Ione Christensen, the former Yukon commissioner and senator, first female mayor of Whitehorse, and celebrated keeper of a century-old sourdough starter, has died. She was 91.
“She was a force,” said Ron Veale, a retired Yukon Supreme Court judge and longtime friend of Christensen. “I mean, she did it all … every step of the way in her life was a phenomenal accomplishment.”
Christensen was born in B.C. and spent most of her childhood at Fort Selkirk, a former trading post at the confluence of the Yukon and Pelly Rivers, where her family moved in 1935. Her father, G.I. Cameron, was an RCMP officer stationed there.
Christensen would often reminisce about those years growing up at Fort Selkirk, a remote outpost where she had a dog team and a trap line.
“The only way you got around was either raft, canoe or, you know, riverboat. And she would … get on the riverboat and go downriver to go to school,” Veale said.
“She always talked about, you know, ‘when that last riverboat came up the river, I could smell the oranges before they got there.'”
Velae described Christensen as like “Yukon royalty.”
“Lineage since the Gold Rush,” he said, referring to Christensen’s mother, Martha Ballentine Cameron, who was born in Dawson City.
Christensen’s family moved to Whitehorse in 1949 and the city would be her home for most of the rest of her life.
After earning a degree in business administration in California, she worked at various jobs with the territorial government while also raising a family with her husband Art Christensen. In the early ’70s, she was named the first woman justice of the peace in Yukon, and a judge at juvenile court.
Then, in 1975, she ran for mayor in Whitehorse against seven opponents — all men — and handily won. She was the city’s first woman mayor.
In 1979, she was named commissioner of the Yukon but resigned later that year when the role was changed to become a mostly ceremonial post, while the responsibility for governing was assumed by the elected legislative assembly.
Veale recalled how at the time, he agreed with the change but Christensen saw things differently.
“When she was appointed, she was given a specific job as commissioner. And, you know, to her credit, she resigned in that circumstance and she moved on,” Veale recalled.
“She was a very principled woman.”
Christensen next decided to run for federal politics as a Liberal candidate, losing in 1980 to Yukon’s longtime Progressive Conservative MP Erik Nielsen. It was a tough loss, but Christensen was never one to sit and lick her wounds, according to Veale.
“She said, ‘well, you know, they didn’t want me. I’m moving on.’ She was just an incredible woman when it came to that,” he said.
The following years would see Christensen spearhead a book about the history of Whitehorse, be named to the Order of Canada in 1994, be named to the Senate in 1999 by former prime minister Jean Chrétien, and become one of the first people awarded the Order of Yukon in 2019.
She enjoyed some international renown late in life as the keeper of a century-old sourdough starter, kept alive since the Klondike Gold Rush when it was carried over the Chilkoot Pass by her great-grandfather. Christensen used that starter countless times over the years to make bread or her famous sourdough pancakes. Her starter was even added to the Puratos Sourdough Library in Belgium.
“She was always positive in her outlook and she always had projects on the go,” Veale said. “She just had that incredible, incredible love for life.”
‘Ione broke barriers’
Tributes were paid to Christensen on Tuesday, with Yukon Premier Mike Pemberton issuing a statement calling her “a true trailblazer, leader and friend to all Yukoners.”
“Over her long life, Ione broke barriers in politics, law and public service. She opened doors, inspired countless Yukoners and showed the power of kindness, hard work and courage. The Yukon is stronger because of her,” Pemberton said.
Yukon Commissioner Adeline Webber called Christensen “a true Yukoner.”
“Ione achieved so much in her lifetime that benefited Yukoners as a whole,” Webber wrote in a statement. “She was not only a former commissioner but my friend. I will miss her greatly.”
Whitehorse Mayor Kirk Cameron called Christensen a “warm, joyful and compassionate individual” who made the city a better place “throughout her lifetime.”
“The Yukon is known to be larger than life, and Mrs. Christensen embodied this spirit in her life and work,” Cameron said in a statement.
Philip Christensen, one of Ione’s two sons, said he hopes his mother is remembered for her love of the Yukon and the North, her lifetime of public service, and her adventurous spirit.
“Her legacy, I guess, would be just to take pride in where you’re from, to lead by example, to go out and do things that people tell you you can’t do or shouldn’t do,” said her son, Philip Christensen.
“She had a wonderful life, very full life. She did as much as she possibly could.”
