Caitlin Cleveland

Member Kam Lake

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.

Kam Lake Electoral District

Committees

Kam Lake
Constituency Office
Phone
Minister's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Phone
Extension
11124
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Investment

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 11)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member's correct, ECE did partner with an external entity to develop the North Slave regional training hub. And the goal of this was really to provide and improve coordination between employmentrelated training and potential projects coming to the region. And so I can say to the Member though, in 2023, so last year, ECE shifted its focus to what's called a North Slave regional training partnership, and this was developed under the federal strategic partnership initiative in collaboration with the federal government. And this partnership was...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 11)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in addition to the program development that's currently underway with Aurora College that I just spoke of, what I think is best positioned to be inputted here in the response to this question is really promoting both apprenticeships and the SNAP program with students. And so, really, what this is about with the principles of Nortran that the Member is speaking of, it is about developing a skilled workforce and it's about making sure that our students or our youth know about these opportunities as well. And so what I would really like to put in a...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 11)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I can say on the collaboration between ITI and the federal government, as well as with local communities, Mr. Speaker, is that ITI is doing what it can in order to support local businesses as far as business development. There's opportunity as well for also training through ECE as well for businesses to be able to prepare for the remediation that's ongoing.

What I can say, too, is that as a government, we're constantly advocating at the federal level for funding, for example, for labour market initiatives and investments and also strategic...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 9)

Mr. Speaker, I'm very happy to be able to say yes to the Member on that one. ECE and ITI are committed to providing pathfinding services for artists and organizations across the territory. This work is underway and is expected to be launched this summer. And so I'll make sure that I share those new happenings with Members so that they're able to share that with artists in their community the across the territory. In the meantime, there are arts funding available through ECE and through ITI, and there's staff members eager to support people to direct them where to go for what best suits their...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 9)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ECE has been distributing just under half a million dollars to approximately 17 organizations across the territory and ECE also, in October of the previous of this previous year entered into an agreement with the Canada Council for the Arts, and this was an agreement for $750,000 of funding to help support arts organizations in the Northwest Territories. And part of that funding, ECE was able to hire an arts officer, and this person is currently working on a work plan and funding program guidelines to help organizations develop as the Member is...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 9)

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to provide an update on implementing the draft Northwest Territories' curriculum for junior kindergarten to Grade 12 students. As a mother of three schoolaged children and one who values innovation and critical and creative thinking, this is an exciting time for our students. The British Columbia Curriculum is renowned for its high education standards and is uniquely designed to offer students a balanced and informative approach to learning. It allows youth to learn through multiple pathways to encourage them to find their interests and learn various skills by...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 9)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm absolutely committed to being as transparent as possible and to ensuring that I'm working with the sector so that we're working together to create the number of spaces that are actually needed. And so as long as there's no information that would breach anybody's privacy, I'm happy to share information with the NWT Early Childhood Association. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 9)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hope that any public servant that answers the phone is willing to field questions from the person on the other end of that phone. I know that, you know, paperwork can be intimidating and there can be a lot of it, and so I would hope that employers would be able to communicate what their needs are and staff of the public service would be able to let them know what they can do to support them, but this is definitely a tricky realm where it includes a lot of work from the federal government as well to make this happen. I know that there are...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 9)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are like many jurisdictions across the country where we are relying on Canadian newcomers to help fill some of our employment gaps in our territory. Over the course of the so far this year, I asked for engagement to take place to see what people, including employers, wanted to see as far as immigration and an extended immigration strategy. So right now we are compiling that information to see how we can work with employers to better serve them. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 9)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can say that I'm definitely concerned, which is why I'm putting effort into creating a relationship and sustaining a relationship with the NWT Early Childhood Association. I really want to make sure that we're hearing their concerns, that we are doing our best to respond to them within the budget that we do have. And we do have a fixed budget within this program. ECE is a major funding source for licensed programs. So I really hope that we can keep everybody together and working together in order to rebuild or to build a robust system because I...