Yukon

Yukon is Canada's sole single-member federal riding covering an entire territory, encompassing roughly 483,000 square kilometres of subarctic and boreal landscape in the country's northwest. The great majority of the territory's approximately 40,000 residents live in or near the capital city of Whitehorse, with smaller communities scattered along the Alaska Highway, the Klondike Highway, and in remote locations accessible only by air.

Candidates

Larry Bagnell (Liberal) -- Born and raised in Toronto, Bagnell moved to the Yukon as a federal civil servant and served as head of Industry Canada's territorial office before becoming executive director of the Association of Yukon Communities. He was elected to Parliament in 2000 by a margin of just 70 votes and served four consecutive terms before losing to Conservative Ryan Leef in 2011. He reclaimed the seat in 2015 by his widest-ever margin and served as a member of the Privy Council during the 42nd Parliament.

Jonas Jacot Smith (Conservative) -- A third-generation Yukoner with experience in the hospitality and mining sectors, Smith served as campaign manager to former territorial premier Darrell Pasloski during the 2011 territorial election and subsequently worked as his deputy chief of staff. He later became executive director of the Klondike Placer Miners Association and served as the Yukon representative on the Conservative Party's national council.

Justin Lemphers (NDP) -- Raised at Shallow Bay in the Lake Laberge area north of Whitehorse, Lemphers had served as president of the Yukon Federation of Labour and founded an LGBTQ2+ community group in the territory. He was also involved with the Boys and Girls Club of Yukon. This was his first federal campaign.

Lenore Morris (Green Party) -- A Whitehorse lawyer who had operated her own practice since 2006, Morris was a longtime Green Party member and member of the local riding association. She campaigned on environmental issues and affordable housing.

Joseph Zelezny also ran for the People's Party.

About the Riding

Yukon's economy is built on three foundations: mining, government, and tourism. Mineral extraction -- including gold, silver, lead, zinc, and copper -- has driven the territorial economy since the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897--1898, though production rises and falls with global commodity prices. The territorial and federal governments are among the largest employers in Whitehorse, where the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport serves as the territory's aviation hub. Tourism draws visitors for the northern lights, the historic Dawson City goldfields, and wilderness experiences in Kluane National Park, home to Mount Logan, Canada's highest peak at 5,959 metres. Fourteen First Nations are recognized under the Umbrella Final Agreement, with eleven having concluded self-government agreements, making Indigenous governance and land claims a central thread in territorial politics. Affordability concerns -- particularly the rising cost of housing in Whitehorse -- competed with environmental issues and the carbon tax debate as the dominant themes of the 2019 campaign. Health care access in remote communities and the territory's dependence on the aging Alaska Highway corridor for ground transportation were also persistent concerns.