N.W.T. Premier Caroline Cochrane says she won’t seek re-election

The premier of the Northwest Territories has announced she won’t be running for re-election in November.

Caroline Cochrane says representing the N.W.T. has been among the highest honours of her life.

The former social worker was first elected as a member of the territory’s legislature in 2015 and was voted in as premier in 2019.

She became a face of the fight against unprecedented wildfires in the territory in August when Yellowknife’s 20,000 residents were ordered out of the capital for three weeks due to an encroaching fire.

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Cochrane told a news conference at the time that she drove around the city, looking behind buildings and in bushes, to make sure homeless people weren’t left behind.

The election, initially scheduled for Tuesday, was moved to Nov. 14 because of the fires.