Yellowknifers chose Melissa Syer as the city’s new mayor on Monday.
Joining Syer at City Hall will be councillors-elect Cody Drygeese, Adrian Bell, Donna Lee Demarcke, Rylund Johnson, Keneisha Buddoo and incumbents Rob Warburton, Steve Payne and Rob Foote.
Also on Monday, residents voted for new Yellowknife Catholic Schools and YK1 school boards.
YK1’s newly elected board features Billie-Jean Smith, Brianna Spicer, Allan Shortt, Jillian Bancroft, Stacy Ridgley, Barbara Bell and Spencer Tracy according to unofficial results provided by the district.
The YCS trustees are provisionally Tina Schauerte, Matthew Yap, Susan Waddell, Sara Flaherty, Melanie Williams, Megan Richards and Alex Mulooki.
On this page, Cabin Radio shared live updates as election results rolled in.
Ollie Williams’ live election special aired on Cabin Radio’s website and app featuring special guests Ben Hendriksen (mayor 2025-26) and Mark Heyck (mayor 2012-18) alongside former city manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett. Highlights from the show will be featured in a podcast.
Sarah Pruys, Claire McFarlane and Eshana Gohil brought you live updates, photos and interviews with candidates from across the city.
The new mayor and council will be sworn in on November 2.
Updates appear below, the most recent first. Live coverage has ended.
Live reporter: Emily Blake
All times are MT.
22:24 – And that’s it for this election night. Thanks for reading and tuning into our live election special.
We’ll have more election stories on our livestream and website tomorrow morning. Beyond that, stay tuned for our regular council coverage.
22:21 – Some more photos from election night taken by Sarah Pruys to wrap up the evening.
22:18 – message from Kam Lake MLA Caitlin Cleveland on her Facebook page:
“Huge thank you to every single Yellowknife resident who put their name forward to run for mayor, city council, and school board trustee. Running in an election is incredibly demanding on the whole team and their support network, but especially the candidate.
Thank you for putting yourself out there, thank you for sharing your vision and pieces of your heart, and thank you for the passion for Yellowknife you showed all of us.”
22:13 – Behchokǫ̀ Chief Bertha Rabesca Zoe shared this message on her Facebook page:
“Congratulations to the Mayor-elect of Yellowknife Melissa Syer. Looking forward to working with her. Congratulations to all the elected councillors, particularly to Cody Drygeese!”
22:09 – The City of Yellowknife has issued a press release on the election results.
It says the council-elect transition will begin next week with the new mayor and council being sworn in at City Hall on Monday, November 2.
“The City of Yellowknife congratulates the newly elected mayor and council and looks forward to working together to build a strong, vibrant and sustainable community,” the press release states.
The city says no automatic recount was required for the election (as there were no candidates separated by four or fewer votes)
Any candidate who disagrees with the results may still apply in writing to the returning officer for a recount no later than 7pm on Thursday.
Any voter may apply to the NWT Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories for a recount no later than November 2.
22:02 – Claire McFarlane caught up with Steve Payne who is set to serve a fourth term on city council. He said he wasn’t certain he would be re-elected but is “very happy with the outcome.”
Payne said he’s looking forward to working together with other councillors and thanked outgoing councillors.
“I didn’t think that we were going to be able to work together on a lot of stuff. But you know what? We came together and we got things happening and we got things done.”
As for the next council, Payne said the first few weeks will be getting new councillors up to speed. Then he said they’ll “get down to work and work together on development happening and get the city back to where we need it for all the development that’s going to come with the military spending.” He added increasing the city’s tax base will also be an area of focus.
21:52 – Regardless of whether they won or not, thanks to the 21 people that put their names forward for council. It’s not easy putting yourself out there and running a campaign. I hope all of the candidates put their passion towards volunteering and making Yellowknife a great place to live.
21:35 – We have the unofficial winners of the school board election for YK1. (We don’t have the number of votes, just the list of winners).
