Whitehorse councillor and former AYC president wants to be on the ballot the next time Yukoners choose their MP
Ted Laking, presently a Whitehorse city councillor and, until recently, the president of the Association of Yukon Communities (AYC), has announced he will seek the nomination of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) to run for the Yukon’s member of Parliament seat in the next election.
“While the scheduled date of the next election is October 2025, with a minority Parliament there could be an election at any time. Laking is aiming to provide Yukoners with certainty as to who their CPC candidate will be whenever the election is called,” Laking’s July 11 announcement reads.
The announcement notes that the Conservatives have not set a date for their nomination meeting. Only those Yukoners on the party membership rolls will be able to vote to select the candidate.
Laking, who also has a background as a political chief of staff at the federal and territorial levels, announced in May that he won’t seek another term as AYC president.
During an interview by phone on July 11, Laking confirmed he no longer works for the territorial Yukon Party, which has a strong relationship to the federal Conservatives but is a different entity with separate membership, as previously noted by the Yukon Party’s press secretary.
Linda Benoit, who previously ran for the Yukon Party leadership, is serving as Laking’s financial agent and campaign manager for the nomination period.
In his notice that he would seek the Conservative candidacy, Laking cites cost of living, housing stock and crime and advocacy for the Yukon at the national level as his priorities.
“Ottawa treats our community as an afterthought and has not been focused on our priorities,” Laking states in the notice.
“I will be a strong and confident voice to ensure that the Yukon’s concerns and needs are addressed. It is crucial that we have federal representation that listens to and responds to the issues that matter to us right here at home.”
A parent of two young children, Laking told the News that the Yukon gave him a lot of opportunity growing up.
“I’m seeing that opportunity drift away for the next generation of Yukoners through the cost of living and the shortage of housing,” he said.
“I wanted to ensure that I could use my experience and the ability to get things done to support the next generation of Yukoners.”
Laking made the leap to federal politics after looking at the significance of the issues the country is facing, plus his interests and expertise on housing and infrastructure spending are major federal files.
To him, advocating for the Yukon on the national stage means speaking up for a range of infrastructure needs. He cited the Dawson City residents who want a bridge, the permanent infrastructure needed to protect Teslin from flooding and a $60-million water treatment plant needed in Whitehorse.
Policies related to reducing red tape to get housing out the door and addressing the costs of doing business and living tied to increased taxes and red tape on small businesses excite him.
“[Those issues] really get down to what the root cause of a lot of our challenges in the community right now are, and that is people just they can’t find a place to rent, and they can’t afford their mortgage, and they can’t afford to pay their bills,” he said.
One of his biggest frustrations is the federal government’s lack of movement on housing.
“The federal government, for example, is sitting on a significant amount of land in the territory that is underutilized or not even used at all,” he said. “They originally promised back in 2018 that they were going to start to release this land to have housing developed in our communities here in the Yukon. We haven’t seen any plan to do that yet.”
Laking said he has seen problems in Canada generally compounding and getting worse.
He blames a big part of that on the federal government’s “inflationary spending.” For example, he gave the Arrive Can app for travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the government didn’t follow its own rules and didn’t properly document how much money was being spent and how that spending was being approved.
“When you see a disrespect for taxpayers’ dollars like we have over the last several years with this Liberal government, that’s where we’re starting to see inflation skyrocket, which has led to interest rates increasing, which, of course, has increased everybody’s mortgage payments, which is increasing people’s car payments, and we’re seeing it now in the grocery store, as more and more people are having difficulty affording putting groceries in their fridge and cooking dinner for their family,” he said.
Once Laking knew he had his family’s support, his focus turned to planning. Now, he’s hitting the ground running to sell himself to Conservative party members.
His work on council “standing up on issues of affordability” and his constituency work “ensuring that everybody has the opportunity to speak and have their voice heard” are reasons why he argued Conservative party members should put trust in him for the nomination.
Laking is the first candidate to put their name forward for the bid, which will go to a vote if contested.
“If it is a contested nomination, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because what that shows is there’s an excitement associated with the Conservative party,” he said.
“I think that debate and nuance brought to policy discussions is an important thing and really allows Yukoners to ensure that they feel they were heard and represented in the development of policy.”
Laking is focused on fiscal issues over social issues.
When asked for his stance on transgender sports and bathroom policies, he stated that people have the right to choose.
“They have the right to be who they are,” he said.
While some Conservatives, including Leader Pierre Poilievre, have been railing on the CBC, Laking spoke highly about the importance of CBC radio in rural and remote areas of the North, particularly for wildfire updates, road closures and the like.
“CBC Radio plays an extremely important role in connecting our communities,” he said.
“I’ll continue to advocate for that essential role in promoting community issues and public safety.”
Starting this morning, Laking said he will speak with the Conservative party in the Yukon about his priorities and his vision. Depending on what he hears, that may help guide him in getting nominated.
“We often learn a lot more from just listening to people and asking them what their concerns are, and many times, that can shift the direction and the policies that are being advocated for,” he said.
Laking wants to knock on every door in the territory to do just that.
-With files from Stephanie Waddell