Currie Dixon’s Yukon Party has swept to a majority victory in Monday’s territorial election, ending nearly a decade of Liberal rule and ushering in what Dixon called a “new era of change” for the territory.
The conservative-leaning party is projected to win 14 of 21 ridings, reclaiming government after nine years in opposition. Dixon, 40, will become Yukon’s 12th premier — and the first to be born in the territory.
“Tonight Yukoners chose to move on from the status quo. They chose a new path. They chose change,” Dixon said during his victory speech.
The Liberals, led by Mike Pemberton, suffered a dramatic collapse, holding a narrow lead in just one seat — the northernmost riding of Vuntut Gwichin, which will go to a recount. It marks a stunning reversal for the party, which governed since 2016 and relied on NDP support for the past four years.
Meanwhile, Kate White’s NDP made major gains, securing six seats to become the Official Opposition for the first time in a decade.
“We know Yukoners are struggling with affordability, health care, and housing,” White said. “Now our job is to hold the new government to account.”
The campaign centered on the cost of living, health-care access, housing shortages, and community safety — issues Dixon promised to address immediately.
“The Yukon government should no longer be an impediment to private sector growth,” Dixon said. “Yukoners have told us they want to see change — and change is here.”
Among the key results, the Yukon Party picked up former Liberal premier Ranj Pillai’s seat in Porter Creek South, as well as Whitehorse West, where newcomer Laura Lang defeated Pemberton.
Longtime Yukon Party MLAs Brad Cathers, Scott Kent, Wade Istchenko, Patti McLeod, and Yvonne Clarke all held their seats, joined by several new faces including Linda Benoit (Whistle Bend South) and Jen Gehmair (Marsh Lake–Mount Lorne–Golden Horn).
The NDP, in turn, captured four former Liberal ridings — Klondike, Mountainview, Riverdale South, and Riverdale North — in one of the party’s best showings in years.
In a concurrent plebiscite on electoral reform, 56 per cent of Yukoners voted in favour of adopting a ranked ballot system, though the results are non-binding. Dixon has indicated he will not move forward with changing the voting system.
Voter turnout fell to 53 per cent, down sharply from 65 per cent in 2021 and 76 per cent in 2016.
With the Yukon Party’s victory, Currie Dixon now faces the task of forming a government that promises to deliver on its central message — that change has finally arrived.
