Yukon Deputy Premier Ranj Pillai takes questions from the media as Alberta deputy premier Sarah Hoffman looks on at the Western Premiers' Conference in Yellowknife, N.T., Wednesday, May 23, 2018 THE CANADIAN PRESS/Pat Kane
WHITEHORSE – The 10th premier of Yukon has officially taken office.
Ranj Pillai, a Liberal member of the territory’s legislature since 2016, replaces Sandy Silver as premier and party leader.
He and his new cabinet were sworn in at a public ceremony in Whitehorse this afternoon.
Pillai, who ran unopposed, inherits a minority government that functions through a confidence and supply agreement with the Yukon New Democrats after the Yukon Liberals and Yukon Party each took eight seats in the 2021 election.
Silver announced in September he was stepping down as premier and did not intend to run in the territory’s general election in 2025.
Pillai, a deputy premier who has held numerous cabinet posts, previously served in Yukon’s municipal, Indigenous, business and volunteer sectors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2023.
