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Yukon election campaign in the cold

Broadcast Date: Feb. 17, 1989

Politicians in other parts of Canada, take note: your campaign trail isn't all that bad. Not compared to running for office in the Yukon, where 14,000 eligible voters are spread over half a million square kilometres. With small numbers in each riding, every vote counts, and all races are tight (some have been decided by as few as six voters.) As we see in this clip, there's another wrinkle this year: temperatures that plummet to -60 C.

Yukon election campaign in the cold

• Although winters in the Yukon are on average milder than those in the eastern Arctic, the territory holds the record for the coldest temperature in North America. On Feb. 3, 1947, temperatures of –63 C were recorded. The Coast Mountains are largely responsible for the sharp temperature drops, blocking warm, moist Pacific air and causing cold, high-pressure air to pool in the valleys.

• The Yukon also holds the records for highest air pressure recorded in Canada (107.96 kilopascals), as well as the greatest temperature range. Mayo, Yukon, has experienced temperatures ranging from 36.1 C in summer to –62.2 C in winter, a range of 98.3 degrees. (The Yukon's typical average temperature range is about 40 C.)

(Source: Taiga.net)

• In the 1989 Yukon general election, Tony Penikett's New Democratic Party captured a majority with nine of the 16 seats. The Yukon Progressive Conservative Party won seven seats, while the Liberals were once again shut out entirely.

• After becoming leader of the government, Tony Penikett claimed the title of premier, the first time the moniker had been used.

Yukon election campaign in the cold

Medium: Television

Program: The National

Broadcast Date: Feb. 17, 1989

Guest(s): Norma Kassi, Luke LaCasse, Piers McDonald, Kathy Nukon, Tony Penikett, Ethel Tizya

Reporter: Whit Fraser

Duration: 3:04

Last updated:
July 29, 2009