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Yellowknifer honoured as remarkable grad Earlier this month Sarah Erasmus received the latest in a string of awards since she opened her apparel business in 2010. See page 7. Hay Rivers tiniest secret is revealed A crop of fairy doors have appeared the woods out- side a Northwest Territories town fascinating residents and visitors. See page 16. DRUMMING UP FUN Lawrie Hobart Memorial Tournament returns to Fort Smith. See pages 8-9. Arena in Fort Smith is even greener than it looks The rst look into the newly renovated arena in Fort Smith reveals a pristine new interior with a green surprise on tap. See page 13. Town wants to capitalize on Arctic tourism boom The Town of Inuvik saw a larger-than-normal rush of tourists last summer and they are hoping for a repeat performance in 2016. See page 11. V IS IT W W W .N O R J.C A A national award winning independent newspaper serving northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories since 1977 1.00 October 21 2015 Vol. 39 No. 25 By CRAIG GILBERT Liberal candidates swept all three territories Oct. 19 upsetting longtime incumbents and helping return the Trudeaus to 24 Sussex Drive with a majority government. Michael McLeod brother of out- going NWT Premier Bob McLeod snatched the Northwest Territories from three-term incumbent New Democrat Dennis Bevington and Hunter Tootoo ousted Conservative cabinet minister Leona Aglukkaq in what was an exciting three-way race for much of the night in Nunavut. Larry Bagnell returned Yukon to the big red tent after four years of Conservative MP Ryan Leef who made headlines early in the epic 78-day campaign by staking out an election sign and placing a woman who was defacing it under citizens arrest. McLeod said before delivering his acceptance speech in Yellowknife his team worked long and hard to take what until last year was called the Western Arctic. Every day the campaign was on we put in long hours knocked on MP-elect Michael McLeod enjoys his win over incumbent Dennis Bevington with daughters Shawna and Robyn along with his wife Joyce and about 100 supporters at Liberal campaign HQ in Yellowknife Monday night. a lot of doors he said. The team was working full-tilt. We took each community very seriously. McLeod said he heard about jobs housing and cost of living while out on the hustings. ThatgoesrightfromYellowknife thebiggestcommunityinourNorth right down to the smallest one. The MP-elect said his three terms as an NWT MLA will help him im- prove relations between the federal government and Aboriginal mu- nicipal and territorial governments. Ive already been getting calls from incumbent ministers and MLAs and new candidates that want to start putting a priority on echoed the commitment in his ac- ceptance speech. Ivebeenincontactwithvirtually all of the Aboriginal governments McLeod said. The Dehcho want to move ahead with their land claims weve heard very loud and clear from the Akaitcho that they want to settle land claims. They want to be able to deal with issues affecting their membership other than just taking part in negotiation. Theyve been at the table for so long they want to get it resolved but we need to have all three governments at the table to have that commitment and make it a priority. McLeod said he wants to be in the mix as roles are handed out in Ottawa and when asked if that means a seat in cabinet he replied hed love to be at the table but wants tobedoingsomethingthatwillhelp the NWT move forward. Bevington conceded to McLeod in person and said Tuesday morn- ing New Democrat MPs would work to make sure the change the Liber- als promised takes place. See Sunny on page 3. Grits sweep North en route to majority He added a Liberal government wouldhelpbycreatingjobsforyoung people and skilled trades workers with infrastructure projects includ- ing housing highways and airports increasing the Northern Residents Deduction and easing the tax bur- den on the middle class. issues so we have a more focused agenda he said. He added the Aboriginal agenda is very important to the Liberal Party noting the campaign pledge to interact with Aboriginal leader- ship on a nation-to-nation basis. PrimeMinister-electJustinTrudeau PhotoBillBraden Every day the campaign was on we put in long hours. We took each community very seriously MP-elect Michael McLeod