Willard Phelps

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Willard Leroy Phelps (born 1941) is a former Yukon politician. He was first elected to the territorial legislature in 1974 but did not run in the first election with political party participation in 1978. However, with the resignation of Chris Pearson as Government Leader in 1985 the Progressive Conservatives chose Phelps as its new leader and he was accordingly Government Leader from March 20, 1985 until May 29, 1985 when the Yukon NDP took office after winning the spring election. Phelps was leader of the opposition from 1985 until 1991. When the Progressive Conservatives became the Yukon Party Phelps became an independent MLA but sat in the new party's caucus.

When John Ostashek's Yukon Party took power in 1992 with a minority government, Phelps lent his support and became minister of justice, health and social services. In 1994 he dropped the justice portfolio and picked up responsibility for education. In his responsibilities for social services, Phelps instituted welfare reform hiring private investigators to look into welfare recipients. He also argued for the privatization of the government owned energy concern. Phelps resigned his cabinet positions in March 1996 after it was revealed that he called a senior native chief a liar and maligned members of the Carcross Area Advisory Planning Committee in a drunken argument. Phelps ran for re-election but lost his seat in the fall election.