Christopher William Pearson (1931 – 2014)

Chris Pearson was born in Lethbridge, Alberta. He came to the Yukon in 1957 to work at Elsa for the United Keno Hill Mine. In 1960, he became an engineering inspector for the Yukon Government, and over the next thirteen years rose to become Assistant Territorial Secretary. When he resigned in 1973, he was Clerk of the Yukon Territorial Council and Secretary to the Executive Council. After his retirement, Pearson was chair of the Yukon Electrical Public Utilities Board and a board member for five years. He was also president of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce.¹⁾

Prior to 1978, the Yukon had a non-partisan legislature. In 1978, Pearson was elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly as a Progressive Conservative for Whitehorse Riverdale North. The party leader, Hilda Watson, lost her seat and Pearson was acclaimed party leader a month following the election that put the conservatives in power. He led the party until his resignation in 1985. During Pearson’s term in office, the Yukon government successfully argued that they should be included in the negotiations for Yukon land claims. Pearson’s government gained a little in attaining responsible government as a number of powers were transferred from the Yukon Commissioner. After retirement, Pearson served as deputy consul general at the Canadian Consulate in Dallas, Texas before moving to Virginia.²⁾