Liberal Rebecca Alty wins election in N.W.T.

Liberal Rebecca Alty, the Yellowknife mayor who threw her hat into the race to be the N.W.T.'s next MP, has won a seat in the House of Commons. 

Alty had 8,580 votes with 108 of 109 polls reporting as of Tuesday morning. Kimberly Fairman with the Conservatives was behind her with 5,284 votes. Kelvin Kotchilea, the NDP candidate, had 1,926 votes while the Green Party's Angela Davidson, also known as Rainbow Eyes, had 163.

Polling stations across the territory closed at 7:30 p.m. MT.

The N.W.T.'s four candidates included Alty, Fairman, Green Party candidate Angela Davidson, also known as Rainbow Eyes; and Kelvin Kotchilea, who returned as the NDP's candidate.

This year, the territory had 30,097 people on the voters list, according to Elections Canada.

The amount of people voting in advance polls in the N.W.T. rose slightly this election compared to the 2021 federal election, with 3,631 people voting — 132 people more than last time.

Here's a full rundown of the options of how and where to follow along with CBC's election coverage.

Alty maintained a steady lead throughout the night as polls reported in. Before results were finalized, she told CBC it had been an exciting campaign.

"I'm looking forward to this next chapter and representing people in Ottawa," she said.

She added she would be resigning as mayor.

Alty said the campaign was her first time going to some communities, like Fort Resolution and Fort Good Hope. She cited door-knocking and meeting new people as some of the campaign highlights for her.

She said the first thing she plans to do is push to pass legislation for an Indigenous guardian program, called Our Land for the Future. Nearly all Indigenous governments in the N.W.T. signed that deal in 2024.

Speaking with CBC News before the results were finalized, Conservative candidate Kimberly Fairman said this wouldn't be her last election as a candidate. 

"I will absolutely run again. I had such an amazing time getting out into the communities. I had very good conversations with all communities, with community members," she said. 

"And we had an amazing team that came together. And we were really focused on making sure that we heard a lot of voices up here. So I'm in it for another run, for sure."

She said her team wants to build on the support they have now as they look forward to the next election.

She said she hopes Alty carries through on commitments her party made recently around improving the N.W.T.'s economy and addressing cost of living and crime.

Before the results were finalized, Kelvin Kotchilea, the NDP candidate, said that if he didn't win, he would consider running for MLA. He has run before, finishing in second place in the 2021 by-election for Monfwi. 

"The reason being is that I would like to be given the opportunity to run on a consensus platform," he said. 

"For the most part, people like me as an individual and a person and I'm probably carrying more of the party than the party carrying me." 

He said he and his family were considering moving to Range Lake, if so he'll run for that riding. 

Kotchilea says his advice for the winner is to focus on affordability and housing affordability in particular.

CBC News reached out to Green Party candidate Angela Davidson, also known as Rainbow Eyes, but didn't receive an immediate response. 

What matters to N.W.T. residents

N.W.T. residents told CBC their priorities this election largely centred around affordability and good leadership, as well as infrastructure.

Some said they have been struggling financially; for others, affording housing has been the challenge.

There was also a lot of talk about Arctic sovereignty and security, with each party rolling out promises for the North.

At the polls Monday in Yellowknife, Brianna Brenton told CBC she was thinking about who would be best for future generations when she cast her vote.

"Personally, my parents are like, 'Buying a house is going to be more difficult now, compared to when we were buying a house,'" she said.

Mohammad Bhuiyan said he, too, was thinking of future generations, particularly his two sons and making sure they have opportunities in the future. 

"We are blessed, but I talk to my colleagues, friends, and they're really concerned about the economy, inflation, the cost of living," he added.

Bohdin Hacala, also a first-time voter, said for him, key election issues included rights for transgender people and solving homelessness.

"I really, in my heart, support trans rights and I think that it needs to be showed everywhere and everyone needs to support it, because humans are humans," he said.