- Billie-Jean Smith,
- Brianna Spicer;
- Allan Shortt;
- Jillian Bancroft;
- Stacy Ridgley;
- Barbara Bell; and
- Spencer Tracy.
21:33 – Once again, according to the unofficial results, the mayor-elect is Melissa Syer and the councillors-elect are:
- Cody Drygeese;
- Adrian Bell (city councillor from 2012 to 2018);
- Donna Lee Demarcke;
- Rob Warburton (incumbent):
- Steve Payne (incumbent):
- Rylund Johnson (former MLA);
- Rob Foote (incumbent); and
- Keneisha Buddoo.
21:30 – Claire McFarlane spoke with Rylund Johnson and Rob Foote who both are set to make up the next council. (We have it confirmed that all unofficial results are now in).
Johnson said it “looks like a great bunch” and he’s “excited to get to work” while Foote said he’s “super elated” to be on council again. (While initially coming in ninth in the 2022 election, Foote became a councillor after former mayor Rebecca Alty left an open seat when she went on to become the NWT’s MP).
Foote said his top priorities on council will be land, housing, revitalizing the downtown, and increasing social welfare.
Johnson said he thinks there’s a lot of excitement about implementing the city’s new community plan and transportation plan and making changes to the zoning bylaw. He added that shortly after councillors are sworn in, it’ll be straight into budget season.
21:23 – And we have interim results from the election for the Yellowknife Catholic Schools board (there are seven seats):
- Tina Schauerte with 668 votes;
- Matthew Yap (648);
- Susan Waddell (547);
- Sara Flaherty (547);
- Melanie Williams (448);
- Megan Richards (411);
- Alex Mulooki (362);
- Whitney Jason (348);
- Trish Paddon (335);
- Justin Fabella (303);
- Jabin Carrasco (299); and
- Ryan Hewlett (291).
21:16 – Unofficial results for more council candidates:
- Skye Plowman with 1,940 votes;
- Nazim Awan (1,814);
- Yanik D’Aigle (1,684);
- Andy Young (1,657);
- Tammy Soanes-White (1,634);
- Gerri Whiteford (1,457);
- Jeremy Flatt (1,339);
- Roberta Marie Campbell (1,281);
- Ryan Fequet (1,145);
- Fraser Fuite (588);
- Simon Whitehouse (570);
- Vibhesh Tripathi (476); and
- Roland Laufer (367).
22:12 – The latest unofficial voting numbers for the top eight council candidates:
- Cody Drygeese with 3,439 votes;
- Adrian Bell (2,896);
- Donna Lee Demarcke (2,683);
- Rob Warburton (2,692);
- Steve Payne (2,381);
- Rylund Johnson (2,292);
- Rob Foote (2,150); and
- Keneisha Buddoo (2,050).
21:05 – More unofficial results in this time from early voting at the returning office.
21:04 – Cabin Radio reporter Claire McFarlane spoke with Adrian Bell who looks poised to get one of the eight seats on council but he says it’s still “sort of hard to tell with the numbers coming in.”
“It seemed like there was a ton of engagement, so that’s great,” he said. “That’s always a good sign, and that’s certainly the way it felt talking to people at their doors and at the various events.”
Bell said it looks “like a really good slate so far.”
20:42 – With four polls reporting here are the latest unofficial election results for council:
- Cody Drygeese with 2,135 votes;
- Adrian Bell (1,607);
- Donna Lee Demarcke (1,507);
- Rylund Johnson (1,469);
- Rob Warburton (1,464);
- Steve Payne (1,229);
- Skye Plowman (1,216);
- Keneisha Buddoo (1,214);
- Rob Foote (1,200);
- Nazim Awan (1,106);
- Yanik D’Aigle (967);
- Tammy Soanes-White (962);
- Andy Young (878)
- Jeremy Flatt (890);
- Gerri Whiteford (808);
- Roberta Marie Campbell (782);
- Ryan Fequet (693);
- Fraser Fuite (363);
- Simon Whitehouse (334);
- Vibhesh Tripathi (264); and
- Roland Laufer (222).
