Recount confirms Liberal win in Yukon’s Vuntut Gwitchin riding

Debra-Leigh Reti will be new MLA for territory’s northernmost riding, and the only Liberal in the legislature

A judicial recount has confirmed that Debra-Leigh Reti will be the new MLA for the Yukon’s Vuntut Gwitchin riding — and the only Liberal in the next legislative assembly.

The recount followed last week’s territorial election, when Reti defeated the incumbent NDP candidate for Vuntut Gwitchin, Annie Blake, by seven votes. A recount must be held anytime a riding is won by fewer than 10 votes.

The recount was conducted in Whitehorse on Wednesday by a Yukon Supreme Court justice. It confirmed the results from Nov. 3, with Reti at 52 votes, Blake 45, and the Yukon Party’s Sandra Charlie at 34.

“The election is now complete,” said Maxwell Harvey, the territory’s chief electoral officer, on Wednesday.

The Vuntut Gwitchin riding, which includes the community of Old Crow, also saw recounts in the 2016 and 2021 elections due to narrow vote spreads. In 2021, a tie between two candidates was ultimately decided by drawing a name from a box.

Harvey says the close races and recounts are a function of the riding’s “competitive candidates, and small size.”

“Just given the smaller numbers, it’s easier to be within 10 votes when 10 votes may represent 10 per cent of the voters,” he said.

Vuntut Gwitchin is the territory’s northernmost riding, and the one with the fewest voters. There were just 192 registered electors in last week’s election. The territory’s 20 other ridings all had between 1,100 and 2,200 registered electors.

In 2024, the Yukon Electoral District Boundaries Commission recommended folding Vuntut Gwitchin into the Klondike riding, which includes Dawson City, because voters in Old Crow were considered “over-represented.” However, after community consultations, the commission later dropped that recommendation.

Harvey said the next electoral boundary commission will be after the next territorial election, which must happen by 2029.

‘A lot of work on my plate’

Speaking outside the courthouse in Whitehorse on Wednesday, Reti said she was glad that her win was confirmed, though she “wasn’t really worried about it.”

“I just know I have a lot of work on my plate here, and I’m looking forward to it though, and just working for my community,” she said.

Her win saves the Yukon Liberal Party from a complete obliteration in last week’s election.

In 2016, the Liberals went from one seat to a majority government. Now, after nine years in government, the party’s back where it started a decade ago — as the third party, with one lonely member in the legislature.

Reti says her focus will be on representing her community, rather than partisanship.