1985 Yukon general election

The 1985 Yukon general election was held on May 13, 1985 to elect members of the 26th Legislative Assembly of the territory of Yukon, Canada. It was the first Yukon general election with live results coverage on television, and was suspenseful as telecommunications problems prevented the results of the Old Crow riding from being known outside of that community. It was won by the New Democratic Party.

1985 Yukon general election

May 13, 1985
16 seats of the Yukon Legislative Assembly 9 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   PC Lib Leader Tony Penikett Willard Phelps Roger Coles Party New Democratic Progressive Conservative Liberal Leader since 1981 March 23, 1985 1984 Leader's seat Whitehorse West Ran in Hootalinqua (won) Ran in Tatchun (won) Last election 6 9 0 Seats won 8 6 2 Seat change 2 3 2 Popular vote 4,335 4,948 806 Percentage 41.10% 46.91% 7.64% Swing 5.68pp 1.12pp 7.38pp
Popular vote by riding. As this is an FPTP election, seat totals are not determined by popular vote, but instead via results by each riding. Riding names are listed at the bottom.
Premier before election Willard Phelps Progressive Conservative Premier after election Tony Penikett New Democratic

Results by Party

Summary of the 1985 Legislative Assembly of Yukon election results

Party		Party leader	Candidates	Seats				Popular vote
				1982	Dissol.	1985	Change	#	%	Change
	New Democratic	Tony Penikett	16	6	6	8	+2	4,335	41.10%	+5.68%
	Progressive Conservative	Willard Phelps	16	9	9	6	-3	4,948	46.91%	+1.12%
	Liberal	Roger Coles	8	0	0	2	+2	806	7.64%	-7.38%
	Independent		4	1	1	0	-1	458	4.34%	N/A
Total			44	16	16	16		10,547	100.00%

Popular vote PC   46.91% New Democratic   41.10% Liberal   7.64% Independent   4.34%

Seats summary New Democratic   50.00% PC   37.50% Liberal   12.50%

Incumbents not Running for Reelection

The following MLAs had announced that they would not be running in the 1985 election:

New Democratic Party

• Maurice Byblow (Faro)

Progressive Conservative

• Al Falle (Hootalinqua)
• Clarke Ashley (Klondike)
• Chris Pearson (Whitehorse Riverdale North)
• Kathie Nukon (Old Crow)

Results by Riding

Bold indicates party leaders
† - denotes a retiring incumbent MLA

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other
Campbell		Nancy Dieckmann 248				Sam Johnston 313				Dave Porter
Faro		Ted Bartsch 97		Jim McLachlan 142		Sybil Frei 121				Maurice Byblow†
Hootalinqua		Willard Phelps 461				Tom Burke 399				Al Falle†
Klondike		Helmut Schoener 316				Art Webster 375				Clarke Ashley†
Kluane		Bill Brewster 237		Tony Stanevicius 63		Scott Gilbert 95				Bill Brewster
Mayo		Ken Cooper 183		Rob Andison 18		Piers McDonald 251				Piers McDonald
Old Crow		Alice Frost 61				Norma Kassi 67				Kathie Nukon†
Tatchun		Howard Tracey 93		Roger Coles 159		Victor Mitander 131				Howard Tracey
Watson Lake		Don McIntosh 90				Dave Porter 183		Don Taylor 174 Brian Shanahan 119		Don Taylor
Whitehorse North Centre		Ken McKinnon 241				Margaret Commodore 300		George Stalker 66		Margaret Commodore
Whitehorse Porter Creek East		Dan Lang 527		Hans Bierstedt 90		Gerry Dobson 230				Dan Lang
Whitehorse Porter Creek West		Andy Philipsen 393				Ross Priest 280		Frances Nowasad 99		Andy Philipsen
Whitehorse Riverdale North		Doug Phillips 540		Terry Hamilton 84		Jim Lockhart 268				Chris Pearson†
Whitehorse Riverdale South		Bea Firth 627		Willie Harasymow 165		Betty Irwin 260				Bea Firth
Whitehorse South Centre		Ron Granger 303		Arthur Giovinazzo 85		Roger Kimmerly 346				Roger Kimmerly
Whitehorse West		Charlie Friday 531				Tony Penikett 716				Tony Penikett

References

• "Election Results". Election Almanac. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2009. (Seats won)