'Everybody knows everybody:' Nunavut voters head to the polls in territorial election
Campaigning in Nunavut's territorial election is a little like competing against your neighbours and friends, says former premier Paul Quassa.
Voters head to the polls Monday to elect their representatives in the territory's sixth legislative assembly.
In larger centres like Iqaluit, candidates have been knocking on doors and handing out pamphlets for weeks.
But in Nunavut's smaller communities, such as Quassa's former Igloolik constituency, the race is more subdued.
"Everybody knows everybody, so it's a matter of who's better known or more vocal within the community," Quassa said in an interview.
He said Nunavut's elections don't see much in the way of aggressive campaign tactics or personal digs between candidates as those in Southern Canada.
"There's no sense of fighting against each other. It's more subtle up here. It's more like, 'even if you don't vote for me, that's fine,"' he said.
Candidates, except in some of the larger communities, don't usually campaign door-to-door and instead use local radio to get their ideas out.
Territorial elections are held in Nunavut every four years.
This election, there are 58 candidates vying for 22 seats across the territory. Of those, 16 candidates are running for re-election and 14 are women.
While it's a tight race in communities like Iqaluit, five candidates have already been acclaimed, including Nunavut's most recent premier, Joe Savikataaq, in the constituency of Arviat-South.
In Nunavut's consensus-style government, there are no political parties or platforms. The assembly is made up of cabinet members and regular members of the legislature, who outnumber ministers and often act as the unofficial opposition.
The election is only the first step in selecting the territory's next legislative assembly.
MLAs, once elected, need to select a premier and a cabinet. That is tentatively scheduled to happen Nov. 17, when members take their sealskin-upholstered seats in the assembly at a leadership forum.
Quassa, who is semi-retired and not running this time around, said he's well aware of the issues Nunavut's next government will have to tackle.
The territory continues to face a persistent housing crisis -- something Quassa notes has been a priority since he was elected eight years ago.
"This legislative assembly needs to start thinking outside the box. How can we mitigate the annual shortage of housing?" Quassa said.
Mental health, food insecurity, resource development, Inuit employment and climate change are also issues the next assembly will need to continue working on, he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the limits of Nunavut's health-care system. There is no intensive care unit in the territory, while millions of dollars are spent on isolation centres for Nunavut residents in Southern Canada.
Another urgent issue is elders' care. With few long-term care options in the territory, Nunavut's elders are regularly sent south, away from their families, their communities and their language.
The next government will also have to deal with a lawsuit filed by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc, the land claims organization, about the rights of students to be educated in Inuktut.
The lawsuit claims the Nunavut government is discriminating against Inuit by not offering education in the territory's first language at the same level as English and French.
In addition to the lawsuit, Quassa said the assembly will need to make sure Inuit are at the forefront of legislative decisions, which is at the heart of why Nunavut was created.
"That's why we got a territory in the first place. It was Inuit who created it," he said.
------
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2021.
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook-Canadian Press News Fellowship.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
NEW Life got in the way of one woman's reunion with her father, but a DNA test gained her a family
Anne Marie Cavner was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father, but then life dealt her a blow. From an unexpected loss to a host of new relationships, a DNA test changed her life, and she doesn't regret a thing.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Quebec farmers have been protesting since December. Is anyone listening?
Upset about high interest rates, growing paperwork and heavy regulatory burdens, protesting farmers have become a familiar sight across Quebec since December.
'Catch-and-kill' strategy to be a focus as testimony resumes in Trump hush money case
A veteran tabloid publisher was expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial.
Prince William and wife Kate thank public for birthday messages for son Louis
Prince William and his wife Kate thanked the public for their messages which had been sent to mark the sixth birthday of their youngest son Louis on Tuesday.
Quebec Health Department reports 28 cases of eye damage linked to solar eclipse
Quebec's Health Department says it has received 28 reports of eye damage related to the April 8 total solar eclipse that passed over southern parts of the province.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Local Spotlight
'I'm committed': Oilers fan won't cut hair until Stanley Cup comes to Edmonton
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Cat found at Pearson airport 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly on a mission: N.S. student collecting books about women in sport for school library
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Marmot in the city: New resident of North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale a 'rock star rodent'
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.