Nick G. Sibbeston (born November 21, 1943) is a retired Canadian politician, serving from 1985 to 1987 as the fourth premier of the Northwest Territories.
Sibbeston was a Senator representing the Northwest Territories from 1999 until 2017, when he resigned on his 74th birthday, a year prior to reaching the mandatory retirement age. He was also a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Northwest Territories representing Mackenzie-Laird from 1970 to 1975 and from 1979 until 1991.
Early life and career
Sibbeston is Métis from Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories. Considered a residential-school survivor, he attended residential schools in Fort Simpson, Providence, Inuvik, and Yellowknife. He went on to attend the University of Alberta, where he graduated with Bachelor of Arts and Law degrees.
Career
Territorial politics
In 1970, Sibbeston was elected to a four-year term on the North West Territorial Council, after which he was defeated by William Lafferty in the 1975 Northwest Territories general election.
He was re-elected in the 1979 general election and would continue to be a Member of the Legislative Assembly until 1991. He also focused on issues such as the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline, infrastructure in the North, climate change mitigation, and increasing Indigenous engagement in the economy. According to Senate Opposition leader James Cowan, the Senators will still refer to themselves as Liberals even if they are no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus. Sibbeston agreed with Trudeau's decision, saying that the Northwest Territories also did not have a party system.
In September 2017, Sibbeston announced that he would resign on November 21, his 74th birthday. Sibbeston said that he would focus on his family, travel, and spirituality as well as translating Catholic liturgy into the Dene language.