Yukon MP Brendan Hanley has been appointed by Prime Minister Mark Carney to the role of parliamentary secretary to Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand, Carney announced in a statement on June 5.
It is a bigger role than Hanley previously held in his first three-plus years serving as member of parliament in former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
Hanley is a doctor and the Yukon’s former chief medical health officer who led the territory through the start of the COVID-19 pandemic before his election in September 2021. In late 2024, he joined his caucus colleagues who called for Trudeau to go and later backed Carney's campaign for Liberal leader.
Since being re-elected this spring, Hanley told the News by phone that he has more experience under his belt now as an advocate for the North, plus Carney is showing his stance on the Arctic and northern security and sovereignty. The safety and security of the North and the Arctic has been drawing more national and international attention amid growing geopolitical tension surrounding the region.
“It's a really strong representation,” Hanley said.
“It clearly means that the prime minister is taking the North very seriously. And I'm really, really looking forward to being one of those voices.”
Hanley said he has learned the ropes and developed relationships with First Nations and stakeholders. He has been on the Indigenous and northern affairs parliamentary committee.
Hanley indicated it will be a good opportunity for him to join other northerners at the cabinet table.
“I just think it's a good fit for me being a northern MP with some experience and some credibility,” he said.
Chartrand, who was elected in April to represent the northern Manitoba riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, was appointed in May by Carney. Meanwhile, N.W.T. MP Rebecca Alty is the minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Buckley Belanger of the northern Saskatchewan constituency of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River is the secretary of state for rural development.
Hanley will be supporting Chartrand by taking questions when she is away from the House for travel, assisting on certain files and aspects of the role, and attending meetings and announcements, sometimes on behalf of the minister, affecting northerners.
“I remain the MP for the Yukon. So, that's maybe first and foremost,” Hanley said.
“But I think it gives me a potential opportunity to dive deeper into some of the key issues.”
He spoke about the importance of ensuring that resource development happens in partnership with Indigenous people, working towards Carney’s mandate letter for ministers and prioritizing the North when it comes to bill C-5 regarding “One Canadian Economy.”
Balancing economic opportunities and environmental protection and working with self-governing and non-self-governing First Nations around the implementation of agreements and other priorities could be challenges that he faces, he said.
He will also have to find work and life balance since he is taking on additional duties.
An external investigation commissioned by Winnipeg's Red River College Polytechnic and carried out by a Winnipeg law firm found that Chartrand harassed a former employee at the college for several months in 2019, according to a CBC News report. The news about Chartrand's past was first reported by Canadaland after her appointment.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
