Two candidates in the running for Pangnirtung mayor

Two people are in the running to become Pangnirtung’s next mayor.

The hamlet’s search for a new leader started in December, when former mayor Lynn Mike resigned. Hamlet council decided to replace Mike through a byelection, but the official nomination period ended last month without a single candidate coming forward.

The hamlet council gave a second go at it — and this time attracted two political hopefuls.

The candidates are two Department of Health employees. Cathy MacDougall works as the department’s director of health services, and Umar Kukkadi is regional finance manager with Health.

“Pang is my community and I wanted to see if I could help the community and get some of the issues that are around here fixed and just make it better living for everybody,” said MacDougall in an interview.

She has lived in Pangnirtung with her husband for more than seven years in total, returning after stints in Rankin Inlet, Gjoa Haven and Iqaluit.

As health services director, MacDougall oversees five remote centres across the High Arctic, including the continuing-care centre and health centre in Igloolik as well as health centres in Sanirajak, Qikiqtarjuaq and Clyde River.

She is a registered nurse and has spent much of her career managing health programs in Nunavut, including organizing a community-wide tuberculosis screening in Pangnirtung.

Her priorities, she said, focus on addressing housing shortages, supporting youth, and maintaining essential infrastructure such as water systems.

“I’m hoping to build within the hamlet a team that has the same outlook on what we need to get done for the community,” MacDougall said.

“I want people to be able to voice their needs and if they have solutions, include them.”

Kukkadi has lived in Pangnirtung since 2010 with his wife, a teacher, and their two children.

He has worked for the Department of Health for two decades.

“The community has given a lot to me and my family, and it’s time that I should also devote myself to the community and give my thanks,” said Kukkadi, who served as a hamlet councillor from 2019 to 2021 and was on the finance committee.

He helped establish an evening sports and recreation program in Pangnirtung in 2010 which had more than 75 youth participants within three months, he said.

“If elected, my first-year priorities would be to strengthen relationships with council members, with the people of Pangnirtung, with regular interactions with the community,” Kukkadi said.

Before moving to Canada, he spent 20 years managing a bank in India and helping develop villages of 5,000 to 15,000 people. He said that experience taught him planning and budgeting skills he can use as mayor.

“I want to stay away from subsidies and grants and become self-sustaining,” Kukkadi said, calling for more local businesses, youth engagement, accessible public transport, and a reliable mechanic who employs local workers.

Both candidates said they plan to maintain their current roles while serving as mayor.

An advance poll will begin March 23 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the returning officer’s office in Pangnirtung. There will be a mobile poll from noon to 7 p.m. for residents with disabilities or those who cannot easily reach the local polling place.

Election day itself is scheduled for March 30, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., with voting at the community centre.