Dennis Fentie

Dennis G. Fentie

The Hon. Dennis G. Fentie
7th Premier of the Yukon
In office
November 30, 2002  June 10, 2011
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Paul Martin
Stephen Harper
Commissioner Jack Cable
Geraldine Van Bibber
Doug Phillips
Preceded by Pat Duncan
Succeeded by Darrell Pasloski
MLA for Watson Lake
In office
September 30, 1996  October 11, 2011
Preceded by John Devries
Succeeded by Patti McLeod
Personal details
Born (1950-11-08) November 8, 1950
Edmonton, Alberta
Political party New DemocratYukon Party
Spouse(s) Lorraine Nixon
Residence Whitehorse, Yukon

Dennis G. Fentie, MLA (born November 8, 1950) is a Canadian politician. He was the seventh Premier of Yukon and leader of the Yukon Party, serving from 2002 to 2011, as well as the MLA for Watson Lake.

Background

Fentie was born in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1962, Fentie moved to Watson Lake.[1] Prior to entering politics, Fentie was involved in a variety of economic activities in and around Watson Lake. These activities include logging, tourism, mining, trucking, and fuel distribution. Fentie has served as director of both the Association of Yukon Forests and the Watson Lake Chamber of Commerce, and the owner and former manager of Francis River Construction.

Politics

NDP

Fentie was first elected MLA for Watson Lake in the 1996 election as a member of Yukon New Democratic Party, succeeding retiring incumbent John Devries. He was re-elected in the 2000 election.[2]

Yukon Party

In May 2002, Fentie left the NDP, crossing the floor to sit with the Yukon Party. One month later, Fentie was selected as the next Yukon Party leader.[3] In the 2002 election, Fentie led the Yukon Party to a majority government, defeating incumbent Premier Pat Duncan and the Liberals. The party won 12 of 18 seats available in the Yukon Legislative Assembly.

Fentie's majority government was reduced to minority government status in August 2006, when three Yukon Party MLAs resigned or chose to sit as independents. Copperbelt MLA Haakon Arntzen resigned after facing sexual assault charges and Klondike MLA Peter Jenkins was ousted after refusing to repay a government loan.[2] McIntyre-Takhini MLA John Edzerza, the only First Nations person in Fentie's cabinet, resigned in August 2006 to sit as an Independent. Edzerza would run in the next election as a member of the NDP.

With a minority government, Fentie called the 2006 election for October 10.[4] Fentie was re-elected for a fourth time in the riding of Watson Lake and the Yukon Party was voted to a second straight majority government. The Yukon Party under Fentie's leadership won 10 of 18 seats in the legislative assembly.[5][6]

On April 27, 2011, Fentie announced he was stepping down as premier and would not seek re-election as MLA in the 2011 election.[7]

Controversy

After the 2002 election, it was revealed he had been convicted and spent time in prison for heroin trafficking in 1974 when he was 24 years old. During the 2002 election campaign, he made it public that he had spent time in jail for a narcotics charge but did not make the fact it was heroin public since he had received a pardon.[8][9]

Election results

Yukon general election, 1996
Party Incumbent Votes
     New Democratic Party Dennis Fentie 442
Yukon Party Barrie Ravenhill 249
     Liberal Dave Kalles 106
     Independent Mickey Thomas 40
Yukon general election, 2000
Party Incumbent Votes
     New Democratic Party Dennis Fentie 434
     Liberal Isaac Wood 312
Yukon Party Mickey Thomas 144
Yukon general election, 2002
Party Incumbent Votes
Yukon Party Dennis Fentie 521
     New Democratic Party Kathy Magun 174
     Liberal Tom Cove 130
Yukon general election, 2006
Party Incumbent Votes
Yukon Party Dennis Fentie 495
     Liberal Rick Harder 196
     New Democratic Party Rachael Lewis 45
     Independent Dale Robert Worsfold 28

References

  1. "MLA biography". Yukon Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  2. 1 2 "Yukon Votes 2006 leader bio". CBC News. August 25, 2006. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  3. "Fentie wins Yukon Party leadership race". CBC News. June 17, 2002. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  4. "Fentie calls for October 10 vote". Yukon News. September 12, 2006. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  5. "Yukon Party sweeps back to power with decisive win". The Globe and Mail. October 11, 2006. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  6. "Yukon Party's dream comes true". Whitehorse Daily Star. October 11, 2006. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  7. "Yukon premier to step down". CBC News. April 27, 2011. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  8. "Yukon premier did time for heroin trafficking". CBC News. November 23, 2003. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  9. "Yukon Premier 'Embarrassed' by Edmonton Heroin Conviction". Canadian Press. Archived from the original on March 28, 2007.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.