Geraldine Van Bibber

{{Infobox officeholder

| image =

| imagesize = 150px

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Geraldine van Bibber

| honorific-suffix = {{postnominals|country=CAN|CM|MLA|size=100%}}

| office = Commissioner of Yukon

| term_start = December 1, 2005

| term_end = December 17, 2010

| predecessor = Jack Cable

| successor = Doug Phillips

| primeminister = Paul Martin
Stephen Harper

| premier = Dennis Fentie

| assembly2 = Yukon Legislative

| constituency_AM2 = Porter Creek North

| term_start2 = November 7, 2016

| term_end2 =

| predecessor2 = Doug Graham

| successor2 =

| office3 = Chancellor of Yukon College

| term_start3 = December 10, 2012

| term_end3 = September 22, 2016

| predecessor3 = Rolfe Hougen

| successor3 = Piers McDonald

| premier3 = Darrell Pasloski

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|7|3}}

| birth_place = Dawson City, Yukon

| nationality = Canadian

| spouse = Pat Van Bibber

| party = Yukon Party

| residence = Whitehorse, Yukon

| profession = appointed official, businesswoman

| religion =

}}

Geraldine Van Bibber {{postnominals|country=CAN|CM}} (born July 3, 1951) is a Canadian politician representing the Yukon electoral district of Porter Creek North as a member of the Yukon Party. She was elected as part of the 2016 Yukon election.

Van Bibber served as the commissioner of Yukon from 2005 to 2010{{cite web|url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/compilations/ProvinceTerritory/LieutenantGovernors.aspx|title=Lieutenant Governors and Territorial Commissioners|publisher=|accessdate=8 December 2016|archive-date=13 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113170316/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/ProvinceTerritory/LieutenantGovernors.aspx|url-status=dead}} and a member of the Gwichʼin First Nation. She has also served as Chancellor of Yukon College{{cite web |url=http://www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/news/post/geraldine_van_bibber_named_yukon_colleges_new_chancellor |title=Yukon College: Geraldine Van Bibber named Yukon College's new chancellor |website=www.yukoncollege.yk.ca |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113164631/http://www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/news/post/geraldine_van_bibber_named_yukon_colleges_new_chancellor |archive-date=2013-01-13}} 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.[http://www.yukonpartycaucus.ca/geraldine_van_bibber 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.[http://www.yukonpartycaucus.ca/geraldine_van_bibber 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.[http://www.legassembly.gov.yk.ca/members/vanbibber.html Geraldine Van Bibber] Yukon Legislative Assembly. Retrieved March 3, 2017.

As of September 29, 2024, Van Bibber serves 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.{{Cite web |last=Hatherly |first=Dana |date=2025-01-28 |title=MLA Geraldine Van Bibber won’t seek re-election; will chair Yukon Party campaign |url=https://www.yukon-news.com/news/mla-geraldine-van-bibber-wont-seek-re-election-will-chair-yukon-party-campaign-7785037 |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=Yukon News |language=en}}

Honours

Van Bibber was appointed a Commander of the Order of St. John in 2006[http://www.gazette.gc.ca/archives/p1/2007/2007-04-28/pdf/g1-14117.pdf Canada Gazette Part I, Vol. 141, No. 17] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522213631/http://www.gazette.gc.ca/archives/p1/2007/2007-04-28/pdf/g1-14117.pdf |date=May 22, 2013 }} and was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada - one of Canada's highest civilian honours - in 2016.{{cite web|title=Olympians, jurists, researchers among 113 new appointments to Order of Canada|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/order-of-canada-recipients-1.3659510|website=CBC News|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|accessdate=2 July 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.[https://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=14772&t=12&ln=Van%20Bibber 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.[https://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=213997&t=13&ln=Van%20Bibber Geraldine Van Bibber] The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved March 5, 2017