Dennis Fraser Bevington (born March 27, 1953) is a politician from the Northwest Territories, and was the member of Parliament for the riding of Northwest Territories from 2006 until 2015. Born in Fort Smith, he served as mayor from 1988 to 1997. During Bevington's term at the head of council, Fort Smith recognized the Chipewyan and Cree languages, making the town officially quadrilingual.
A businessman, Bevington has long been active on environmental issues. In the 2000 federal election he ran as the NDP candidate for Western Arctic, but lost by 18% to incumbent Ethel Blondin-Andrew. Bevington ran again in the 2004 election, losing to Blondin-Andrew by only 53 votes, one of the closest races of the election. Bevington succeeded in unseating Blondin-Andrew in the 2006 election, with a margin of 1,158 votes.
Bevington fought for years to have the name of the riding changed from Western Arctic to Northwest Territories. Since 2008, Bevington has tabled three private member's bills titled "An Act to change the name of the electoral district of Western Arctic", all dying on the order paper. The task was more difficult as the riding name had been specified directly in the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, rather than in the representation orders governing other riding names. Bevington finally succeeded in having the name change incorporated into a bill that changed several other riding names in 2014.
Electoral record
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Northwest Territories |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
|---|
| Liberal | Michael McLeod | 9,172 | 48.34 | +29.90 | $71,207.71 |
| New Democratic | Dennis Bevington | 5,783 | 30.48 | −15.36 | $37,599.86 |
| Conservative | Floyd Roland | 3,481 | 18.35 | −13.76 | – |
| Green | John Moore | 537 | 2.83 | −0.23 | – |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 18,973 | 100.00 | | $214,028.20 |
| Total rejected ballots | 104 | 0.55 | – |
| Turnout | 19,077 | 64.82 | – |
| Eligible voters | 29,432 |
| Liberal gain from New Democratic | Swing | +22.63 |
| Source: Elections Canada |
| 2011 Canadian federal election |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|
| New Democratic | Dennis Bevington | 7,140 | 45.80 | +4.36 |
| Conservative | Sandy Lee | 5,001 | 32.10 | -5.51 |
| Liberal | Joe Handley | 2,872 | 18.40 | +4.82 |
| Green | Eli Purchase | 447 | 3.10 | -2.39 |
| Animal Alliance | Bonnie Dawson | 87 | 0.60 | – |
| Total valid votes | 15,577 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | 78 | 0.50 | +0.09 |
| Turnout | 15,655 | 55.43 | +7.72 |
| Eligible voters | 28,244 |
| New Democratic hold | Swing | +4.94 |
| 2008 Canadian federal election |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
|---|
| New Democratic | Dennis Bevington | 5,669 | 41.44 | -0.99 | $39,961 |
| Conservative | Brendan Bell | 5,146 | 37.62 | +17.14 | $84,329 |
| Liberal | Gabrielle Mackenzie-Scott | 1,858 | 13.58 | -21.7 | $37,884 |
| Green | Sam Gamble | 752 | 5.49 | +3.65 | $9,010 |
| First Peoples National | Noeline Villebrun | 252 | 1.84 | – | – |
| Total valid votes | 13,677 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | 56 | 0.41 |
| Turnout | 13,733 | 47.71 |
| Eligible voters | 28,787 |
| New Democratic hold | Swing | -9.06 |
| 2006 Canadian federal election |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
|---|
| New Democratic | Dennis Bevington | 6,801 | 42.67 | +3.62 | $40,703 |
| Liberal | Ethel Blondin-Andrew | 5,643 | 35.40 | -4.04 | |
| Conservative | Richard Edjericon | 3,200 | 20.08 | +2.92 | |
| Green | Alexandre Beaudin | 296 | 1.85 | -2.47 | |
| Total valid votes | 15,940 | 100.0 |
| New Democratic gain from Liberal | Swing | +3.83 |
| 2004 Canadian federal election |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
|---|
| Liberal | Ethel Blondin-Andrew | 5,317 | 39.44 | -6.15 | $58,782 |
| New Democratic | Dennis Bevington | 5,264 | 39.05 | +12.34 | $39,504 |
| Conservative | Sean Mandeville | 2,314 | 17.16 | -10.52 | $16,863 |
| Green | Chris O'Brien | 583 | 4.32 | – | $2,754 |
| Total valid votes | 13,478 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | 69 | 0.51 |
| Turnout | 13,547 | 47.33 |
| Liberal hold | Swing | -9.24 |
|
| 2000 Canadian federal election |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
|---|
| Liberal | Ethel Blondin-Andrew | 5,855 | 45.59 | +3.96 | $56,498 |
| New Democratic | Dennis Bevington | 3,430 | 26.71 | +7.42 | $27,323 |
| Alliance | Fred Turner | 2,273 | 17.70 | +2.99 | $15,406 |
| Progressive Conservative | Bruce McLaughlin | 1,687 | 9.98 | -2.64 | $8,374 |
| Total valid votes | 12,840 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | 72 | 0.56 |
| Turnout | 12,912 | 52.24 |
| Liberal hold | Swing | -1.73 |
|
