Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 26/04) - For the first time in more than 50 years, federal electoral ballots in the NWT may not include a right-wing candidate.

"I can't say I'm confident we'll have a candidate in place," said Cheryl Walker, a spokesperson for the new Conservative Party.

"But we're continuing our search."

Potential candidates for the party, which brought Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance under a single banner, weren't ready to launch a campaign on short notice, Walker said.

"They would have been ready to run in the fall. But they all have families and business. They can't just drop everything," she said.

The Conservatives have two weeks to register a candidate with Elections Canada and there are a number of people interested, said Walker.

The Progressive Conservatives finished fourth in the last election with just over 10 per cent of the popular vote while the Canadian Alliance grabbed nearly 20 per cent.

The combined vote placed the two right wing parties just ahead of the NDP.

The last Progressive Conservative MP from the Western Arctic was Dave Nickerson, who lost in 1988 to Ethel Blondin-Andrew.

The last time the Progressive Conservatives failed to run a candidate the NWT was 1949, when the territory was lumped together with the Yukon in an electoral district that stretched from Nunavut to the Alaska border.