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Yukon Premier Sandy Silver says he won’t seek re-election, calls for leadership vote

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WHITEHORSE — Yukon Premier Sandy Silver has announced he will not seek another term as MLA for Klondike, and has asked the Yukon Liberal Party to initiate proceedings to select a new leader.

Silver said at a press conference on Friday he would continue to serve as a member of the legislature until the end of his term, with the next election not due until Nov. 3, 2025.

Silver and the Liberals said he would serve as premier until the new leader is selected.

Silver, who is the longest-serving current premier in Canada, was first elected to the Yukon legislative assembly in October 2011 and has been the leader of the party since August 2012.

He first became premier after the Yukon Liberals won a majority government in the 2016 territorial election, ousting the Yukon Party for the first time in 14 years. Now serving his third term as premier, he is the first Klondike MLA to serve as Yukon’s premier.

Silver said at a press conference at the cabinet office in Whitehorse that when his current government was formed it had faced a global pandemic, and inherited an “outdated education system.”

He appeared to choke up as he described serving as premier as “absolutely the best job of my life.”

“We did what people said was impossible and we did it with precision,” he said in a tribute to what he called “the small team of Klondike Liberals in Dawson.”

The Yukon Liberal Party said in a statement that Silver worked “tirelessly with his Liberal colleagues to make the Yukon a better place to live” and “left an indelible mark on governance in the territory” by fostering government-to-government relationships with Yukon First Nations.

“Today we pause to reflect on the important and significant work Sandy Silver has done for his constituents in the Klondike, for all Yukoners as the Premier, and for Yukon Liberals as the party leader,” party spokesperson Paolo Gallina said.

Silver said in speaking notes that “fresh energy and bold ideas” were needed to continue to move the territory forward.

Silver signed a confidence and supply agreement with the New Democrats after his Liberal party failed to win a majority government in the territorial election in April last year.

It came after Liberal incumbent Pauline Frost tied in the riding of Vuntut Gwitchin with the New Democrat candidate.

A judge later declared NDP candidate Annie Blake the winner after drawing lots to break the tie.

Yukon NDP Leader Kate White thanked Silver for his service as premier in a statement on Friday. She said she enjoyed working with him through the NDP-Liberal agreement on matters like increasing the territory’s minimum wage and opening a supervised consumption site in Whitehorse.

“I wish him all the best for the next chapter of his life,” White said.

Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon also thanked Silver for his service as premier “during some of the most difficult times,” but said in a statement that the Klondike MLA leaves a “very mixed legacy” as leader of the Yukon Liberals.

The Opposition leader criticized Silver for not setting out rules for sitting ministers who plan to run for party leadership.

Dixon also criticized Silver’s refusing to remove Tracy-Anne McPhee as a member of his cabinet last year over her handling of a sexual abuse case at a school in Whitehorse when she was the minister of education.

McPhee is now deputy premier, minister of justice and minister of health and social services.

“When the legislature returns for the fall sitting, the official Opposition will have to question a lame-duck premier and ministers that are actively running for leadership,” Dixon said. “This is untenable for conducting the business of the Yukon legislative assembly.”

Silver is originally from Antigonish, N.S., but has lived in Dawson City since 1998.

He led the mathematics department at Robert Service School in Dawson City before being elected.

He’s also a musician, has played in several Yukon bands and has served as the president of the Dawson City Music Festival.

This report by The Canadian Press was first reported Sept. 9, 2022.

— By Emily Blake in Yellowknife

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

 

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Montreal skateboarders rally to protect skatepark

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Montreal skateboarders rally to protect skatepark

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Ilia Malinin lands 4 quads – and a backflip – to win his third straight Skate America title

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World champion Ilia Malinin won Skate America on Sunday for the third consecutive year, altering his free skate on the fly after an early mistake and punctuating the program with a backflip that had been banned in competition until this season.

The two-time and reigning U.S. champion scored 290.12 points to finish ahead of Kevin Aymoz of France, whose career-best free skate left him with 282.88 points and earned a standing ovation inside Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas.

