Last week, I was in Yellowknife, where I released results of new research on affordable housing in the Northwest Territories (NWT). The research project was sponsored by the Social Economy Research Network of Northern Canada, and was a collaboration with the Centre for Northern Families.

Research findings include the following:

Results from North of Sixty for the federal election were bad, then good, then bad again.

Looking at the big media election maps, the North was coloured blue, orange and then blue as one scrolled across the continent.

Hence the bad/good/bad reference.

Two incumbents held onto their seats -- the Conservatives' Aglukkaq in Nunavut and NDP's Bevington in the Northwest Territories.

Aglukkaq was a cabinet minister in the previous Harper government, and if she gets the nod again the North will be at the cabinet table.

Even if it is a Conservative cabinet table, it is still probably a good idea to have some representation there.

When the territory of Nunavut was created by dividing the old Northwest Territories into two political entities there was some discussion in the north about what the western half of the old Northwest Territories should be called.

The 'rest-of-it' was a popular choice, but no doubt cartographers breathed a sigh of relief when the Northwest Territories name was retained.

It is confusing, as the Yukon Territory is actually the western most territory in Canada, and the Yukon community of Beaver Creek on the Alaskan border is actually the most westerly community in Canada. Their strictly unofficial motto is "You're all easterners to us."

To befuddle things more, the Northwest Territories seat in the House of Commons is called the riding of Western Arctic.