Hon. Darrell Pasloski – Premier & Yukon Party Leader
MLA for Mountainview
- Minister responsible for Executive Council Office, including Devolution, Land Claims, and Youth Directorate
- Minister of Finance
Darrell Pasloski was elected Leader of the Yukon Party on May 28, 2011 and was sworn in as Premier on June 11, 2011. He was elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the general election of October 11, 2011 and was sworn into Cabinet on November 5, 2011. In addition to his duties as Premier, he serves as Minister responsible for Executive Council Office and Minister of Finance.
Premier Pasloski began his political career in 2008 when he represented the Conservative Party of Canada in the 2008 federal election. Before entering politics, he worked as a pharmacist and was an active member of Yukon’s business community as well as in the community at large. In 1982, he graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a degree in Pharmacy with distinction. After moving to Whitehorse in 1991, he owned and operated two pharmacies. He was named Business Person of the Year by the Yukon Chamber of Commerce in 2009.
Premier Pasloski has a long record of community service. He served three terms on the Vanier Catholic Secondary School Council including two terms as chair. He was the President of the Whitehorse Glacier Bears Swim Club for five years and has been a member of various boards, including MacBride Museum, Swim Yukon and the Mountainview Golf Course.
As an outdoor enthusiast, Premier Pasloski enjoys hiking, fishing, hunting and camping. He has been an active hockey coach and a certified official for both hockey and swimming.
Premier Pasloski has lived within the boundaries of the new electoral district of Mountainview for 16 years. He and his wife Tammie have four grown children, daughters Erin, Lynsey, Bronwyn and their son Taylor.
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Hon. Brad Cathers
MLA for Lake Laberge
- Minister of Energy, Mines & Resources
- Minister responsible for the Yukon Development Corporation
- Minister responsible for the Yukon Energy Corporation
- Government House Leader
Brad Cathers was first elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the general election of November 4, 2002. He was re-elected in the general elections of October 10, 2006 and October 11, 2011. Mr. Cathers was appointed Government House Leader on November 5, 2011. He had previously served as Government House Leader from December 12, 2005 to August 28, 2009.
Mr. Cathers was first sworn into Cabinet on December 12, 2005 and became the youngest Minister of Health and Government House Leader in Canada. He was re-appointed to Cabinet on October 28, 2006 and on November 5, 2011.
Mr. Cathers’ experience includes service as Minister of Health and Social Services, Minister responsible for Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board, Minister responsible for Yukon Liquor Corporation and Yukon Lottery Commission, Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources and Government House Leader.
Before contesting the general election of 2002, Mr. Cathers was involved in the administration of the Yukon Party, serving as President of the Yukon Party Lake Laberge Riding Association from 1998-1999, and on the territorial executive of the Yukon Party in 2001 and 2002.
He has also been active in federal politics. Mr. Cathers was the Yukon constituency President for the Reform Party of Canada/Canadian Alliance from 1998 until his election to the Yukon Legislative Assembly; a member of the Reform Party of Canada Leader’s Grassroots Advisory Committee on the United Alternative from 1998-1999; and Yukon’s member on the Canadian Alliance National Council from 2000-2002.
Until early 2007, Mr. Cathers was part owner of a wilderness tour company, Cathers Wilderness Adventures. He served as the Wilderness Tourism representative on the Yukon Tourism Education Council from 2000 until his election to the Legislative Assembly in 2002.
Mr. Cathers has lived in the electoral district of Lake Laberge since 1983.
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Hon. Currie Dixon
MLA for Copperbelt North
- Minister of Economic Development
- Minister of Environment
Currie Dixon was elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the general election of October 11, 2011. He was sworn into Cabinet on November 5, 2011 as the Minister of Environment and Minister of Economic Development. At 26 years old he was the youngest cabinet minister in Yukon history and amongst the youngest in Canadian history.
Mr. Dixon was born and raised in Whitehorse and graduated from Porter Creek Secondary School. In 2008, he graduated from Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Political Science and History.
