“I've got to prove myself to Nunavummiut”

Kirt Ejesiak can look forward to spending many hours on airplanes in the near future, as Nunavut's newest federal Liberal candidate.

No one contests that he's bright – he's Nunavut's first Harvard graduate – and well-liked in Iqaluit, where he's remembered as a former deputy mayor, and principal secretary to the premier.

But he is not well-known in the communities. And that could make a big difference in the next federal election.

So Ejesiak, who narrowly beat out Rankin Inlet Mayor Lorne Kusugak in the nomination race Wednesday last week, plans to visit as many of Nunavut's communities as possible in the months to come.

"I know if someone came to visit me, I'd remember," he said in an interview last week. "I've got to prove myself to Nunavummiut, that I'm the best person for the job."

No one knows when a federal election will be called.

But Ejesiak says he needs to be prepared for an election "tomorrow," and last week cancelled a trip to France so he can focus on preparing for an election campaign.

Other federal parties are also preparing for the possibility of an election.

Nunavut's Conservatives recently met to draw up a short list of candidates. But they won't announce who their candidate will be until the writ is dropped, said Al Hayward, president of the riding association.

That's because last election, Nunavut's Tories faced pressure at the national level to pick a candidate early, Hayward said.

So they chose David Aglukark Sr. of Arviat, who ran a low-profile campaign and, while offering incumbent Nancy Karetak-Lindell the biggest challenge she's ever faced, still came about 1,000 votes short of victory, with about 30 per cent of the vote.

"We won't fall into that trap again," Hayward said.

This time, Hayward promises their candidate will be a well-known figure who also has strong ties to Nunavut's smaller communities – in contrast to Ejesiak.

"Kirt has very good support in Iqaluit," Hayward said. "Our candidate will be a well-rounded individual, that's well-known in the communities."

Hayward says their two top candidates "can't show their political colours" because of the jobs they hold, "until the time has come," and an election is announced.

He would say both candidates work in Iqaluit, although one hails from another community.

Asked when he thinks an election will be called, Hayward says don't expect one soon. "There won't be an election this year," he said.

As for Nunavut's New Democrats, they recently elected a new executive, and are only now beginning to prepare their members to select a candidate.

Meanwhile, the Liberals' recent nomination race has left one would-be candidate, former MP Jack Anawak, howling.

Anawak did not file his papers in time, so was disqualified. He blames Liberal organizers in Nunavut for being "disorganized" and not properly advertising the nomination race.

In turn, they point out that two other candidates did manage to file their papers without problems.

Ejesiak's nomination is historic in the sense that, for the first time, Nunavut's Liberal candidate does not hail from the Kivalliq, which until recently has been the party's power base in the territory.

Now the big question is whether Kivalliq residents will stay loyal to the Liberal party, now that the candidate no longer comes from their region, or end up voting for another candidate, with closer ties to a region.