18-year-old from Ivujivik takes action against Elections Canada
Tiivi Tullaugak wants answers after not getting a chance to cast a vote in federal election
Tiivi Tullaugak says he was excited to cast his first ballot ever in the 2025 federal election. But Elections Canada didn’t arrive in Ivujivik on election day to set up polling stations. (Photo courtesy of Tiivi Tullaugak)
An 18-year-old from Ivujivik has issued a formal complaint to Elections Canada.
Tiivi Tullaugak says he wants to hold the government agency accountable for failing to arrive in his community on April 28, federal election day, to set up polling stations.
“I knew I had to do something, not just for our community but for Nunavik,” he said.
Tullaugak said he would have voted in the election — his first — if he’d had the chance.
Liberal Mandy Gull-Masty won the riding with 12,578 votes, defeating second-place finisher incumbent Sylvie Bérubé of the Bloc Québécois who received 10,381 votes, and two other candidates.
Elections Canada is investigating why people were denied the chance to vote in seven Nunavik communities on election day. Polling stations in Akulivik and Tullaugak’s community of Ivujivik never opened, and in five other communities they operated for only part of their scheduled eight-hour window.
Federal chief electoral officer Stéphane Perrault announced the investigation on April 30, with an apology.
Tullaugak says an apology is not enough. He said his complaint, sent May 8, is a way of “speaking up” for Inuit communities.
His complaint states: “Citizens want a thorough investigation into what went on and who is responsible for the clear incompetence and mismanagement.”
It follows by saying, “[People] want to know what Elections Canada will do in seeking to rectify the situation, as many people’s democratic rights were taken away from them.”
“All other provinces had the chance to vote, and us, we couldn’t do anything,” Tullaugak said.
While Elections Canada has not given an official explanation for what happened in Nunavik on election day, community members told Nunatsiaq News on April 28 that polling station workers were in a rush because of bad weather.
Tullaugak said these are “not the best excuses,” adding that a bit of preparation and a willingness for workers to stay in the community for a few days would have helped.
His complaint also asks for Elections Canada to describe what the plan was for election day in Nunavik, village by village, and who made the decisions in the affected villages.
“A fact-finding inquiry will conducted by Elections Canada’s internal audit division,” said Matthew McKenna, spokesperson for Elections Canada, in an email.
“The main objective is to provide a detailed account of the circumstances leading to some electors not being able to exercise their right to vote in the electoral district of Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou during the 45th general election,” he said, adding complaints such as Tullaugak’s will be included in those fact-finding efforts.
Elections Canada is aiming to publish a report on these findings in fall 2025.
Russ Johnson, a former physical education teacher in Aupaluk who now runs a basketball program across Nunavik, helped Tullaugak file his complaint.
“It is bananas,” Johnson said in a phone interview.
“Based on all the factors going into that election, and the fact that most elections in the past seemed to have gone relatively smoothly in Nunavik, this is a bit of an aberration.”
Johnson said there are a lot of reasons why the day played out like it did, but the end result looks like “voter suppression, whether it was intentional or not.”
He said he has been in close contact with multiple people who have reached out to Elections Canada demanding answers. He said one teacher, based in Ivujivik, received a response from Elections Canada that apologizes for “any inconvenience and frustration encountered.”
“That is not an inconvenience, that is injustice,” Johnson said.
“You can make my vote more convenient, but you can’t call it inconvenient if I am not even given the ability to vote.”
good on this man! everyone in NU and Northern quebec need to stand up and fight against voters fraud.
liberals plan to take our guns away
Tiivi told me it was not about one party or another for him . It wasn’t about partisanship. It was about democracy and how upset, and angry it made him so many Nunavimmiut were not able to vote, including himself as a first time voter.
He also told me that he wanted to vote for Mandy, who the majority of the votes in Nunavik would have gone to…and although the Conservatives would have gotten some votes in Nunavik, the contest was always between the Bloc and the Liberals…so if there was any voter suppression, it would have been to try to keep votes from Mandy….because very, very few votes would have gone to the Bloc/ Sylvie Berube in Nunavik…and I don’t think anyone could realistically argue against that….and certainly any nationalists across the province would have known that.
I think this young man has demonstrated he can speak up for himself. It’s opportunist of you to reveal his voting intentions and then imply that the voting process was altered because there was a liberal surge.
He revealed it in a video we made that is on his Facebook page, and it makes me giggle that you think coming to his “defense” is necessary, when he could do it for himself as you clearly stated.
Thanks for your input on that….
Maybe re-read what I wrote…because all I stated is that the Liberal candidate was unquestionably lost votes that day on a level that the NDP, CONS, and Bloc most certainly didnt.
That’s reality.
All the best and thanks for stopping by.
Sylvie who?
