Former Nunavut leaders urge NTI to increase voter awareness

The more people who come out to vote in Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.’s presidential byelection next week, the more legitimate the election, says one longtime Nunavut leader.

Beneficiaries of the Nunavut Agreement are set to go to the polls May 27 to choose one of 10 candidates in the contest, which was called to replace former president Jeremy Tunraluk, who resigned in January.

Paul Quassa is the former president of Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.’s predecessor. He was a key negotiator of the Nunavut Agreement, which led to the formation of Nunavut. NTI’s mandate is to ensure promises made in the Nunavut Agreement are kept.

The only way beneficiaries can have a say in the future of the Nunavut Agreement is by participating in the process of voting, Quassa said in an interview, adding large numbers of people coming out to cast a ballot sends a message to the candidates as well.

“It also means a good number of beneficiaries know who they [have elected],” Quassa said.

NTI has long struggled to lure voters to the booth. In 2021, 17.5 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot, while in previous elections the turnout hovered around 20 per cent.

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. provided $100 vouchers during the 2024 presidential election to any beneficiary who showed up to the polls, which brought voter turnout up to about 67 per cent.

Former MLA Tagak Curley said the $100 vouchers were not the right approach. 

“That’s not the right way to hold elections,” Curley said in an interview.

“Regardless of how it is dressed up, it’s a bribe.”

He said he’d rather NTI work to increase awareness. For him, that means NTI leaders heading into communities to host events and hold community outreach.

“If the public doesn’t participate, then beneficiaries won’t get the best representative,” Curley said.

Former Nunavut senator Dennis Patterson expressed agreement, saying this election matters now especially because the North is on the “national radar for sovereignty and security purposes.”

“It is a golden opportunity for NTI and its regional affiliates to step up and become stakeholders in major projects,” he said.

The NTI presidential byelection is open to all Nunavut beneficiaries enrolled in the Nunavut Agreement who are over the age of 16.

Voters can cast an advanced ballot on May 20. They can also attend a mobile poll, send in a proxy ballot, a mail-in ballot, or vote in person on election day May 27.