24th Legislature of Yukon

The 24th Yukon Legislative Assembly convened in 1978,^[1] This is the first conventional legislature in the history of Canada's Yukon Territory and the first one with organized along political party lines following the passage of the Yukon Elections Act in 1977. The Progressive Conservatives led by Hilda Watson who won led the party to victory in the 1978 territorial election,^[2] in which she was the party's candidate in the electoral district of Kluane. However, she did not win her riding, and therefore did not become government leader.^[2] After the election, four of the elected members in the Progressive Conservative Party, including Chris Pearson, were added to the Executive Committee headed by Commissioner Art Pearson. In October 1979, at the instruction of Jake Epp, Federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, the Commissioner withdrew from direct government administration; Chris Pearson became Government Leader (equal to Premier), added a fifth member of the PC Party caucus, and formed the Executive Council of Yukon, thus beginning responsible government with an elected head of government in The Yukon. Art Pearson would later resign as Commissioner after pleading guilty to charges related to improper mining claim transfers and was replaced with Frank Fingland.