Introduction
Elaine Taylor (born December 3, 1967 in Watson Lake, Yukon) is a Canadian politician. She is the former Deputy Premier of the Yukon and represented the electoral district of Whitehorse West in the Yukon Legislative Assembly. First elected in 2002, and re-elected in 2006 and 2011, she was defeated in the 2016 Yukon general election by Richard Mostyn of the Yukon Liberal Party.
At the time of her defeat, she was the longest continuously serving Cabinet minister in Canada and longest-serving Cabinet minister in the Yukon.
She is a member of the Yukon Party.
Political career
Taylor served as Executive Assistant to the John Ostashek, Yukon Government Leader and as a researcher and constituency caseworker for the Yukon Party Caucus.
She first ran for territorial politics on behalf of the Yukon Party in the 2000 general election, but was defeated in Whitehorse West by Liberal Dennis Schneider. She subsequently defeated Schneider in the following election, becoming the MLA for Whitehorse West after the general election of November 4, 2002. She was re-elected in the general elections of October 10, 2006, and October 11, 2011. She was sworn into Cabinet on November 30, 2002, re-appointed to Cabinet in 2006 and 2011.
As MLA, Taylor served as Deputy Premier, Minister of Community Services, Minister of Education, Minister of Environment, Minister of Justice, Minister of Tourism and Culture, Minister responsible for the Public Service Commission, Minister responsible for the French Languages Services Directorate, and Minister responsible for the Women’s Directorate. She has also served as Government House Leader.
Taylor was defeated on November 7, 2016, in her riding of Whitehorse West by Liberal candidate and former journalist Richard Mostyn.
Personal life
Taylor holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Alberta.
She is born and raised in Watson Lake.
Electoral record
2016 general election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Richard Mostyn | 455 | 45.8% | +17.1% | |
| Yukon Party | Elaine Taylor | 433 | 43.6% | -14.3% | |
| NDP | Stu Clark | 106 | 10.7% | -2.2% | |
| Total | 994 | 100.0% | – | ||
2011 general election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yukon Party | Elaine Taylor | 422 | 57.9% | +4.8% | |
| Liberal | Cully Robinson | 209 | 28.7% | -9.9% | |
| NDP | Louis Gagnon | 94 | 12.9% | +5.1% | |
| Total | 729 | 100.0% | – | ||
2006 general election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yukon Party | Elaine Taylor | 511 | 53.1% | +5.7% | |
| Liberal | Mike Walton | 371 | 38.6% | +0.6% | |
| NDP | Rhoda Merkel | 75 | 7.8% | -6.1% | |
| Total | 963 | 100.0% | – | ||
2002 general election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yukon Party | Elaine Taylor | 398 | 47.4% | +19.7% | |
| Liberal | Dennis Schneider | 319 | 38.0% | -2.5% | |
| NDP | Rachel Grantham | 117 | 13.9% | -17.4% | |
| Total | 840 | 100.0% | – | ||
2000 general election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Dennis Schneider | 621 | 40.5% | +8.4% | |
| NDP | Dave Sloan | 480 | 31.3% | -9.4% | |
| Yukon Party | Elaine Taylor | 425 | 27.7% | +0.7% | |
| Total | 1535 | 100.0% | – | ||