Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the contributions of candidates to our local elections. Yesterday, many communities in the Northwest Territories had their polling days, and it was amazing to see the results, particularly because so many women were elected. The Legislative Assembly has made getting women into politics and changing our dismal statistics a key priority of our mandate and a key priority of the 18th Assembly; and if yesterday's results were anything to look at, I think we are starting to turn the corner in the Northwest Territories and seeing more women rise to positions of leadership within their communities.
Mr. Speaker, I will highlight a few of our newly elected women leaders in the territory. Here in the city of Yellowknife, Rebecca Alty was elected mayor of Yellowknife. She is joined on the council by Shauna Morgan, Cynthia Mufandaedza, and Stacie Smith. That represents three out of eight total council seats, which is 30 per cent of the council, which meets the goals that many democracies have put for themselves in transformative change for women's leadership in politics. I really commend all those councillors for coming forward.
It doesn't stop in just the capital city, Mr. Speaker. In Fort Smith, Mayor Lynn Napier-Buckley has been re-elected, another woman leader. Jessica Cox, Ann Pischinger, and Louise Beaulieu are all elected to council as well; another 30 per cent margin. So they have met their goal, as well.
In Hay River, Kandis Jameson has been acclaimed, and Linda Duford, Emily Chambers, and Sandra Lester have all been elected to council. That's another three out of eight, so we're doing really well, Mr. Speaker.
In Fort Simpson, Liza McPherson, Marie Lafferty, and Celine Antoine have all been elected, and in Inuvik, Nathasha Kulikowski has become the new mayor, along with Alana Mero and Reygan Solotki on council.
Mr. Speaker, these are great results and really encouraging for our future, and I hope we can look forward to a 19th Assembly when we see more women being successful in contesting ridings and bringing their input, their views, and their diversity and inclusion into this Chamber. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.