Geraldine Van Bibber (born July 3, 1951) is a Canadian politician who represented the Yukon electoral district of Porter Creek North as a member of the Yukon Party until 2025. She was elected as part of the 2016 Yukon election.
Van Bibber served as the commissioner of Yukon from 2005 to 2010 and a member of the Gwichʼin First Nation. She has also served as Chancellor of Yukon College and Administrator of the Yukon.
Prior to being appointed to office, Van Bibber worked for the Yukon Department of Finance. She was also instrumental in the formation of the Yukon First Nations Culture and Tourism Association, as a private tour operator.Geraldine Van Bibber Yukon Party Caucus. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
She was re-elected at the 2021 Yukon general election.
Political career
Van Bibber announced her intention to seek the Yukon Party nomination in its stronghold riding of Porter Creek North in the 2016 Yukon election, which had been vacated after the incumbent Yukon Party representative, Doug Graham, announced his retirement. Although highly unusual for a former Commissioner to run for elected office - given the position's non-partisan nature - she was not the Yukon's first Commissioner to later seek elected office, and was already serving in a partisan role at the time as Senior Advisor to the Premier in the Yukon Party Cabinet Offices.Geraldine Van Bibber Yukon Party Caucus. Retrieved March 28, 2017. She was elected to the Yukon Legislature for the riding of Porter Creek North on November 7, 2016.
Van Bibber is currently a member of the Standing Committee on Statutory Instruments and the Standing Committee on Appointments to Major Government Boards and Committees. She is also the Yukon Party caucus critic for the Department of Education, the Aboriginal relations branch of the Executive Council Office, and the Department of Tourism and Culture.Geraldine Van Bibber Yukon Legislative Assembly. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
Van Bibber served as the Official Opposition critic for Economic Development, Tourism and Culture, the Yukon Energy Corporation, and the Yukon Development Corporation.
On January 28, 2025, Van Bibber announced that she would not run for re-election in the 2025 election and instead serve as Yukon Party campaign chair.
Honours
Van Bibber was appointed a Commander of the Order of St. John in 2006Canada Gazette Part I, Vol. 141, No. 17 and was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada - one of Canada's highest civilian honours - in 2016. Her citation into the Order of Canada recognizes her "role in making the territory a travel-destination by coordinating its tourism industry and broadening awareness of its unique Indigenous cultures.Geraldine Van Bibber, C.M. The Governor General of Canada. February 17, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017"
Van Bibber is also a recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.Geraldine Van Bibber The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved March 5, 2017
Electoral record
2021 general election
2016 general election
! align=left colspan=3|Total ! align=right|989 ! align=right|100.0% ! align=right |
References