Kao Miura of Japan, who was second after his short program, finished third with 278.67 points.

“It was a pretty challenging moment for me, just stepping on the ice. I felt way more nervous than usual,” said Malinin, the early favorite for gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. “That may have played a part in the whole program.”

Vancouver’s Wesley Chiu placed ninth in the free skate with a score of 140.08 points, he finished ninth overall with a total of 206.94 points.

The ice dance competition was to be decided later Sunday in the final event of the season-opening Grand Prix. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Britain had the lead over American world champs Madison Chock and Evan Bates after the rhythm dance.

Malinin and Miura were separated by a mere 0.15 points after their short programs, but it was Aymoz who challenged Malinin for the top of the podium. The 27-year-old from France, who struggled mightily at the end of last season, landed a pair of quads in an error-free program to score 190.84 points — the best of all the free skates — and vault into first place.

Nika Egadze of Georgia was next on the ice but fell on his opening quad lutz and stepped out on his quad salchow, and those two mistakes kept him from medal contention. He wound up fourth with 261.71 points.

Miura, the 19-year-old former world junior champion, landed three quads during a program set to “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” the 1964 musical romantic drama film. But Miura lost points for an under-rotated triple axel and on a step sequence that led into a quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination midway through his free skate.

Malinin was last to take the ice, performing a program set to “I’m Not a Vampire” by the rock band Falling In Reverse.

He opened with a perfect quad flip and then hit a triple axel, even though Malinin remains the only skater to have landed the quad version of the jump in competition. Then came the mistake, when he doubled a planned quad loop, leaving Malinin to make changes on the fly over the second half of the program in an attempt to make up the lost points.

After putting his hand down on his triple lutz, Malinin landed a quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination before a quad salchow-triple axel in sequence — a pair of huge jumping passes that sent his technical score soaring.

Malinin capped the recovery of his program with a backflip during his choreographed sequence, a move that had been banned until this season because of its inherent danger. It was expected all along but nonetheless sent a roar through the crowd, just as Malinin’s program came to an end and a steady stream of stuffed animals were thrown onto the ice.

“It was really hard for me in the middle of the program to think what I have to do — what I need to do,” Malinin said when asked about the early mistake. “I just went full autopilot through there and I’m glad I made it out.”

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AP sports:

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Leclerc wins US Grand Prix and late penalty gives Verstappen 3rd place over Norris in title chase

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Charles Leclerc earned Ferrari its first United States Grand Prix victory since 2018 with a clever start and a commanding drive Sunday, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen strengthened his lead in the F1 season championship by finishing third ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Verstappen earned the podium only after Norris was given a five-second penalty for leaving the track to pass Verstappen in the final laps.

Verstappen immediately complained about the move, while Norris insisted Verstappen also left the track. Norris’ pass came after the two drivers had battled for the final podium spot and critical championship points over several laps and Verstappen had stubbornly refused to give ground.

The penalty and fourth place finish cost Norris valuable points in the title chase. Verstappen stretched his championship lead over Norris from 54 points to 57 with five grand prix and two sprint races left.

Leclerc earned his third win of the season and Ferrari pulled a 1-2 finish with his teammate Carlos Sainz in second. Kimi Raikkonen had been the last Ferrari winner at the Circuit of the Americas in 2018.

But the bigger battle was raging behind them as Verstappen and Norris fought over every inch of the final dozen laps.

Verstappen has not won a grand prix since June and Norris has steadily chipped away at his lead as the Red Bull car has faded. Yet Verstappen still stretched his lead by five points over the weekend by also winning Saturday’s sprint race.

Norris will leave Austin knowing he squandered a big chance to gain ground. He had even earned pole position for Sunday’s race.

Verstappen started right beside him, and it was their battle into the first turn that saw both cars run wide, leaving room for Leclerc to pounce on the opening.

The Ferrari driver jumped from fourth and straight into the lead.

Norris complained Verstappen forced him off the track at the start to begin a battle that would be fought over the entire race.

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AP auto racing:

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