In the spring of 2011, he received a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Northern British Columbia. His studies there focused on northern and First Nations governments. Mr. Dixon’s Masters project examined the relationship between Yukon First Nation governments and the Yukon Government in the field of education.
After graduating from Saint Francis Xavier in 2008, Mr. Dixon worked in the Cabinet and Caucus Offices of the Yukon Government as the Executive Assistant to Brad Cathers, whose ministerial portfolios included Health and Social Services, Energy, Mines and Resources, Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board, Yukon Liquor Corporation and Yukon Lottery Commission. Upon completion of his Master’s degree, Mr. Dixon returned to the Cabinet and Caucus Offices as the Senior Policy Adviser to the Premier, where he worked until the 2011 Yukon general election.
Mr. Dixon enjoys playing a number of sports and tries to remain active as an athlete, coach, official and organizer. He was a founding member of the most recent iteration of the Yukon Fastball Association and has served on its executive since 2008. Throughout the years, he has been involved as a coach, player and official in hockey, fastball, softball, basketball and boxing.
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Hon. Doug Graham
MLA for Porter Creek North
- Minister of Health & Social Services
- Minister responsible for the Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board
Doug Graham was most recently elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the general election of October 11, 2011. He was sworn into Cabinet on November 5, 2011.
Mr. Graham was first elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly on November 20, 1978, representing the electoral district of Whitehorse Porter Creek West from 1978 to 1982. He served as Deputy Chair of Committee of the Whole and Chair of the Standing Committee of Rules, Elections and Privileges. He also held Cabinet responsibility for Education, Justice, Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Workers’ Compensation Board, Information Resources and Government Services.
From 2000 to 2011, Mr. Graham served as a Whitehorse City Councillor. He has been Chair of the City of Whitehorse Public Health and Safety Committee and Vice-Chair of the City Operations Committee. He also served on the Board of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for four years.
Mr. Graham was raised in Yukon, and has made his home in Porter Creek since 1964. He graduated from the Business Administration Program at the B.C. Institute of Technology in 1972. He recently retired after more than 28 years of service at Yukon College.
Mr. Graham is a Past President of the Association of Yukon Communities and has been the Chair for Habitat for Humanity Yukon.
He has been active as a fastball player, coach and official for many years and has participated as a volunteer and official for Team Yukon at several Arctic Winter Games and for the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse.
Mr. Graham and his wife Mayvor have been married for more than 40 years and have two children, Richard and Melanie (Davignon), and a grandchild Levi.
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Stacey Hassard
MLA for Pelly Nisutlin
Stacey Hassard was elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the general election of October 11, 2011.
Raised in Teslin, Mr. Hassard graduated from F.H. Collins Secondary School in Whitehorse in 1986. He worked in the construction industry for 15 years before purchasing and rebuilding the Nisutlin Trading Post and Northlake Motel. He and his family ran the business for 10 years before selling it in March 2011.
Mr. Hassard served two terms as the Chair of the Teslin School Council from 2002 to 2006. In 2008, he was elected as a Councillor for the Village of Teslin in a byelection and was re-elected in 2009. That same year he was chosen as Deputy Mayor.
Mr. Hassard served as director on the Association of Yukon Communities from 2009 until 2011, when he resigned after becoming MLA.
An active member of the community, Mr. Hassard spent many years coaching Teslin minor hockey, as well as serving on the Executive of the Teslin Minor Hockey Association. He has also volunteered for the Teslin ambulance service.
He and his wife Shelley live in Teslin, where they have raised their three children Christina, Robert and Kelsey.
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Hon. Wade Istchenko
MLA for Kluane
- Minister of Highways & Public Works
Wade Istchenko was elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the general election of October 11, 2011. He was sworn into Cabinet on November 5, 2011.
Mr. Istchenko was born in Whitehorse and raised in Haines Junction. He attended St. Elias Community School and, after graduation in 1984, he joined the Canadian Armed Forces, where he completed training in various locations across Canada and served with NATO forces in Germany for three years. He remains a proud member of the Canadian Rangers and the Royal Canadian Legion and has 26 years of service in the military to date.
