‘I don’t take that lightly,’ says Melissa Syer, about her decisive win in Yellowknife mayoral race

Melissa Syer, who will be Yellowknife’s next mayor, says she felt honoured and humbled by the support of voters on Monday.

“A lot of people came out today to vote and make their voice count and the support that voters have shown me, and the responsibility that they’ve given me, I don’t take that lightly,” she said, soon after polling results showed her win over Garett Cochrane.

According to unofficial results posted by the city on Monday evening, Syer finished with 4,041 votes to Cochrane’s 1,482.

Syer moved to Yellowknife 10 years ago with the military, where she served for 18 years including as a naval warfare officer. She also has a background in municipal economic development and led the local chamber of commerce.

During the campaign, Syer had said her military expertise would be pivotal as the city anticipates billions in incoming federal investment for defence projects.

Cochrane, who served a term on council before entering the mayoral race this year, said earlier on Monday before the polls closed that he was feeling “incredibly confident, excited and glad that we’ve gone through this democratic process.”

But Syer took a significant lead early on as results started to come in, prompting Cochrane to concede even before all the votes were counted.

Syer and fellow mayoral candidate Garett Cochrane embrace on Monday night at an election watch party. (Thomas Ethier/Radio-Canada)

Speaking to friends and supporters at the Elks Lodge, he wished Syer well and said his commitment to serving the community “will not waiver.”

“While tonight’s result is not what we worked so hard to achieve, I stand here with no regrets,” Cohrane told the room.

8 new councillors

There will be several new faces on city council, with just three incumbent candidates winning re-election this time. Four are new candidates and one is a past councillor.

Twenty-one people ran for the eight council seats. The new city councillors, according to unofficial results on Monday evening, are Cody Drygeese, Adrian Bell, Donna Lee Demarcke, Rob Warburton, Steve Payne, Rylund Johnson, Rob Foote and Keneisha Buddoo.

Warburton, Foote and Payne are the only incumbents, though Bell has sat on Yellowknife city council in the past.

Drygeese earned the most votes, at 3,439, according to unofficial results. Bell followed in second place in the vote standings, at 2,896.

Drygeese, who was celebrating in Banff, Alta., on election night, said he was shocked by the support he received and he looked forward to getting to know his fellow councillors. During the campaign, he said his main priority would be developing new housing in the city.

Demarcke, who will be another of the new faces on council, said Monday night she was “absolutely honoured.”

She said it looks like the next city council will be “a pretty good team and a great mayor.”

Period of transition ahead

The campaign saw a lot of talk about housing, the cost of living, aging city infrastructure, and what’s next for the N.W.T. capital as the diamond mines close and the federal government promises major new investment in the territory.

Mark Henry, president of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, told CBC News on Monday night the next council will need to navigate a period of economic transition in the years ahead.

David Wasylciw, who runs the non-profit OpenNWT, which advocates for government transparency, said the new council is sure to bring about change. 

“There’s not a lot of people that were saying, ‘let’s just keep doing what we’re doing,’” Wasylciw said. 

What that change will look like, he said, will “depend on this group.”

Mark Heyck, who was the city’s mayor from 2012 to 2018, said he was pleased to see such a large and diverse group of people running for seats on council this time around.

“It was great to see so many different voices and perspectives kind of contributing to the conversation during the campaign,” Heyck said.

The swearing-in ceremony for the new mayor and council is on Nov. 2.