Gabrielle Dupont arrived in the Yukon 18 years ago with a backpack and a few books for the summer.
She never left.
Dupont said it’s a common origin story that she shares with other Yukoners. After a stint in the public sector, she started her own business in architectural drafting for mining companies and local contractors. She is a long-time volunteer who lives off the grid. Being an avid paddler and skier has cemented her appreciation for the land and natural environment.
In late February, Dupont secured the Green Party of Canada nomination to run to be the next Yukon MP in federal elections that have yet to be declared.
When Dupont spoke with the News by phone on March 4, she took a bit of a jab at incumbent Yukon MP Brendan Hanley of the Liberals by suggesting Yukoners deserve a better-fitting representative at the federal level.
In a follow-up email, she said she needs to earn Yukoners’ trust, which is what she will be trying to do in her campaign.
Dupont believes Yukoners recognize a disconnect between the environment and the economy that needs mending.
“Whether you're harvesting a moose down the Pelly River or hiking on Grey Mountain after your day shift, like, we all care about the environment,” she said.
“If we're degrading the natural environment, we're degrading our economy, and the Green Party is the only party that takes that relationship seriously.”
Lots of work has been done in the North around green-energy projects like wind and solar that can be built on, per Dupont.
“We really should be focusing on doing more of these projects, to have more studies of where we should put wind turbines, for example, and like really keep doing the groundwork to expand what we already did,” she said.
“And we absolutely need to fix the housing crisis. We absolutely need to have much more affordable homes available for people.”
Dupont suggested revisiting the notions of affordability and affordable homes to properly define the terms for housing policy purposes.
She wants to build an attractive business case for building more housing that people can afford by working with industry. The spectrum of housing she proposes includes apartments, townhouses and mobile homes.
Dupont’s message is that a vote for the Greens isn’t a wasted vote.
“Voting for someone you don't like or voting for a party that you don't like, that you don't believe in, that would be a tragedy. That is wasting your vote,” she said.
“In a healthy democracy, to make it work, we need to vote for what we believe in and in the people that we believe in.”
The Yukon is regarded as a swing riding. It went from blue to red in 2015.
With a close race in 2021, Hanley took the Yukon seat with 6,471 votes. Conservative Barbara Dunlop came in next with 5,096 votes. Lisa Vollans-Leduc of the NDP got 4,354 votes. Independent Jonas Smith, who was booted as the Conservative candidate for his vaccine stance, followed up with 2,639 votes. Lenore Morris of the Green Party received 846 votes, and 142 ballots were rejected.
During the upcoming campaign, Dupont figures her smaller party needs to work harder than her competition in the bigger parties.
“We have a very, very ambitious and dynamic team here locally. And we're very positive,” she said.
A press release issued by the party recognized her volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity Yukon, Les EssentiElles, the Yukon River Quest and Yukon Artists at Work.
The release identifies Dupont as a Francophone Yukoner who sees the unique issues facing minority groups, and the need to take action on reconciliation with Yukon First Nations.
From Dupont’s perspective, the Green party is the only party committed to protecting the land.
“For Yukoners, we love our land. We love being on the land. And we are very aware that we need to protect our land,” she said.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
