Diane Thom wins Inuvik-Boot Lake

Diane Thom has become one of a record nine women elected to the Northwest Territories legislature.

Sher collected 239 votes to 179 for Eugene Rees and Desmond Loreen, who took 94 votes, and Jimmy Kalinek, who took 47 votes.

“I worked really hard in the last month. And I had such a great team of supporters that really encouraged me to go out there and reach out to everybody,” she said. “And to the best I can.”

“I’m pretty excited right now,” she said to cheers around her. “I’m in a room of amazing people.”

While she enjoyed the night’s win, tomorrow would be business for Thom. The first task is to acquaint herself with the series of fresh faces that will be joining her in the 19th Assembly.

“Tomorrow I’m going to wake up and do a lot of homework and figure out who’s all in there, and do the best I can to learn about their platforms and priorities,” she said.

Her priorities are to come in with a new lens and perspective that she said will be of benefit. Her constituents have a diverse list of concerns — education, health, climate change, economy, heating over the winter — and for Thom, “it’s just really going back there.”

“The hard work starts tomorrow,” she said.