Interesting , i can first understand any 18 year old first time voter wanting to be in the list. But considering everything we witness today about colonialism, i find it even more interesting that he’s symbolic to the acceptance of all that’s colonialism in his right to vote, and a complaint to the fact that he was not able to. One could surely understand if he just didn’t care about voting for an outsider anyway. Its just shows the contravention and confusion that kids are growing up with. I mean they’re all tokd about the negative influence of non inuit governments, and here he is saying he wants to vote for such. Just saying. As far as opportunities to vote, he should be made aware the other places got to vote because they made it happen themselves, not dependent on outsiders coming in . A constant confusion among the young today. Told one thing but lived the opposite. Its not healthy.
So because this 18 year old is not in agreement with the powers that be (colonial governing bodies) he should not want to have a say in the matter? And if he wants a say he must travel somewhere else? Is that what I read? So if Indigenous Peoples in Canada don’t like the democracy that’s in place right now we should all abstain from voting and elections canada should not make efforts to set up polling stations in certain areas. That’s what I understood from your comment. feel free to clear things up.
Why did voters in Nunavik not arrange the means to vote without having fly people in to run the voting stations? Any ideas anyone? Like be part of the plan and do it from local ability. Are they not able to ? Young voters and older ones alike can do what they want in their rights, but it contradicts the ongoing rejection of colonialism. Its like temporary suspension of the fight to point out the oppression of the south, government i mean, but come voting time, the right to make your x is ok at that time. Oh i agree he has all the right to vote, but when people speak out against colonialism , what would they say about the bote at the time of heated argument? Is voting a acceptance to colonialism or not? And if it an acceptance , explain.
So It’s this youths responsibility to have elections canada set up, not elections canadas job to set up in this would be colonized place. They have to plan and prepare for (what no other places are responsible for) a vote that you’re saying they shouldn’t partake in anyways if they don’t support colonialism. So theyre to set it up if they want to parttake, but should also not partake because it’s colonial and they shouldn’t in a democracy that controls their society. And to add to this, it’s their responsibility to answer to people like you why they should be entitled to a vote. I might be wrong, but this was very much the attitude shared by society when women and indigenous people had no voting rights in canada.
Kids are finding it difficult to navigate politics today , especially up north and indigenous communities. They torn between the all out speeches of local politicians, and leaders, and at same time having to go onto the outside society to get educated and many other necessary things. The speeches we hear in the radio sometimes are nothing but sickening in what the older people are saying, not all but radio only needs a few of them to make impact. Then they have to hear the other side which is foreign and confusing as well. So it’s not really about their easy made choice, it’s more of sorting through not just political parties, but through the views of community members that are against most thing European or south.
Good for this young man.
What happened in Nunavik should not have happened. It was an injustice. Period.
Both the Mayor of Ivujivik and Tiivi told me they consider themselves Canadians, that are fighting to make sure that they are considered as such in full measure for themselves and the rest of Nunavimmiut, both now and in the future.
It’s up to Canadians across the country to support them and get behind that fight…because if any Inuk still has room in their hearts for Canada, then they deserve to see their citizenship mean as much as anyone from the south…and no Canadian should argue otherwise, or support less for them.
Yes. that’s a interesting intellectual remark. All Canadians must support inuit to bring the Canadian patriarchy to bear fruit. Most Canadians don’t even think about inuit, now what? Do they just fall by the wayside? Further to that many so called Canadians don’t give two cents about whats running for government either. One right here. You have a front roll seat to witness political decline, whether you vote for john or doe.
I dont think elections Canada are sending workers to isolate communities in area of Canada without a reason. I live in isolation small town and our area have workers from our community. Im thinking the Nunavik community is disconnected from many aspects of whats going on , and why don’t leaders in the community make it easier for constituents? Disconnect needs reconnect.
So, elections Canada must send in people to take the vote of Nunavik. Did Nunavut have the same with election Canada sending in workers ? Surely someone in Nunavut can shine light on how it was done and allow this know how to be used by Nunavik. Again, just saying.
Why would a kid vote or anyone for that matter if they are against the powers to be ? How would they vote anyway, being against all of itnof just some of it, don’t make sense .
Yes I can understand what you say, right to vote and feel part of the society. Inuit don’t have any big turn outs anyway, and that may indicate more then not in the voting mood on a particular day. But still keeping with your point about feeling part of it all, makes you wonder about the large numbers of no show voting…. Do they feel part of it all too, in another way, or are they just fit up with politics. Look what the vote has produced south of the border.
No voter access, no local people
can or want to do the work. Water issues, no local people can or want to do the work. Dos, drugs, crime, health, education, buildings, no local people who can or want to do the work. Our ancestors, all races, survived by banding together or individually tackling problems. Now we al want to blame everyone except trying to be part of a solution. You learn from history, don’t blame history. You can’t change the past, you don’t have a DeLorean to time travel
Is this why the liberals won again because many didn’t have a chance to vote ?
Way to go Tiivi! This is exactly what you need to do, no matter whether you agree with how this country is run or not, because in order to make change we need to work within the colonial system that was imposed on us Inuit. You should consider running to be President of the National Inuit Youth Council, you seem to have that type of ambition and the nomition is open until the May 30. Check out ITK’s webpage for information. Us older Inuit are so proud to see the younger ones doing stuff like this because we know that Inuit are going somewhere. Ajungii and keep it up!