A new MP, a new pool and Arctic cod grunts

Plus watch a thrifted fashion show put on by Yellowknife teens

May 01, 2025

Inside Yellowknife’s new aquatic centre. Sarah Pruys/Cabin Radio

Hello readers, this is Emily, Cabin Radio’s assistant editor with another week of news from across the Northwest Territories.

As you may be aware, there was a federal election on Monday. Liberal candidate Rebecca Alty was elected as the NWT’s new MP with more than half the vote.

Premier RJ Simpson said Alty will bring “a deep understanding” of the North to Ottawa while other northern leaders say they hope to see NWT priorities on the national agenda.

City council will now have to decide how to replace Alty, who has been Yellowknife’s mayor since 2018.

In other Yellowknife news, the city’s long-awaited new aquatic centre is set to open next week. We got a sneak preview of the facility with city staff highlighting some of the accessible and fun features.

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

Our best stories
Yellowknife students’ thrifted fashion show
What we’re reading

Downtown Yellowknife in January 2024, with the city's courthouse on the left. Sarah Pruys/Cabin Radio

Stories to catch up on

1. Defence lawyer calls for improvements to NWT legal aid

An NWT defence lawyer says low pay and inadequate hours are leading to the loss of legal aid lawyers in the territory. MLAs are reviewing the Legal Aid Act.

2. How NWT power changes aim to promote community-led clean energy

Examine the detail under the hood of recent NWT government announcements that are set to change the way energy policy works in the territory. What's the goal?

3. NTPC ‘optimistic’ about water levels for hydro this year

The power corporation expects to return to full hydro power generation in the Snare system later this year after heavily relying on diesel in recent years.

Players in the inaugural Yellowknife Robins Women’s Hockey Tournament. Ehxea Antoine/Cabin Radio

4. ‘We have women joining our league who have never played before’

Women's hockey in Yellowknife, once an offshoot of men's events, now sustains a thriving league and its own five-day tournament – which concludes on Sunday.

5. The GNWT just bumped up pay for locum physicians. Here’s why.

Some doctors say staffing at Yellowknife's hospital is dangerously inadequate. Bosses just responded with a pay increase for locums. Read our Q&A.

6. Hay River health under scrutiny as GNWT looks to ‘course-correct’

The premier says amalgamating Hay River's health authority with the NWT-wide equivalent could solve some problems. Here's how that work is progressing.

Arctic cod swim around a hydrophone in a tank. Photo: Shaye Ogurek

7. When an Arctic cod grunts, these people listen

Arctic cod are a key food source for most polar predators. Scientists are becoming fluent in cod grunts so they can use sound to help keep the species going.

8. Celebrating 20 years of regulated midwifery in Fort Smith

The NWT's midwifery association is hosting an event to mark two decades since the Midwifery Profession Act was introduced in the territory.

9. How will Yellowknife use the money from its new accommodation levy?

With the North returning two Liberal MPs and a prime minister born in the NWT, northern leaders hope the new federal government might live up to key promises.

10. In pictures: Norman Wells holds 2025 Spring Fling

Tea boiling and cotton candy were among the big hits as Norman Wells staged a weekend-long Spring Fling to signal the (hoped-for) end of winter.

Eco-friendly fashion show

Students at Yellowknife’s École St Patrick High School put on a thrifted fashion show as part of Earth Week events. Jasmine Nasogaluak went to check it out.