Liberals hold on to Nunavut

DWANE WILKIN

Nunavut’s new Liberal Member of parliament is due in Ottawa on Monday to attend her first caucus meeting.

How Nunavut voted
The unnofficial results to date for the Nunavut riding. Some remote polling stations have yet to report.
CANDIDATE VOTES %
Nancy
Karetak-Lindell 3302 47.2
Okalik
Eegeesiak 1738 21.8
Hunter
Tootoo 1710 24.6
John
Turner 447 6.44
After a whirlwind campaign through Canada’s largest riding, Nancy Karetak-Lindell took 41.7 per cent of the vote in Monday’s general election, comfortably ahead of her nearest rival, but by a considerably thinner margin than her Liberal predecessor, Jack Anawak, who is now the interim commissioner of Nunavut.

Progressive Conservative candidate Okalik Eegeesiak and NDP candidate Hunter Tootoo both made significant gains for their parties, with the Tories winning a neck-in-neck race for second place by less than 30 votes.

Following a day-long briefing with Anawak, Karetak-Lindell flew to Yellowknife from her home in Arviat to meet with Premier Don Morin before heading south.

The new MP pledged this week to visit constituents in those communities she wasn’t able to reach during the federal election, and to focus on work in the riding.

“I’m not exactly sure yet how I’ll set up my summer, but my accessibility to people is going to be one of my priorities,” said Karetak-Lindell.

Not only did Karetak-Lindell turn in a strong perfomance in Rankin Inlet, Arviat, and Baker Lake, the business woman and former secretary-treasurer of the Kivalliq Inuit Association also led in several Kitikmeot communities.

A majority of voters in the Baffin communities of Pangnirtung, Nanisivik and Arctic Bay threw their support behind the Liberal candidate, as did voters in Kimmirut.

With fewer members re-elected, however, Karetak-Lindell acknowledged that the presence of individual MPs in the House of Commons during the next session will be more crucial to the Liberal government than it was in 1993.

“We’re down to 155 members, which means members will have more committees to sit on, said Karetak-Lindell. “Plus, the vote in the House will be a lot more critical because we’re not a majority by much.”

Support for the Conservatives was strongest in the south Baffin, with Eegesiak picking up most of the vote in Cape Dorset, Broughton Island, Sanikiluaq and Iqaluit.

Unofficial results at presstime showed Karetak-Lindell got 3,302 votes, while ballots cast in support of Eegeesiak numbered 1,738.

Support for New Democratic Party candidate Hunter Tootoo, who finished closely behind in third place with 1,710 votes, was strongest in Igloolik, Gjoa Haven, Pond Inlet and Taloyoak.

Reform Party candidate John Turner trailed far behind in fourth place, managing to attract just 447 votes overall.

Unofficial results indicate turnout for this year’s federal election was only 60 per cent, with just 7,197 ballots cast.

The old Nunatsiaq riding was modified slightly in 1996, with borders redrawn to conform to the boundaries for the new Nunavut territory. This year the Beaufort Sea communities of Tuktoyaktuk, Sachs Harbour and Holman Island cast their ballots in the western Arctic.