For the last eight years, he has been running an outdoor adventure company, Kluane Ridin’ Adventure Tours.
Mr. Istchenko has served in various capacities in his community, including as President and Vice-President of the St. Elias Lions Club, President of the St. Elias Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the Alsek Renewable Resource Council. He was also appointed to the Kluane Park Management Board and was instrumental in the development of the Alsek-Tatshenshini National Park.
Mr. Istchenko, as a Canadian Ranger Sergeant, runs the Junior Canadian Ranger youth program in Haines Junction. He has also coached minor hockey for five years and is the founder and first President of the Haines Junction Snowmobile Club.
Mr. Istchenko’s grandmother, Hilda Watson, was an MLA for the electoral district of Kluane and the first woman to lead a political party in Canada.
He and his wife Donna have two sons, Joshua and Travis.
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Hon. Scott Kent
MLA for Riverdale North
- Minister of Education
- Minister responsible for the Yukon Housing Corporation
- Minister responsible for the Yukon Liquor Corporation
- Minister responsible for the Yukon Lottery Corporation
Scott Kent was most recently elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the general election of October 11, 2011. He was sworn into Cabinet on November 5, 2011.
Mr. Kent was first elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly on April 17, 2000 and represented the electoral district of Riverside from 2000 to 2002. During that time, he served as Deputy Chair of Committee of the Whole and was appointed to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the Standing Committee on Rules, Elections and Privileges. On June 12, 2001, Mr. Kent was appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Economic Development, later acquiring responsibility for the Department of Infrastructure, the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, and the Yukon Development Corporation/Yukon Energy Corporation. He was also the Minister responsible for Youth.
Mr. Kent has lived in Yukon since 1973 when his family moved here from Saskatchewan. He attended elementary, junior high and high school in Riverdale, graduating from FH Collins Secondary School in 1986.
Mr. Kent has worked for a number of Yukon organizations, including the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board, Yukon Chamber of Mines, Klondike Placer Miners’ Association, Canadian Cancer Society and Yukon Hospital Foundation.
He has volunteered for a wide variety of community and sport organizations, including the Whitehorse Lions Club, Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society, Yukon Broomball Association and Whitehorse Flag Football League.
Mr. Kent resides on Tagish Road with his wife Amanda Leslie, right across the street from his childhood home.
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Hon. David Laxton
MLA for Porter Creek Centre
- Speaker of the House
David Laxton was elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the general election of October 11, 2011. He was elected as the 23rd Speaker of the Yukon Legislative Assembly on December 1, 2011.
Mr. Laxton has lived in Whitehorse since moving to Yukon in 1998. During his time in Yukon, he has been employed by the federal and territorial governments doing geomatics work and website development. Prior to arriving in Yukon, he served 22 years with the Canadian Armed Forces, primarily with the Lord Strathcona Horse (Royal Canadians) and the Mapping and Charting Establishment. His military service included three United Nations postings, one in Egypt and two in Bosnia. He also carried out major survey work in the High Arctic and regional gravity surveys across Yukon.
Mr. Laxton is an active member of the community, having served as Chair of the Child Development Centre, Chair of the Whitehorse Housing Authority, various executive positions (including President) with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 254 (Whitehorse) and National Vice President (Western Arctic) of the Army Cadet League of Canada. He also served on the Executive of the B.C./Yukon Command of the Royal Canadian Legion and is the only Yukoner to serve at that level.
Throughout Mr. Laxton’s years in Whitehorse, he has volunteered with many local organizations, including the Abbeyfield Society, the Canadian Cancer Society, Freedom Trails Therapeutic Riding Association and the New Chelsea Society. He also served as Master of Ceremonies for Remembrance Day ceremonies in Whitehorse on several occasions and as M.C. for the Yukon Commissioner’s New Year’s Day Levee.
