R.J. Simpson
Canadian politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rocky "R.J." Simpson (born September 27, 1980) is a Canadian politician, the 14th premier of the Northwest Territories since December 2023.[1] He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in the 2015 election.[2] He represents the electoral district of Hay River North.
R.J. Simpson | |
|---|---|
Simpson in 2025 | |
| 14th Premier of the Northwest Territories | |
| Assumed office December 8, 2023 | |
| Deputy | Caroline Wawzonek |
| Commissioner | Margaret Thom Gerald Kisoun |
| Preceded by | Caroline Cochrane |
| Member of the Executive Council of the Northwest Territories | |
| Assumed office October 24, 2019 | |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories for Hay River North | |
| Assumed office November 23, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Bouchard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rocky Simpson September 27, 1980 |
| Party | Independent |
| Relatives | Rocky Simpson Sr. (father) |
| Education | MacEwan University (BA) University of Alberta (JD) |
Political career
He was returned to office in the 2019 Northwest Territories general election by acclamation, as no candidates filed to run against him by the close of nominations.[3] Before the election, he announced that he would put his name forward for Premier of the Northwest Territories when the newly elected MLAs met to select the premier and cabinet.[4] Simpson was elected to Premier Caroline Cochrane's cabinet committee by the new territorial MLAs on October 24, 2019.[5] His cabinet portfolio includes Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Minister Responsible for the Public Utilities Board, and Government House Leader.[6] In 2025, he signed agreements with other provinces and territories to reduce interprovincial trade barriers in the midst of the United States trade war with Canada.[7][8]
Personal life
Simpson has a Bachelor of Arts degree from MacEwan University and a law degree from the University of Alberta.[9]
His father, Rocky Simpson Sr., was also elected to the 19th Assembly as representative for Hay River South.[10]
Electoral history
| 2023 Northwest Territories general election: Hay River North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ||||||
| R. J. Simpson (I.C.) | 398 | 65.57 | ||||||
| Michael Wallington | 109 | 17.96 | ||||||
| Hans Wiedemann | 85 | 14.00 | ||||||
| Greg McMeekin | 15 | 2.47 | ||||||
| Total votes | 607 | |||||||
| 2019 Northwest Territories general election: Hay River North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | |||||||
| R. J. Simpson | Acclaimed | |||||||
Source(s)
"Eight ridings to watch in the Northwest Territories' election". CBC. Retrieved 2019-09-11. | ||||||||
| 2015 Northwest Territories general election: Hay River North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ||||||
| R. J. Simpson | 375 | 52.7 | ||||||
| Robert Bouchard | 252 | 35.4 | ||||||
| Karen Felker | 84 | 11.8 | ||||||
