Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories is a single-member federal riding spanning the entirety of the territory—1,346,106 square kilometres of boreal forest, tundra, and Arctic coastline stretching from the 60th parallel to the Beaufort Sea. The territory's 41,070 residents (2021 census) are distributed across 33 official communities, nearly half of them in Yellowknife, the only city, which had a population of 20,340. Beyond the capital, significant communities include Hay River (a transportation hub on Great Slave Lake), Inuvik (the administrative centre of the western Arctic), Fort Smith (on the Alberta border near Wood Buffalo National Park), and Behchokǫ̀ (the largest Tlı̨chǫ community). Indigenous peoples constitute 49.6% of the population—roughly 20,035 individuals—comprising First Nations (61.4%), Inuit (20.7%), and Métis (14.4%). The territory is home to multiple Indigenous peoples, including the Dene, Tlı̨chǫ, Inuvialuit, Gwichʼin, Sahtu Dene and Métis, and Dénésolin̩é. Like Nunavut, the territorial legislature operates under a consensus model with no political parties—members are elected as independents, and the premier and cabinet are chosen by the assembly.

Candidates

Michael McLeod (Liberal) Born in Fort Providence to a family of eight children, McLeod is Métis and earned his diploma in Management Studies from Arctic College. He worked as band manager for the Deh Gah Gotine Dene Council and as an economic development officer before running a contracting business. He was elected to the territorial legislature in 1999, serving five terms as MLA and holding cabinet portfolios including Housing, Environment and Natural Resources, and Municipal and Community Affairs. He won the federal seat in 2015. His brother, Bob McLeod, served as Premier of the Northwest Territories.

Kelvin Kotchilea (NDP) A Tlı̨chǫ man from Behchokǫ̀, Kotchilea worked for the territorial government for roughly a decade as a renewable resource officer and later as a finance officer with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. He takes pride in Dene culture and hand games and is an advocate for spending time on the land. Earlier in 2021, he ran for MLA in the Monfwi riding.

Jane Groenewegen (Independent) A business owner in Hay River, Groenewegen served five terms as MLA—more than 20 years—beginning in 1995. She held cabinet posts including Deputy Premier under Premier Stephen Kakfwi and served as Deputy Speaker. She lost her territorial seat in 2015 by 98 votes and entered the federal contest as an independent, citing disillusionment with party politics.

Lea Anne Mollison (Conservative) A Saskatchewan-born health care worker at a breast screening clinic in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Mollison holds a Bachelor of Arts in Native Studies from the University of Saskatchewan. She was named the Conservative candidate but drew criticism for never having visited the territory and declining media interviews during the campaign.

About the Riding

Diamond mining has defined the Northwest Territories economy since the late 1990s. The three operating mines—Ekati, Diavik, and Gahcho Kué—directly and indirectly employed more than 1,500 territorial residents and contributed roughly one-fifth of the territory's gross domestic product. However, the industry faces a looming wind-down, with mine closures expected to reduce output, exports, and government revenues significantly. Beyond diamonds, the territory produces gold and rare earth elements, and the Mackenzie Valley remains a region of active mineral exploration. Winter-only ice roads serve many mine sites, and the lack of year-round transportation infrastructure remains a major constraint on economic diversification.

Indigenous land claims and self-government agreements form the political bedrock of the territory. The Inuvialuit Final Agreement (1984) was the first comprehensive land claim in the NWT. The Tlı̨chǫ Agreement (2005) was the first in the territory to combine land claims with constitutionally protected self-government, establishing the Tlı̨chǫ Government and providing $152 million over 15 years plus a share of resource royalties. The Sahtu Dene and Métis agreement (1994) and the Gwichʼin agreement (1992) settled claims in the Mackenzie Valley and the Beaufort Delta, respectively. Several additional self-government negotiations remained active as of 2021.

Housing and infrastructure challenges pervade the territory. Many smaller communities—particularly those accessible only by winter road, barge, or aircraft—face severe housing shortages, aging stock, and construction costs inflated by the expense of transporting materials. Energy infrastructure is another persistent concern: most communities outside Yellowknife depend on diesel generators for electricity, driving up the cost of living and leaving households vulnerable to fuel-price fluctuations. Climate change compounds these challenges, as permafrost thaw undermines foundations and road surfaces, while increasingly unpredictable winter conditions shorten the ice-road season that links remote communities to supply chains.

The territory's vast geography and thin population create health care delivery challenges unlike those anywhere in southern Canada. Yellowknife's Stanton Territorial Hospital is the primary acute care facility for the entire territory, and patients from smaller communities routinely fly hundreds of kilometres for specialist appointments, surgeries, or diagnostic imaging. Mental health services, addiction treatment, and elder care are chronically underfunded relative to need, and recruitment of physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals to remote postings remains an ongoing struggle.