Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister of Education, Culture and Employment
The Honourable Caitlin Cleveland was first elected in the 19th Assembly as the MLA for Kam Lake in 2019, and has served as the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment since 2023 after being acclaimed to the 20th Assembly.
In addition to owning and operating a northern business for over 20 years, Minister Cleveland worked in a variety of communications and policy roles in both the public and private sectors before entering politics.
Between 2019 to 2023, she chaired the Standing Committee on Social Development, fulfilling a goal to be a part of the discussions and decisions affecting social programs in the Northwest Territories. Her noteworthy work on the Committee included guiding the considerable review and input into recommendations on housing in the NWT, suicide prevention, and improvements to caring for children in care and building supported families.
Within the scope of her portfolios, Minister Cleveland is focused on helping children grow into successful NWT residents that recognize opportunities and develop successful careers that contribute to a growing economy. She advocates for new approaches to sector diversification and innovation, and ensures the North is welcoming both skilled foreign workers and investment in the critical mineral resources across the territory. She persistently explores solutions for efficient and equitable access to programs and services, upholding a shared vision of an NWT where people are supported in the ways they wish to live, work, and grow.
Minister Cleveland is a lifelong resident of Yellowknife where she lives with her husband and their three children.
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Investment
Statements in Debates
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, no, we are certainly in income security, and then next up is labour development standards. I'm happy to answer any questions.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And I appreciate the Member's words. Certainly, any dollars for whether it's housing or training or both of them together or education or any part of that that comes to the territory is a win for the whole territory. And so if the federal government is creating deals and partnerships with Indigenous governments across the territory, that is certainly something that I absolutely support. I think that any dollars into the territory is a good news story for all of us. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, if the Member would like a breakdown of Indigenous versus non-Indigenous students and also the regions where -- the geographical regions across the territory where students come from, we can certainly pull the data that we have and would be happy to supply it to committee.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I can say in previous years, these programs all have not been fully subscribed. One of the goals that I certainly have is I want to see them fully subscribed. I want to see them in communities doing the good work of supporting employers to hire people to do the training, to purchase equipment they need to purchase in order to support somebody's learning and experience on the job. And so certainly a goal of mine is to see these programs absolutely fully subscribed across the territory. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. So, Madam Chair, it was curriculum -- essentially curriculum development dollars for Aurora College. It was dollars that had been previously afforded through a federal agreement, I believe, with CIRNAC. Those dollars had sunset. The college then approached Regular Members letting them know that they wanted that funding reinstated. I believe the previous funding was to the tune of about $534,000, and then Regular Members put back in about 500 -- well, not about -- exactly $500,000. Regular Members were the ones that negotiated that and really fought for it, and...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And, Madam Chair, as always I appreciate the words of the Member, and they're words that I definitely take to heart. There is certainly -- while there's work being done, there's certainly more work to do, and there are complex needs across the territory and certainly working with my colleague over at the Department of Health and Social Services to address some of those needs, especially when it comes to therapeutic care and ensuring accessibility of education in the North. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, as I've said multiple times in the House -- and I think it's really important to say again -- that there is absolutely no way for us to design a program that would have satisfied everybody in the territory who wanted to be a part of it. I am very sensitive to that. I am very empathetic to that. There's no way for us, with 150 allocations, to meet a demand that is far greater than that. And so there's no way for -- I knew there was going to be no way for us to launch a program that was going to be perfect in everyone's eyes.
I take full...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. So, Madam Chair, the $750 is monthly from September through April.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And, Madam Chair, I think it's worth saying that one of the things that I really like about this Assembly is that we're using our business plans more as living documents and reevaluating them year after year. And so certainly, you know, as the Member stated that he had pointed out last year wanting to see targets added in, the comments of the Member are certainly being taken into account here today.
In regards to the number itself and what the goal is, certainly at face value here the number is to see more students accessing post-secondary. I think what you...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)
I look forward to the presentation as well. Thank you, Madam Chair.