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Northwest Territories 2023 territorial election

Arthritis affects one in five Northwest Territories voters. Two-thirds are under the age of 65. It is a leading cause of disability in the Northwest Territories and a significant economic burden related to direct health care costs and indirect costs to the economy related to lost employment, sick leave, and absenteeism.

Health care delivery is one of the most important issues for Northwest Territories voters leading up to the November 14, 2023, territorial election. The way people living with arthritis access and receive health care varies significantly across Northwest Territories. This particularly affects Northwest Territories voters living with inflammatory arthritis – like rheumatoid arthritis – who depend on getting a timely and accurate diagnosis, fast access to rheumatologists, and appropriate public reimbursement for needed disease-modifying medications.

The time to address models of care in arthritis is now after years of being at the back of line of health care planning and delivery. Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE) has asked the candidates running in the Northwest Territories election what they will do, if elected, to improve the level of arthritis prevention, treatment, and care.

Any responses received by ACE will be archived and posted as they arrive.

ACE survey

ACE letter sent to each candidate included: Individual Candidate Responses
This section will be updated as we receive responses from individual candidates.
Questions voiced by Northwest Territories patients with arthritis
  • Will you consider arthritis a health priority for Northwest Territories and implement high quality, standardized evidence-based models of arthritis care for all Northwest Territories residents?
  • Will you consider restoring in-person, in-territory, arthritis care by a visiting rheumatologist as opposed to forcing people living with arthritis to travel to Edmonton to receive specialist care?
  • How do you plan to continue and improve virtual care?
  • What will your government do to improve the healthcare and lives of Indigenous Peoples living with arthritis in the Northwest Territories?
  • Will you improve joint replacement surgery wait times so that they are within medically recommended guidelines?
Any questions received by ACE will be posted anonymously.

Ways to vote
To make voting easier for all voters, Elections NWT has provided several options, including voting on election day, advance poll, voting by absentee ballots or online or through the new “Vote Anywhere” model.