Kivalliq, Kitikmeot make the difference in Nunavut federal vote

Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq talks on her cell phone shortly after clinching victory in the May 2 federal election. A huge wave of Conservative support in the Kitikmeot and Kivalliq regions propelled Aglukkaq to the win. (PHOTO BY CHRIS WINDEYER)

Voters in the Kivalliq and Kitikmeot regions propelled Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq to her second term in Ottawa in the May 2 federal election, poll-by-poll results issued by Elections Canada reveal.

Those numbers show a massive advantage for Aglukkaq, the federal health minister, in the western part of the territory.

Aglukkaq, a Conservative, defeated Liberal Paul Okalik, New Democrat Jack Hicks and Green candidate Scott MacCallum in the May 2 vote, which swept the Tories to a majority government.

Not surprisingly, Aglukkaq’s hometown of Gjoa Haven supported her overwhelmingly, delivering 84.5 per cent of the vote for the Conservatives. In Taloyoak, which Aglukkaq represented as a territorial MLA, she carried 80.6 per cent of the vote.

Cambridge Bay also went Tory blue, voting 52 per cent for Aglukkaq.

But Aglukkaq also swept areas regarded in the past as Liberal strongholds, taking 63 per cent of the vote in Arviat, 57 per cent in Baker Lake and 48 per cent in Rankin Inlet.

Aglukkaq also won in most communities on Baffin Island and the High Arctic, although which much smaller margins over second-place finisher Okalik.

Okalik did take Clyde River, winning 56 per cent of the vote there, and Grise Fiord, where he captured 46 per cent to Aglukkaq’s 29 per cent.

In Iqaluit, it was a three-way race with Aglukkaq, Okalik and Hicks all winning individual polling stations. The Conservatives took 36 per cent in the capital, the Liberals 33 and the NDP 30.

Nunavut-wide, Aglukkaq captured 49.5 per cent of the vote, followed by Okalik at 28.5, Hicks at 19.2 and MacCallum at 2 per cent.