20:36 – With Cody Drygeese in the lead of all four polls reporting it looks like he will be on the next council. He told Cabin Radio he’s “feeling pretty great” and thanked Yellowknifers for supporting him.
“What I really like about this race is that I entered it fully intending to be myself, and that’s exactly what I did,” he said.
“I think people really appreciate authenticity.”
As far as we aware, Drygeese will be the first member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation to sit on city council. He said it’s “a great step towards acknowledging the original people of the area, specifically the Yellowknives Dene, because we’ve always been here.”
Drygeese said he’s looking forward to working together with his fellow councillors and wants to bring back an Indigenous relations advisor position as “a little bit of a go-between for the Indigenous governments and city council.”
20:27 – Unofficial elections results from the polling station at the Multiplex now in.
20:29 – Unofficial results from another polling station, this time École Įtłʼǫ̀.
20:27 – Across the three polls reporting here are the top council candidates:
- Cody Drygees with 1,744 votes;
- Adrian Bell (1,312);
- Donna Lee Demarcke (1,248);
- Rob Warburton (1,188);
- Rylund Johnson (1,162);
- Steve Payne (1,043);
- Keneisha Buddoo (988);
- Rob Foote (978);
- Skye Plowman (973);
- Nazim Awan (896);
- Yanik D’Aigle (806);
- Tammy Soanes-White (780); and
- Andy Young (750).
20:22 – Cabin Radio reporter Claire McFarlane spoke with Melissa Syer who says she’s “overwhelmed” and excited as it looks like she’s set to become Yellowknife’s next mayor.
“It’s been a lot of work over the past five, six weeks and it feels like it’s all coming to fruition this evening,” she said.
Syer said the big question mark of the evening is the eight people who will be joining her at City Hall as councillors.
20:05 – Mayoral candidate Garett Cochrane is now at the Racquet Club, where Melissa Syer is watching election results roll in, and appears to have conceded and congratulated Syer.
20:01 – More unofficial election results from the city from the polling station at the Tree of Peace.
19:59 – More election night photos from Sarah Pruys of candidates socializing as they watch the results roll in.
19:56 – Cabin Radio reporter Claire McFarlane spoke with incumbent council candidate Rob Warburton at the Racquet Club who said there is “a robust and diverse group of candidates.”
“It’s really awesome to see that many people and that much choice,” he said. “So I hope folks got out and voted because there was, I think, someone for everyone.”
Warburton says he hopes he is re-elected to council and is excited to see who else will make up council over the next four years.
19:51 – Mayoral candidate Garett Cochrane has told supporters at the Elks Lodge that he does not believe he has won the election, although unofficial results are not in for all polls and he has not officially conceded.
Cochrane told Cabin Radio reporter Eshana Gohil he is “still processing” the results but glad the election has come to an end.
He said the conversations he had with Yellowknifers stand out from his campaign calling the city “a wonderful, magical place” and adding that he was glad to participate in the democratic process.
“It was incredibly important to be able to create a dialogue and hear the issues that matter to them,” he said.
19:43 – More unofficial election results from the city, this time from the poll at Range Lake North School.
19:41 – A photo from the studio during Ollie’s live election night broadcast.
19:37 – The first set of unofficial election results are in from the City of Yellowknife coming from the polling station at Weledeh Catholic School.
Melissa Syer is in the lead for mayor with 639 votes to Garett Cochrane’s 220.
In the councillor seats the top eight councillors are:
- Cody Drygeese with 555 votes;
- Donna Lee Demarcke (428);
- Adrian Bell (414);
- Rylund Johnson (412);
- Rob Warburton (392);
- Keneisha Buddoo (334);
- Skye Plowman (324); and
- Rob Foote (323).
19:25 – Here are some photos from Sarah Pruys out in the field.
Mayoral candidate Garett Cochrane is hosting an all candidates party at the Elks Lodge. He is currently joined by council candidate Skye Plowman.
