Members voted on Motion 16-17(5) introduced by Hay River North MLA Jane Groenewegen to extend the term of the Assembly to five years starting with the 18th Legislature to match every other provincial and territorial jurisdiction in Canada.
In addition they voted to ask for permission of the federal government to extend the current mandate of the Assembly to postpone the 23rd general election and sit until October 2016.
The decision by council prompted a petition calling for the Assembly to be dissolved early.
[2] The motion passed the legislature on a recorded vote with 11 members for and 7 against with one member absent Yellowknife South, Lafferty, Ramsay, McLeod – Inuvik Twin Lakes Currently, 7 of 19 of the Assembly's representatives are from the capital city of Yellowknife.
Three members were acclaimed to office on September 9, 2011 with the rest in contested districts being returned on October 3, 2011.