2021 Yukon general election

April 12, 2021[1]
All 19 seats to the Legislative Assembly 10 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   YP NDP Leader Currie Dixon Sandy Silver Kate White[2] Party Yukon Party Liberal New Democratic Leader since May 23, 2020 August 17, 2012 May 4, 2019 Leader's seat Copperbelt North[lower-alpha 1] Klondike Takhini-Kopper King Last election 6 seats, 33.38% 11 seats, 39.41% 2 seats, 26.23% Seats before 6 10 2 Seats won 8 8 3 Seat change 2 3 1 Popular vote 7,477 6,142 5,356 Percentage 39.32% 32.37% 28.17% Swing 5.94pp 7.04pp 1.94pp
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.
Premier before election Sandy Silver Liberal Premier after election Sandy Silver Liberal

The 2021 Yukon general election was held on April 12, 2021, to return members of the 35th Yukon Legislative Assembly.^[1][3] The election resulted in a hung parliament where the incumbent governing Yukon Liberal Party and the opposition Yukon Party won 8 seats each, while the Yukon New Democratic Party held the remaining 3. As the incumbent party given the first opportunity to form government, a Liberal minority government was sworn in on April 23, 2021.^[4] The Liberals and NDP announced the establishment of a formal confidence and supply agreement on April 28, 2021.^[5]

During the 2016 election, the Liberals included a commitment in their platform to introduce fixed election dates in the territory.^[6] In October 2020, the government introduced legislation to amend the Elections Act and create fixed election dates.^[7] The legislation passed in December 2020, and took effect after the 2021 election.^[8]

Voter turnout dropped almost twelve percentage points compared to 2016, caused to an extent by the introduction of a standing List of Electors, resulting in a higher percentage of Yukoners being registered. More votes were cast than in 2016, in part due to the territory's strong population growth since the last election.

Results

The final seat standing for the election was only resolved on April 19, 2021, because of a 78–78 vote tie in the Vuntut Gwitchin riding, the territory's smallest by population. After the tie was upheld by a judicial recount, drawing of lots gave the seat to the NDP's Annie Blake, denying the Yukon Liberals a one-seat plurality over the Yukon Party.^[9]

Summary of the 2021 Legislative Assembly of Yukon election results^[10]

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					2016	Dissolution	Elected	Change
	Yukon Party	7,477	39.32	+5.84	6	6	8	+2
	Liberal	6,155	32.37	-7.04	11	10	8	-3
	New Democratic	5,356	28.17	+1.94	2	2	3	+1
	Independents	26	0.14	-0.06	0	1	0	±0
Total		19,014	100.00	–	19	19	19	0
Valid votes		19,014	99.56
Invalid/blank votes		84	0.44
Total votes		19,098	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		29,637	64.44

Results by Riding

Each candidate stands in a single electoral district.

Bold indicates party leaders and cabinet members are italicized
† - denotes a retiring incumbent MLA

Opinion polls

Aftermath

The election resulted in a hung parliament, with no party winning the requisite 10 seats to form a majority in the legislature. The Yukon Party and the Liberals, with 8 seats each, entered discussions with the NDP to determine support for a minority government.^[14] The Liberals, as the incumbent governing party, were given the opportunity to continue as government and test the confidence of the legislature. The Yukon Party publicly stated that they were not included in any talks to form a coalition government or provide other support to the Liberals, while the NDP did not indicate the content of their leader's discussion with the Liberals.^[15] On April 28, 2021, the Liberals and NDP announced a formal confidence and supply agreement to allow the Liberals to form a minority government.^[5]

Following the tie vote in Vuntut Gwitchin, which declared NDP candidate Annie Blake as the winner following the drawing of lots, outgoing Liberal MLA Pauline Frost filed a legal challenge challenging the results; Frost initially claimed that two votes had been counted from the district that "should not have been cast."^[16] Only one vote was actually formally challenged by Frost in court, on the grounds that as a prisoner in the Whitehorse Correctional Centre the voter should have registered to vote in Whitehorse rather than his home community; the challenge was rejected by Suzanne Duncan of the Supreme Court of Yukon in August, affirming Blake's victory.^[17]

Notes

References