Western Nunavut college students hold mock vote in pre-election exercise

Students enrolled in Nunavut Arctic College’s second-year office administration program vote Oct. 2 in a mock election classroom exercise. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

CAMBRIDGE BAY — With only two weeks before the federal election, are you wondering which parties Nunavut voters will support in Oct. 19?

That’s what Nunavut Arctic College students in Cambridge Bay’s second-year office administration program wanted to know — and so these students used themselves as participants for an unofficial poll conducted Oct. 1.

The results of their vote show a tight race between the Conservatives and New Democratic Party, even in this western Nunavut community, where the incumbent Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq started her political career as a hamlet councillor.

An Oct. 4 national poll by the Nanos firm shows the Conservatives and Liberals within four percentage points of each other, with the NDP now in third place.

But this doesn’t reveal what voters in Nunavut will do: Will they vote for Aglukkaq, the NDP candidate Jack Anawak, the Liberal’s Hunter Tootoo or the Green’s Spencer Rocchi?

To prepare for their vote, students in Vicki Aitaok’s class, who have been studying northern governance in class, first split into groups representing the four parties.

Then, they developed presentations on the party platforms to share with their class Oct. 2.

But before the group started their presentations, they participated in a secret vote whose results would be compared with those from a second vote at the end of their class.

The goal of the two votes: to see if voters would change after receiving more information about the parties.

After their presentations, the students shared what they had learned:

• the three parties not currently in power appear to offer fewer convincing numbers their platforms;

• all parties make campaign promises which, if they aren’t elected or re-elected to a majority government, will be impossible to keep; and,

• all parties put a focus on economic development and new infrastructure.

Among the questions put to the students by Aitaok: would the other parties be able to run Canada, although the Tories seem to present a more complete costing of their program and accomplishments?

“You don’t know,” reflected one student. “The other parties could be much better.”

During the post-presentation discussion, another student mentioned that she wasn’t impressed with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who referred called Inuit “those people” in a Sept. 28 leaders debate.

The results of the classes’ final vote? A tie between the Tories and the NDP.

in the pre-vote, Aglukkaq received five votes, but lost one vote in the second round, following the presentations and discussion.

Meanwhile, Anawak picked up three votes in the second vote, to tie with Aglukkaq.

But Tootoo lost two votes between the first and second vote — with one of his votes going to the Greens.

A voter who didn’t cast a ballot in the first round also decided to vote in the second round after receiving more information about the parties (and Aitaok, who also voted, later told Nunatsiaq News she also changed her vote after the students’ presentations.)

All students said they plan to vote Oct. 19 — with about half of the 10-member class voting for the first time.

But between now and then, their votes could change again — except for that of one young woman, wearing an Aglukkaq campaign button, who said her vote was decided: “Leona Aglukkaq is an Inuk and she is my auntie.”

By the time the election rolls around, these students will have had a chance to meet the candidates from the three leading parties.

Anawak visited Cambridge Bay during this election campaign — and Tootoo is due to visit the town Oct. 5. and Oct. 6.

Anawak, along with Aglukkaq, spoke to Aitaok’s students while in the western Nunavut hub.

Nunavut Arctic College instructor Vicki Aitaok reveals the vote tally, after the Oct. 2 classroom pre-election day exercise for students in the second-year office administration program in Cambridge Bay. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)