Mayoral candidate Melissa Syer is set to host an elections party at the Racquet Club starting at 8pm. She’s expected to be joined by several council candidates.
And council candidate Steve Payne is hosting an election party at his home.
19:19 – Former Yellowknife manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett has joined our live election night special from Montreal.
Asked what she wants to see from the next council, Bassi-Kellett said: “A group that can be functional and work really effectively together.”
She said councillors should especially be able to deal with unexpected “curveballs” in a strong, respectful and productive way.
Bassi-Kellett said she also wants to see a new council that understands the mandate and machinery of government as well as the costs of commitments they make with finite resources.
19:14 – Ever been confused of what the different levels of government in Canada do?
Here’s a handy guide as well as a game outlining just that.
19:08 – And here are the results from former councillor Tom McLennan’s unofficial poll, completed by 301 people. (It will be interesting to see how these results compare to the real election results.
In the mayor’s chair, McLennan’s poll shows Melissa Syer winning with nearly 63 percent of the vote.
As for the eight council seats, the results are as follows:
- Cody Drygeese with 72.6% of voters casting an unreal ballot for him;
- Rylund Johnson (56.9%);
- Rob Warburton (49.5%);
- Skye Plowman (42.5%);
- Adrian Bell (37.8%);
- Donna Lee Demarke (37.8%);
- Keneisha Buddoo (34.4%); and
- Rob Foote (34.4%).
19:05 – As promised, here are the results from École William McDonald Middle School’s poll, in which 269 students voted. (Note the students can’t vote in the actual election).
For mayor, the students selected Melissa Syer with 68.4 percent of the vote.
For the eight council seats they elected:
- Andy Young with 150 votes
- Cody Drygeese (139);
- Keneisha Buddoo (126);
- Rob Foote (121);
- Fraser Fuite (106);
- Adrian Bell (82);
- Steve Payne (82); and
- Donna Lee Demarcke (77).
19:00 – And the polls are now closed! Let the counting begin.
That also means our live election special broadcast has begun. You can tune in on Cabin Radio’s website, our app or the player at the top of this page. Ollie is currently joined in studio by former mayors Ben Hendriksen and Mark Heyck.
18:46 – Fourteen minutes until the polls close.
If the municipal election is not enough political excitement for you, the NWT Legislative Assembly resumes tomorrow for a roughly three week session (minus a day each week). Tuesday morning MLAs are also set to select Lesa Semmler’s replacement in cabinet. A by-election to fill her seat in the Inuvik Twin Lakes district following her resignation is set for November 24 with nominations opening next week.
Further south, Albertans are heading to the polls today to vote in a referendum with questions related to immigration policy, Canada’s constitution, and whether Alberta should hold another referendum on separation. According to CBC, the last polling station is set to close at 10pm. Polls were originally set to close at 8pm but Elections Canada has pushed back the closing time for some polling stations after more than 100 failed to open on time.
18:30 – Hi everyone. It’s Emily Blake, Cabin Radio’s senior reporter. Thanks for joining the Cabin crew on election night in Yellowknife. The polls are still open for another half an hour to elect a new mayor and up to eight councillors from the 21 candidates that are running.
Once the polls close – as we await polling results from the city – we will be sharing the results of who students at École William McDonald Middle School would have elected if they could vote, as well as results from an informal poll held by former councillor Tom McLennan.
Sarah Pruys, Claire McFarlane and Eshana Gohil will be out roaming the city talking to candidates and taking photos to capture how they are spending election night. Ollie Williams will be in studio starting our live election night show at 7pm with some special guests.
In the Cabin Radio office, in the grand tradition of newsrooms across Canada on election nights, we are enjoying some pizza. In the first big decision of the night we had to figure out what pizza place to order from and what pies to get. Among our selections is a Hawaiian pizza sparking the age old question: Does pineapple belong on pizza? The answer: It doesn’t really matter because we’re eating it regardless!
