The introduction of party politics in Yukon was an important step in the political evolution of the territory. From the days of the first wholly elected Territorial Council (legislature) in 1909, elected members, called “Councillors” (MLAs), were constantly struggling to gain more control over local matters from the federal government. The head of the executive arm of the government in the territory was the federally appointed Commissioner of the Yukon Territory.
The attitude of the federal government and the judiciary towards Yukon can best be summed up in a decision by Mr. Justice Sissons in July of 1962 when he stated: “The Yukon is still a Crown Colony. The legislation and administration are controlled by the Dominion Government. There is no Legislative Assembly. The Executive Council is to aid and advise the Commissioner. It is not a Legislative Assembly and is not responsible to any Legislative Assembly. I know of no Government of the Yukon Territory distinct from the Commissioner or the Commissioner in Council and the home government of the colony is the Government of Canada.”
Yukon’s Territorial Councillors (MLAs), however, never accepted this “colonial” view. On December 1, 1966, for example, the Yukon legislature passed “The Autonomy Motion” which was presented by Councillor Don Taylor of Watson Lake and seconded by Councillor J.K. Thompson of Whitehorse North. The motion had been drafted by Yukon M.P. Erik Nielsen and called for a number of changes to the Yukon Act including: renaming the Yukon Council the Yukon Legislative Assembly; increasing the number of members in the Assembly to 15; changing the term of the Assembly from 3 to 4 years; replacing the Advisory Committee on Finance with an Executive Committee; creating the province of Yukon within 12 years; and transferring all Crown lands in the territory to the Crown in Right of Yukon.
Three years later, a portion of this motion was acted upon when DIAND Minister Jean Chretien proposed the creation of an Executive Committee comprising the Commissioner, two Assistant Commissioners, and one elected Territorial Councillor. The first Executive Committee was sworn in on November 29, 1970 with Commissioner James Smith as the Chair, two Assistant Commissioners and two elected Councillors, Mrs. Hilda Watson of Carmacks-Kluane and Mr. Norm Chamberlist of Whitehorse East.
Under the capable stewardship of Commissioner James Smith, the stage had been set for the establishment of Cabinet government in Yukon. Over the course of the next decade the development of responsible government saw the gradual replacement of the Assistant Commissioners on the Executive Committee by elected members of the Yukon legislature. The next step in the evolutionary development of responsible government in the territory was to have the Leader of the majority party in the legislature head up the Executive Council or Cabinet comprised entirely of elected members and with the Commissioner assuming the role of a Lieutenant Governor.
The pros and cons of creating party politics in the Yukon are still being debated to this day. Some Yukoners still prefer the non-partisan system that has carried on in the NWT wherein MLAs of differing political persuasions are elected to the legislature with a certain number of them being selected to form a Cabinet who then must govern by consensus. While there is more cooperation amongst MLAs in the non-partisan system, there are serious disadvantages as well, especially in relation to electing a government with a territorial wide vision because MLAs are elected on an individual basis rather than as part of a team with an overall plan.
Another difficulty with this system, as experienced by elected members of the Yukon Executive Committee, was in trying to get things done because they were out numbered by the MLAs not in Cabinet who in some instances acted more like an Official Opposition. Consequently it could be very difficult to carry out a government initiative especially if it was in any way controversial. Members of the Yukon Executive Committee (Ministers) could never count on a set number of MLAs to give them support. Effectively, the elected Executive Committee members operated much like a minority government.
The introduction of party politics gave Yukon political parties the opportunity to present a platform to the electorate and to tell the voter what the party would do if elected to form the government. Besides giving the voters differing platform options from which to choose, the voter could also hold the political party accountable for its actions in government especially if it was perceived as having not fulfilled its election commitments. Further, unlike the NWT, partisan politics had permeated Yukon life since the time of the Gold Rush. The formation of political parties at the territorial level was the natural next step in the development of responsible government.