Move made to name public housing block after Tony Whitford

When the new 50-unit affordable housing apartment block opens in downtown Yellowknife, it could bear the name: Anthony (Tony) W.J. Whitford Building.

The NWT Assembly passed a motion calling on cabinet to name the $21 million block after the territory’s former Commissioner, who passed away in September at the age of 83.

The 50th Street block — The Whitford, as one could imagine it being called — will be owned by Housing NWT and have the Gold Range Hotel and Raven Pub as neighbours.

An emotional Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins introduced the motion on Thursday for a man he knew his entire life.

“Tony represented the North so well — I‘d like to call him one … of the North’s favourite sons,” he said. “He was Captain NWT in my mind. He never missed an opportunity to talk about the North.

“He loved visiting Northerners. There wasn’t a hand he couldn’t find time to shake or pause to say hello to somebody.

“If he didn’t know you, he made sure, he stopped and said ‘Hi’ to you anyway, and he had a heart. He wore his heart on his sleeve.”

The new affordable housing complex is partially funded by $20.8 million through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Rapid Housing Initiative in partnership with the GNWT.

Housing NWT will be the owner and it is intended to also house the future office of the Yellowknife Housing Authority.

The land was donated by the City of Yellowknife. It sat as an empty lot for well over a decade and was a magnet for trash, empty bottles and public drinking.

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The GNWT’s new partially federally funded $24 million Wellness Centre for those suffering from addictions and homelessness is under construction across the back lane. It should open before the 50th Street block in fall 2026.

The GNWT has guidelines for selecting names of its office buildings, but Hawkins argued the cabinet is well within its authority to waive their building naming policy and directly name this new building, as it’s designed primarily to deliver programs and services to the public.

Hawkins said the Whitford family is supportive of the naming proposal, as is the City of Yellowknife and the Rotary Club of Yellowknife.

Whitford was a decades-long Rotarian and helped out on many projects over the years, including the annual bike auction.

“He had received the Paul Harris Award,” Hawkins told the Assembly. “Now, most people may not know what that is, but that’s an exemplary award through Rotary about community service. And if there’s a person that really did walk the talk, it was Tony.”

Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart also spoke in favour of the motion to honour Whitford.

“If anyone doubts the impact he has made on people’s lives, I think it’s pretty hard to make the member for Yellowknife Centre cry,” he said. “Tony gave so much to the community, and it seems fitting that we honour his memory and his legacy with the way this motion calls for.

“It seems even more fitting that as we’ve made significant progress advocating for better housing conditions for Northerners that we remember Tony’s tremendous legacy by creating the new homes that people are going to enjoy, that are going to be an anchor for their security and support for years to come, bear his name.”

Tu Nedhé–Wiilideh MLA Richard Edjericon said he knew Tony since the 1970s

“I met Tony many times in coffee shops … I can think of and all the times we talked about the good times, we talked about the treaties and his growing up in Fort Smith.

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“He was really an honourable man, and I have great respect for him. And when he passed, we lost an icon of the North”

Lucy Kuptana, Minister responsible for Housing NWT, said it is important to have a “fair, consistent, and respectful” process.

“Work will begin very shortly to prepare for a public engagement process to help identify an appropriate name for the new 50th Street affordable housing complex.”

About Tony Whitford

As a young man, Tony Whitford worked for Northern Transportation Company on the barges sailing the Mackenzie River and for the power company at the Taltson River hydro dam.

In the early 1970’s, Whitford attended the University of Calgary before moving back north to Yellowknife in 1977, beginning his long career with the territorial and federal governments.

Whitford was first elected to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly in 1988. Over time, he would represent the ridings of Yellowknife South and Kam Lake.

In 2000, he was appointed Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. In 2005, he was appointed by the federal government to be Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.

Whitford completed his term as Commissioner in April 2010 and then served as an Honorary Naval Captain of the Canadian Navy.

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He was made a member of the Order of the Northwest Territories in 2016.