New City Manager Appointed

David Barrick

Whitehorse City Council has appointed David Barrick as the City’s new City Manager following a rigorous national search led by Leadership Source Inc., an independent executive management firm.

Barrick brings more than two decades of municipal, regional, public-sector and governance experience. He served as Chief Administrative Officer of Canada’s ninth-largest city and also brings CAO experience in smaller and mid-sized municipalities, along with elected service at both the municipal and regional levels. This breadth of experience gives him a strong understanding of organizational leadership, governance and service delivery across very different municipal contexts.

Throughout his career, Barrick has worked with Councils, senior leadership teams and employees to strengthen organizational performance, improve service delivery, support long-term financial planning and move strategic direction into implementation.

The City Manager reports directly to City Council and is the top administrative leader of the City of Whitehorse. In his new role, Barrick will lead the municipal organization, support Council decision making, advance Council’s Strategic Priorities, and ensure effective delivery of municipal services to citizens and businesses.

Barrick will begin working in his new role on September 2.

Quotes

“City Council is very pleased to have David Barrick join the City of Whitehorse as our new City Manager. David has a strong background in municipal governance and executive management that will strengthen our capacity to deliver on our Strategic Priorities and serve the citizens of Whitehorse. His unique combination of organizational leadership and public administration experience will bring valuable perspective to the City as we navigate the challenges and opportunities of rapid growth in our community.

On behalf of City Council, I want to sincerely thank Valerie Braga for her dedicated service as Interim City Manager. Her vast corporate knowledge, steady leadership and support of Council is greatly appreciated and served the organization well as we undertook the important process of recruiting a new City Manager.”

Kirk Cameron
Mayor of Whitehorse

“I am proud to be joining the City of Whitehorse and look forward to working with Council, staff, First Nations governments, the Yukon Government, community partners and residents. My first focus will be to listen and learn, build on the good work already underway, and support the people who deliver services to this community every day. Together, we will focus on turning Council’s direction into action and delivering tangible results for Whitehorse.”

David Barrick
Incoming City Manager

Additional info

• City Council appointed David Barrick as City Manager at a Special Council Meeting on August 31 pursuant to the City Manager Bylaw (Bylaw 2026-29).
• Barrick takes over from Valerie Braga, who was appointed as Interim City Manager on January 5, 2026 (Bylaw 2025-42). Braga now returns to her role as Director of Corporate Services.
• Barrick holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a Concentration in Public Law from Brock University and has completed executive and leadership education through the Schulich School of Business at York University and Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. He is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration in Local Government through Western University.
• Barrick has successfully guided municipalities to earn prestigious recognition for financial excellence, municipal administration innovation, and economic development. Under his leadership, municipalities achieved the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of North America Budget Presentation Award, as well as the World Council on City Data’s (WCCD) ISO 37120 Platinum certification for using data-driven decision-making to improve city services and infrastructure.
• Barrick has a longstanding affiliation with the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) and has been recognized through CAMA’s long-service recognition program for his years of service in municipal administration.

Links

• Whitehorse City Council Strategic Priorities 2025-2028.

For more information:
Matthew Cameron
Manager, Strategic Communications
City of Whitehorse
[email protected]
867-689-0515