Well-known N.W.T. politician Tony Whitford dies

Tony Whitford, a well-known Northwest Territories politician, has died. His brother confirmed he died at 5 a.m. Monday at Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife.

Whitford was first elected to the N.W.T. Legislative Assembly in 1988. He served three terms as MLA and held many cabinet positions, as well as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, before retiring before the 2003 election.

In 1995, he was appointed sergeant-at-arms to the N.W.T. Legislature, then served as executive assistant to the Commissioner of the N.W.T. He worked as a protocol consultant, and acted as master of ceremonies to diplomatic missions and royal visits.

Whitford was appointed the Commissioner of the N.W.T. in 2005. He held the position, which acts as a liaison between the territorial and federal government, for five years. He worked to put a new, positive face on the commissioner's job, travelling extensively across the territory, promoting the importance of education, and resurrected the Commissioner's Award that recognizes bravery and public service.

Whitford received the territory's highest honour in 2016 — the Order of the Northwest Territories, which recognizes individuals who have served the N.W.T. with the "greatest distinction."

At the time, he told CBC he never thought that he "would have reached this spot in history." 

"Not just having seen it happen, but helping make history in the North," he said. "It says thank you to the large numbers of people that help us do what we have to do."

Whitford grew up in Fort Smith and was the first northern Indigenous social worker to earn a university degree, according to his biography from the Order of the N.W.T. It said he was an active volunteer with the Yellowknife Rotary Club since the 1980s, served as a Justice of the Peace and "presided over countless weddings." Whitford also held the rank of Honourary Captain with the Royal Canadian Navy.