Caroline Wawzonek

Member Yellowknife South

Deputy Premier
Minister of Finance
Minister of Infrastructure
Minister Responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation

Caroline Wawzonek was first elected to the 19th Legislative Assembly in 2019 as the Member for Yellowknife South. Ms. Wawzonek served as Minister of Justice,  Minster of Finance, Minister responsible for the Status of Women and the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. In 2023, Ms. Wawzonek was acclaimed to the 20th Legislative Assembly and returned to Executive Council as Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance, Minister of Infrastructure and the Minister Responsible for the NWT Power Corporation.
 
Ms. Wawzonek holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Calgary (2000) and a law degree from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (2005). Her academic journey included language studies in China and Taiwan, as well as legal internships in the Philippines and England. Born in Calgary, AB, she has called Yellowknife home since 2007.
 
After establishing her criminal law practice post-admission to the Law Society of the NWT, Ms. Wawzonek appeared in all levels of NWT courts and engaged in circuit court travel. She later joined Dragon Toner, expanding her practice to general litigation and administrative law until becoming a member of the 19th Assembly.
 
Since 2007, she has taken on leadership roles in the legal community, including the presidency of the Law Society of the Northwest Territories (LSNT), section chair for the Canadian Bar Association Northwest Territories Branch (CBA-NT), and committee membership in various working groups. Her community involvement extends to appointments in multiple Yellowknife organizations, and she received a national award in 2017 for her contributions to Canadian Women in Law.
 
Ms. Wawzonek, a mother of two, enjoys running, paddleboarding, and time outdoors.
 

Committees

Board of Management
Caroline Wawzonek
Yellowknife South
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Email
Office
(867) 767-9143
Extension
12177
Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance, Minister of Infrastructure, and Minister Responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation
Mobile
867-445-7437
Minister
Email
Email

Statements in Debates

Question 6-19(1): Public Service Act Update
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 2)

Again, I appreciate the question in that ensuring that we engage the stakeholders, in particular the unions, Union of Norther Workers and the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association, is critical. Both of those organizations, as key stakeholders, were significantly involved two years ago, during the initial consultations, and it is critical that they be involved again before this matter can actually progress in any real way. Again, making sure that they are involved and that the relationship with those unions is renewed between the government and the unions is of critical importance to me...

Question 2-19(1): Carbon Tax Implementation
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 2)

My understanding at this stage is that the type of public reporting that the Member may be inquiring about is still part of the system that is being developed with respect to implementation, and, as I mentioned earlier, the draft of that will be shared with the committee in due course, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Question 2-19(1): Carbon Tax Implementation
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 2)

I can say that there have been some discussions on some level, certainly before the Carbon Tax became law and mostly with regard to the structure of the Carbon Tax regime itself, not necessarily with the implementation of the program or of the draft guidelines, so I'm not sure that the discussions that were had are necessarily going to the substance of the matter that is at issue presently. If there have been any further discussions more recently, I would certainly endeavour to inquire about that, but to date my information is that the discussions were prior to the implementation.