Caitlin Cleveland

Member Kam Lake

Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment

The Honourable Caitlin Cleveland was first elected in the 19th Assembly as the MLA for Kam Lake in 2019, and has served as the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment since 2023 after being acclaimed to the 20th Assembly. 

In addition to owning and operating a northern business for over 20 years, Minister Cleveland worked in a variety of communications and policy roles in both the public and private sectors before entering politics. 

Between 2019 to 2023, she chaired the Standing Committee on Social Development, fulfilling a goal to be a part of the discussions and decisions affecting social programs in the Northwest Territories. Her noteworthy work on the Committee included guiding the considerable review and input into recommendations on housing in the NWT, suicide prevention, and improvements to caring for children in care and building supported families. 

Within the scope of her portfolios, Minister Cleveland is focused on helping children grow into successful NWT residents that recognize opportunities and develop successful careers that contribute to a growing economy. She advocates for new approaches to sector diversification and innovation, and ensures the North is welcoming both skilled foreign workers and investment in the critical mineral resources across the territory. She persistently explores solutions for efficient and equitable access to programs and services, upholding a shared vision of an NWT where people are supported in the ways they wish to live, work, and grow. 

Minister Cleveland is a lifelong resident of Yellowknife where she lives with her husband and their three children.

Kam Lake Electoral District

Committees

Caitlin Cleveland
Kam Lake
Constituency Office
Phone
Minister's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Phone
Extension
11124
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Investment

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before COVID, we sat as equals and set the priorities for the 19th Assembly. Even then, we recognized the shortage of resident healthcare workers and tasked the government to reduce the number of health worker vacancies and our reliance on locums.

Mr. Speaker, there is significant strength in Northerners serving Northerners, providing trauma informed care. This not only fulfills our priority, it creates sustainable succession plans and recognizes the primary role education and meaningful employment play in connecting all community health indicators. I...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Yeah, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate that commitment from the Minister. I think there are multiple opportunities here for the government to look at this as a whole rather than silos of divisions within departments within the government so that, really, we can look at how we can work together to accomplish the priorities of not only the 19th Assembly but every Assembly afterwards as a unit. And so I'm wondering if part of that work will be not solely on the Indigenous recruitment framework but also just on GNWT policies as a whole looking at more of a departmentwide or even...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if there is an appeals process for those that are denied education leave by their direct supervisors. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Great Slave, that Committee Report 20-19(2): Standing Committee on Social Development Report on Bill 30: An Act to Amend the Aurora College Act, be received by the Assembly and moved into the Committee of the Whole for further consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Social Development is pleased to provide its report on Bill 30, an Act to Amend the Aurora College Act and commends it to the House.

Bill 30, an Act to Amend the Aurora College Act was first introduced by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment on June 2nd, 2021, and then referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review.

Bill 30 proposes changes to the Aurora College Act (the Act) to:

Create a new public governance system for Aurora College;

Move the college to an arm's length relationship with the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 86)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I guess I'm wondering if this is a straight transfer to transfer or replacement, sorry, to replacement of a 15passenger van or if looking at the reduced number of inmates because of the new or the new act, if there is a need for less vehicle and then a potential savings down the road, or if it is an actual need for that quantity of vehicle. If the Minister can speak to that, please.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 86)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm trying to make sure that my colleague from Monfwi has time to ask questions.

Mr. Speaker, the next commitment I'm looking for from the Minister is a better evaluation and picture of the landscape of procurement so that we know that the government is being held accountable and businesses have a clear indication of what is happening with GNWT procurement. I'm very thankful, first of all, to the Minister of Finance actually, with her other hat on, who did produce an infographic of what procurement looks in the Northwest Territories. But what businesses want to...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 86)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if the Minister sees this as an incremental process where we can see implementation of change as they go, or does the Minister anticipate this happening in one large change at the very end once all of the consultation engagement is done, and can the Minister speak to that process. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 86)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this sitting, as we work through the capital estimates, the GNWT tabled a procurement policy review. I support infrastructure spending and the economic development it brings. But for your territory to see the benefits of this capital budget, we need procurement that increases benefit retention and grows the NWT private sector through meaningful spending.

While I recognize the GNWT is preparing a response to this report, there are some simple procedural changes that could be implemented immediately to improve fairness and transparency in the procurement...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 86)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I just wanted to come back to the conversation around the youth correctional centre and the space that exists there when we typically have, you know, two or three - thankfully, two or three youth in the facility. I'm wondering if the department has at all looked into - because there is a setup where youth can stay at the facility and then leave to go to school or have kind of a I'm sorry, I don't know the proper term but where they are able to leave and come back, if the department has at all look into a situation where youth who are have served their time...