Mr. Laxton lives in Porter Creek with his wife Leslie Goring. He has two grown children, Cheryl and Aron, and two grandsons.
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Patti McLeod
MLA for Watson Lake
Patti McLeod was elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the general election of October 11, 2011.
Ms. McLeod is a 35-year resident of Watson Lake, having moved to the community from Whitehorse in 1977. During her time in Watson Lake, she worked in mining administration for 36 years for both the territorial and federal governments and was also employed by the Watson Lake Chamber of Commerce.
Ms. McLeod raised her two children in Watson Lake while also filling a number of community roles. She served on Watson Lake Town Council from 2006 to 2009 and on various local and territorial boards and committees, including Yukon College (Watson Lake) Campus Board, Yukon Child Care Services Board, Yukon Lottery Licensing Board, Labour Standards Appeal Board and Southeast Yukon Tax Assessment Appeal Board.
Ms. McLeod is an avid volunteer and is involved extensively in Watson Lake community activities. She helped the community gain national recognition through the Communities in Bloom organization and served as project coordinator for Watson Lake’s first daycare centres. She has also been involved in the Watson Lake Daycare Society, Watson Lake Community Club, Watson Lake Chamber of Commerce and community softball.
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Hon. Mike Nixon
MLA for Porter Creek South
- Minister of Justice
- Minister of Tourism & Culture
Mike Nixon was elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the general election of October 11, 2011. He was sworn into Cabinet on November 5, 2011.
Mr. Nixon has made Yukon his home since 1998. He has an agricultural background, having been raised on a dairy farm just outside of Niagara Falls, Ontario. He also has 14 years of experience working in the social sector, including five years working with at-risk youth in Yukon from 2004 to 2009. He has been an entrepreneur for nine years, owning and operating a number of businesses (Frazer’s Family Fun Centre in Riverdale from 1999 to 2003, Lanix Property Management Limited from 2007 to 2011and Eyewerx Graphic Design from 2010 to 2011).
Mr. Nixon served on the Yukon Party Executive from 2008 to 2011, holding the positions of Treasurer and President. He guided the party through its leadership election process in the spring of 2011.
Inspired by his son Jack, who has autism, Mr. Nixon co-founded Autism Yukon and worked with the government to develop a system to offer specialized services for children and adults with autism. He was a director on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Yukon. Mr. Nixon was appointed to the Health and Social Services Council in 2011, but resigned after winning the election.
Mr. Nixon has three sons, Matthew, Kyle and Jack.
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Hon. Elaine Taylor
MLA for Whitehorse West
- Deputy Premier
- Minister of Community Services
- Minister responsible for the Public Service Commission
- Minister responsible for the Women’s Directorate
- Minister responsible for the French Language Services Directorate
Elaine Taylor was first elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly as the MLA for Whitehorse West in the general election of November 4, 2002. She was re-elected in the general elections of October 10, 2006 and October 11, 2011. Ms. Taylor was first sworn into Cabinet on November 30, 2002, re-appointed to Cabinet on October 28, 2006 and on November 5, 2011.
With nine years of Cabinet experience, Ms. Taylor has served as Deputy Premier, Minister of Education, Minister of Environment, Minister of Justice, Minister of Tourism and Culture, Minister responsible for the Public Service Commission and Minister responsible for the Women’s Directorate. She has also served as Government House Leader, Chair of the Standing Committee on Appointments to Major Government Boards and Committees, Chair of the Cabinet Committee on Legislation and Chair of the Legislation Overview Committee.
Prior to her election to the Yukon Legislative Assembly, Ms. Taylor served as Executive Assistant to Government Leader Honourable John Ostashek and as a researcher and constituency caseworker for the Yukon Party Caucus.
Born and raised in Watson Lake, Yukon, Ms. Taylor attended Johnson Elementary and Watson Lake Secondary Schools. She attended Concordia College in Edmonton, Alberta and subsequently graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, majoring in Political Science.
Ms. Taylor, along with her husband Troy and their son Will, reside in the Whitehorse West electoral district.