Dennis Fentie | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Fentie in July 2008 | |
| 7th Premier of the Yukon Minister of Finance | |
| In office November 30, 2002 – June 10, 2011 | |
| Commissioner | Jack Cable Geraldine Van Bibber Doug Phillips |
| Preceded by | Pat Duncan |
| Succeeded by | Darrell Pasloski |
| Minister of the Environment | |
| In office November 28, 2005 – July 3, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Dennis Fentie |
| Succeeded by | Elaine Taylor |
| MLA for Watson Lake | |
| In office September 30, 1996 – October 11, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | John Devries |
| Succeeded by | Patti McLeod |
| Leader of the Yukon Party | |
| In office June 15, 2002 – May 28, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Jenkins |
| Succeeded by | Darrell Pasloski |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 8, 1950 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Died | August 30, 2019 (aged 68) Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada |
| Political party | New Democratic (1996–2002) Yukon Party (2002–2019) |
| Spouse | Lorraine Nixon |
| Residence(s) | Whitehorse, Yukon |
Dennis G. Fentie (November 8, 1950 – August 30, 2019) was a Canadian politician. He was the seventh premier of Yukon and leader of the Yukon Party, serving from 2002 to 2011, as well as the MLA for Watson Lake.
Before entering politics, Fentie was involved in logging, tourism, mining, trucking, and fuel distribution in and around Watson Lake. Fentie had served as director of both the Association of Yukon Forests and the Watson Lake Chamber of Commerce.
Fentie was elected twice (in 1996 and 2000) as a NDP MLA after which he joined the Yukon party, later getting elected as its leader. In the 2002 election, Fentie led the Yukon Party to a majority government. The party won 12 of 18 seats available in the Yukon Legislative Assembly. Fentie was re-elected for a fourth time in the riding of Watson Lake and the Yukon Party was voted to a second straight majority government. The Yukon Party won 12 of 18 seats in the legislative assembly. On April 27, 2011, Fentie announced he would be resigning and would not be running for re-election.
In 2003, Fentie along with two other territorial premiers opposed the Health Accord proposed by Ottawa. He maintained that the deal did not take into consideration the ground realities and cost of delivering services in the northern regions. Eventually a new funding deal was brought up as a result of which the three territories received greater funding from Ottawa. Among Fentie's major accomplishments were the establishment of the hospitals at Watson Lake and Dawson City, updates of Robert Campbell Highway and increase in the industry in Watson Lake. Fentie along with the officials and MLAs conducted the annual community tours, to visit every community and conducted public meetings with the residents to let their problems be known to the bureaucrats.