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Thanks to the fixed election date for the federal election, and the same for Yukon municipalities and local councils, there is a twin political campaign process underway in the Yukon. The municipal and local council elections are on October 15th and the federal election is on October 19th.

To find out information on the federal election process and whether you are registered to vote, visit the Elections Canada website. For Yukon municipal elections, visit either your municipalities website or the Yukon Government local election page. 

There are two schools of thought regarding how having the elections so close together could affect voter turnout in the Yukon.

The first is that it will increase the number of voters on each separate voting day. Individuals might take an interest in one, and in doing so become interested in the other election. Of course, the second school of thought is that people will become so disgusted with politicians, politics and policies they will get turned off and not bother to vote at either. 

There is going to be an awful lot of door knocking, pamphlets and social media postings. There is also the danger of voters getting some of the candidates and issues mixed up.

If a federal candidate comes knocking at a door, it probably is not a good idea to go on at length about how the garbage man missed a pickup. Or if a municipal candidate is seen at the grocery store it might not be appropriate to go on a rant about the demise of the penny. 

Given the shenanigans a few weeks ago about the Yukon Conservative candidate and the handcuffs it is no wonder that (as noted by Dawn Macdonald, a self-described all around regular Yukoner and occasional artist) it is entirely possible that Outsiders do see the Yukon Territory as not actually real, and that everything that happens here is an elaborate set-up for a sketch on “This Hour Has 22 Minutes.”

Note to those of you who are not Yukoners. The term for those who do not live here is an Outsider — in that you live outside the Yukon. This can lead to misunderstanding, for example: when telling someone you are going outside it means you are just stepping out your door but if you are going Outside you are probably going to Vancouver for the weekend. 

Despite the glib nature of this blog, and how the Yukon has perhaps been portrayed in the media of late, the Territory has some very serious issues. Substance abuse treatment, homelessness, environmental degradation, crime, missing and murdered Indigenous women, lack of educational opportunities, a focus on resource extraction that is currently in a downturn and unsettled First Nation land claims are but a few. 

Speaking of crime, the RCMP had pulled a body out of the Whitehorse bush three days before the Prime Minister came to town. This was quite close to where the PM was later boated around for a photo opportunity. It is not always a peaceful paradise up north. 

Any election — especially at the municipal level — can bring up issues that other levels of government have chosen to neglect. The refugee crisis that is currently overwhelming the Middle East and Europe is one. 

It has been noted by others that if everyone in Whitehorse — with a population of about 27,000 — donated a loonie that would be enough to sponsor a refugee family.

Given the federal government’s current abysmal record of admitting refugees, it is significant that other Canadian city mayors are taking a stand on the issue. Whitehorse could be part of this. Candidates are just announcing they are running either for mayor or council, so it will be interesting to see what they all have to say on this. 

For those residents of Whitehorse who would like to learn more there is an information session about Canada’s refugee sponsorship program at at 7:30PM on Monday, September 14th at the Whitehorse Public Library. Thanks to the failure of the federal government on a humanitarian issue, the Yukon municipal election process might have to deal with a life and death subject. 

We will close on another linguistic note. There is no term for a resident of Whitehorse. Some people use Whitehorsian, Whitehorser or even Whitehorses. This author prefers the term Pale Riders, but it has yet to gain much of a following.  

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Lewis Rifkind

Lewis Rifkind

Lewis Rifkind is a Whitehorse based part-time environmentalist. His work centers around Yukon recycling, energy and mining issues. When he is not winter camping or summer hiking, he collects stamps...