Akeeagok in ‘conversations’ about seeking re-election
Premier talks to reporters after virtual meeting with PM; Nunavut general election scheduled for Oct. 27
Premier P.J. Akeeagok talks to reporters in the cabinet room of the legislative assembly on Wednesday. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
Premier P.J. Akeeagok says he is considering whether or not he’ll seek re-election as an MLA in the fall.
“I will continue to have conversations with my constituents over the next few months, and if they feel it’s important for me to continue then that’s something I’m going to really consider moving forward,” he told reporters at the legislative assembly Wednesday, adding he also wants to discuss his political future with his family.
Akeeagok is a first-time MLA and premier. He was elected to the legislative assembly in November 2021 after winning the Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu riding with 84 per cent of the vote. That same month, he was elected premier in a vote by MLAs, replacing Joe Savikataaq.
“It’s the honour of my life to be able to be in this capacity to serve,” Akeeagok said Wednesday.
The next territorial general election, when Nunavummiut will elect 22 MLAs to represent them in the legislative assembly, is scheduled for Oct. 27.
“We’ve really made huge progress on just about each and every target we’ve been wanting to cover,” Akeeagok said.
He talked about Nunavut’s elders’ strategy, the devolution agreement signed last year with the federal government, the territory’s suicide prevention strategy and the Nunavut 3000 homebuilding program as examples of his government’s greatest achievements.
His meeting with reporters happened just hours after a virtual meeting between the provincial and territorial premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney — fresh off Carney’s meeting Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump — and three days after the Northern Premiers’ Forum in the Yukon.
“It’s very promising in the sense that Arctic security and sovereignty are being taken very seriously by our partners,” Akeeagok said of both meetings.
During the forum, the premiers talked about eliminating trade barriers between their jurisdictions and establishing a territorial trade zone.
The Nunavut government doesn’t yet have an estimate for how much economic benefit would come from the elimination of interprovincial trade barriers, Akeeagok said. However, it has the potential to be particularly beneficial to Nunavut, which imports most of its goods from the south.
“We’re just going through all the process of identifying key areas where we could take down barriers and participate in a broader Team Canada approach, which we’ve been very supportive of,” he said.
Next week, Akeeagok will head to Ottawa to attend the Arctic Inspiration Prize ceremony. He also hopes to be in the capital when Carney’s new cabinet members are sworn in.
I’m sure those “conversations” shall include convos with Carney’s people like Gerald Butts about what nice jobs might be available to him in Ottawa in the fall….
Change is needed
I hope PJ will run again. The stark contrast of this government compared to the last is glaring. Not to mention how Joe Savikataaq has shown his true character over the last four years, just goes to show he was not fit to lead our government.
Savikataaq is a bully and does not know how to compromise. The proof is obvious in the deteriorating relationship and conflicting personalities between the leadership of the former government and NTI, as well as the years of failed bargaining with the NEU.
Keep up the great work PJ.
https://www.nunavutnews.com/news/nunavut-elders-and-seniors-strategy-progress-report-leaves-more-gaps-than-answers-mla-7976024
PJ is not a leader.
PJ has been operating in a very ineffective and non transparent way, by putting in leadership position all his friends from QIA, including his chief of staff, who was a Comms person at QIA, without running competitions to ensure the right people, who have the necessary skills set to get the job. He has been handing them senior leadership position within the GN. Stop this unfair practice, nepotism and trying to hold power at the expense of Nunavummiut! We need change and we need our leadership to be held accountable and hire the right people for the jobs, not their friends and personal contact. Nunavut deserve better. Step down!
I have never seen so much cabinet Ministers turn over along with DM turn over. Is this a reflection of poor leadership and full of photo ops? Time for a new Premier I would say!
PJ keep Going. Its hard to be perfect and lots of people are quick to point things out. But there’s been lots of good and more to come. We need young people coming forward and taking charge which you have done. Keep coming this way we like seeing you. all the best have a good summer.
Will PJ buddy up with our new Net Zero PM but will stay quite on new tax on food, carbon border tax on everything, air travel hefty taxes, so it’s unaffordable? And no gas transportation of any type in a few years to come?
With forced wind turbines built far and wide across the land for costly and unreliable electricity. As if the environmental goal is to push caribou so far away the electric snow machine is unable to reach to harvest them.
But then Net Zero is no meat consumption and technocratic control over everything.
Now seen happening in real time with the crying reaction over the created problem, cutting JP funding. Which will soon have a solution… it’s back with strings attached and probably with a must have digital ID and monthly carbon credits usage score. No cash. No economic growth or jobs, only people kept suppressed. We’ll soon hear praise for Net Zero because of crisis, crisis everything, when Canada’s land owner addresses Parliament with their speech from the throne.
Is it time for Nunavut to begin talk of separation and join with Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, NWT to become a western powerhouse future?
Show some leadership by making a selfless decision that benefits Nunavut: opting not to run for re-election.
Nunavut 3000 is an accomplishment of a sort, there is no doubt about that.
25 years of Nunavut not nurturing new workers and homeowners amongst our population has proven this point; if you don’t do something for long enough, eventually things will get bad enough that someone else will probably do it for you.
25 years of patting ourselves on the back for building cultural schools and funding legal programs thinking this is going to turn our residents into self supporting citizens.
In this case, Akeeagok doing the easiest thing to address mistakes made before him; throw money at it to avoid thousands of ill prepared new Nunavummuit abandoning the territory for greener pastures.
A bigger accomplishment is left for future Premiers to ensure that the lights and heat stay on, and the water runs for decades to come in all these new public assets without cutting other critical programs.
It may or may not be Akeeagok that has to deal with the ticking fiscal time bomb that his government has planted. Somehow I doubt that the hapless Premier of the day will get credit in the future for having to deal with what our current government has put in place.
We live in a spend now, pay later society. Nunavut politics is no different.
I think you’ll find the local people who undertook a legal education in Nunavut are not only self-sufficient citizens but making outsized positive contributions to the Territory… despite the petty prejudices they’ve had to endure from Insecure Inuit and non-Inuit alike.
Last two primieres were choose by MLAs and no vote for inuit. That is how now days are working. And look at john main, he was health minister and he was more focus on suicide prevention, tobacco users, and TB. And so many inuit who were working are not being worked on but those lazy people who are hatred, wait for food, and sleep alot are being more work on them.