Minister of the Interior (and since 1936 the Minister of Mines and Resources).

# Gold Commissioner Term start Term end
1 François Xavier Gosselin June 17, 1907 February 1, 1912
2 George P. MacKenzie February 1, 1912 April 1, 1925
3 Percy Reid April 1, 1925 November 14, 1927
George A. Jeckell (interim) November 14, 1927 April 1, 1928
4 George I. MacLean April 1, 1928 June 30, 1932

Controllers

The positions of Gold Commissioner and Comptroller were combined in 1932 with the Comptroller being the title for the chief executive. The title was changed to "Controller" in 1936.

# Controller Term start Term end
1 George A. Jeckell June 30, 1932 September 18, 1947
2 John Edward Gibben September 18, 1947 July 13, 1948

Commissioners (1948–present)

In 1948, the title of chief executive once again became Commissioner. By the 1960s, the Commissioner had formed an executive committee that included some members of the elected Territorial Council, in essence a cabinet. (By the mid 1970s, the Territorial Council was referring to itself as a Legislative Assembly, and its members MLAs rather than Councillors.) Beginning in 1978, Yukon had party government with a Government Leader.

In October 1979, federal minister Jake Epp (Indian Affairs and Northern Development) issued a letter, often known as the Epp letter, instructing the Commissioner to assume a role similar to that of a provincial Lieutenant-Governor, and devolving leadership of the day-to-day government to the majority leader of the legislative assembly (territorial council), to whom the Epp letter granted the authority to use the title Premier. At that time, the government leader added a fifth elected member to the committee, which became an executive council.

Subsequent federal ministers did not revoke this authority and instruction, which was eventually codified in amendments to the Yukon Act, along with redesignation of the legislative assembly from territorial council. The process, particularly since 1979, has devolved powers from the federal government to the territorial government, bringing authority which is normally reserved by the Articles of Confederation for provinces to the territory.

See also: List of premiers of Yukon

# Commissioner Term start Term end
1 John Edward Gibben July 13, 1948 August 15, 1950
2 Andrew Harold Gibson August 15, 1950 October 15, 1951
3 Frederick Fraser October 15, 1951 November 5, 1952
4 Wilfred George Brown November 5, 1952 June 8, 1955
5 Frederick Howard Collins June 8, 1955 May 1, 1962
6 Gordon Robertson Cameron May 1, 1962 November 7, 1966
7 James Smith November 7, 1966 July 1, 1976
8 Arthur MacDonald Pearson July 1, 1976 November 1, 1978
9 Frank Fingland November 1, 1978 January 20, 1979
10 Ione Christensen January 20, 1979 October 9, 1979
11 Douglas Bell October 9, 1979 March 27, 1986
12 Ken McKinnon March 27, 1986 June 12, 1995
13 Judy Gingell June 12, 1995 October 1, 2000
14 Jack Cable October 1, 2000 December 1, 2005
15 Geraldine Van Bibber December 1, 2005 December 1, 2010
16 Doug Phillips December 1, 2010 January 31, 2018[2]
17 Angélique Bernard March 12, 2018[3] Incumbent

Living former Commissioners

As of March 2019, six former commissioners are alive, the oldest being Douglas Bell (1979–1986, born 1926).

NameTermDate of birth
Frank Fingland 1978 1979 1929 (age 9192)
Ione Christensen 1979 (1933-10-10) October 10, 1933
Douglas Bell 1979 1986 (1926-06-15) June 15, 1926
Judy Gingell 1995 2000 1948 (age 7273)
Jack Cable 2000 2005 (1934-08-17) August 17, 1934
Geraldine Van Bibber 2005 2010 (1951-07-03) July 3, 1951
Doug Phillips 2010 2018 (1946-12-04) December 4, 1946

References

  • "History". Commissioner of Yukon. Government of Yukon. Retrieved November 30, 2009.
  • "Commissioners of the Yukon Territory". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
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