The 2023 Northwest Territories general election was held on November 14, 2023.[1] Nineteen members were elected to the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly.[2] The Assembly is run on a consensus government system, in which all MLAs sit as independents and are not organized into political parties.
Due to the Northwest Territories wildfire evacuations in August, territorial chief election officer, Stephen Dunbar, proposed delaying the election one month to November, due to the possibility that some residents of the territory may still be displaced from their homes during the currently scheduled campaign period.[3] Some cabinet ministers expressed support for his proposal, with the Assembly meeting on August 28 to debate rescheduling the election.[3] The election was officially delayed from the original October 3 date to November 14, six weeks later.[4]
On September 28, incumbent Premier Caroline Cochrane announced she would not seek re-election.[5]
The Legislative Assembly is run on a consensus government system, in which all MLAs sit as independents and are not organized into political parties. Note, accordingly, that colours in the following charts are used solely to indicate candidate status, not political party affiliations.
In the election, 12 out of the 19 seats in the legislature elected new MLAs. In addition, the number of women elected to the legislature decreased, from nine in 2019 to eight.[6][7][8]
