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In Westminster parliamentary democracies like Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, research has found that cabinet composition is driven mainly by longstanding norms and practices that privilege older, white males with certain educational and political experiences. Do these trends apply at the subnational level where the demographic make-up can be quite different? To answer this question, we draw upon an original dataset of all members of the legislative assembly and cabinet in three Canadian territories from 1979 to 2022. These territories are unique given that Indigenous communities loom large in their governments and societies. Using an event history model, we find that territorial cabinets very much reflect the demographic make up of their legislatures, similar to what occurs at the federal level. We also observe important differences between the territories, which suggest that the influence of Westminster structures and norms are likely mediated by factors unique to each territory. Certaines recherches effectuees sur les democraties parlementaires de type Westminster telles que l'Australie, le Canada et la Nouvelle-Zelande, ont montre que la composition d'un Cabinet est principalement dominee par des normes et des pratiques anciennes qui privilegient les hommes blancs d'un certain age ayant de l'experience en education et en politique. Ces tendances s'appliquent-elles au niveau infranational ou la composition demographique est tres differente? Pour repondre a cette question, nous nous appuyons sur un ensemble original de donnees de tous les membres de l'Assemblee legislative et du Cabinet de trois territoires canadiens allant de 1979 a 2022. Ces territoires sont uniques etant donne que les communautes autochtones predominent dans leurs gouvernements et leurs societes. En utilisant un modele de donnees longitudinales, nous constatons que les Cabinets territoriaux correspondent bien a la composition demographique de leurs legislatures, a l'instar de ce qui se produit au niveau federal. Nous observons egalement des differences considerables entre les territoires, ce qui laisse entendre que l'influence des structures et des normes de Westminster est probablement interposee par des facteurs propres a chaque territoire., Scholars of political executives in parliamentary democracies are frequently concerned about the demographic profile of government leaders (Bird, 2012; Cross, 2010; O'Brien et al., 2015). Cabinet composition is important because [...]

In September 1967, the federal government transferred the Government of the Northwest Territories from Ottawa to Yellowknife. While the transfer brought the machinery of government closer to the governed, it [...]