Four-way battle for Nunavik’s riding in federal election
Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou is seeing two familiar faces return, and two new candidates entering the race
There are four candidates running to be MP for the Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou riding. They are, from left, NDP candidate Thai Dillon Higashihara, Conservative Steve Corriveau, Liberal Mandy Gull-Masty, and the Bloc Québécois’ Sylvie Bérubé. (Photos courtesy of Facebook, LinkedIn)
A four-way race is shaping up in the Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou riding in the April 28 federal election.
Quebec’s largest riding — and the third-largest in Canada — includes the region of Abitibi, which is predominantly populated by non-Indigenous Québécois; the Cree region of Eeyou-Istchee; and the Inuit region of Nunavik.
Incumbent Sylvie Bérubé is running again for the Bloc Québécois. First elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2021, she has committed to spending more time in Nunavik and working directly with Indigenous communities.
In her time as MP, Bérubé visited Nunavik twice. During her first trip, in 2022, she visited Aupaluk for a day. Her second visit was a three-day stop in Kuujjuaq in January 2024, where she met with representatives from groups including Makivvik, Kativik Regional Government and Qarjuit Youth Council.
In 2021, Bérubé won the riding, receiving 37.9 per cent of the votes cast. Her closest competitor was the Liberal candidate Lise Kistabish, with 26 per cent of the votes.
The Liberal candidate this time around is Mandy Gull-Masty, a former Cree Grand Chief.
In a statement March 27, the Grand Council of the Crees confirmed Gull-Masty’s resignation so she could seek the Liberal candidacy. Gull-Masty was the first woman to be elected Grand Chief, winning a four-year term in 2021.
Before that, starting first as a deputy chief of her home community of Waswanipi, she advanced to the executive committee and then corporate secretary of the Mishtuk Corp., and was then elected Deputy Grand Chief in 2017.
Steve Corriveau returns as the Conservative candidate. When he ran in the 2021 federal election, he garnered 15.9 per cent of the votes. In that race, he campaigned on the proposal that Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou should be split into two distinct ridings.
He said he believes the riding is too large for one person to represent, and splitting it would provide better representation for Cree and Inuit residents.
Corriveau is originally from Val d’Or, the riding’s biggest city, and worked in the tourism industry for nearly 30 years.
The New Democratic Party candidate is Thai Dillon Higashihara, according to Elections Canada, however, Higashihara was not listed on the NDP’s website as of Tuesday.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he has been a digital organizer for the NDP since January.
On April 15 at 7 p.m., the Val-D’Or Chamber of Commerce is hosting an event at the Felix Leclerc Hall, where all candidates from the riding will meet to discuss themes related to socio-economic development and voters will have the chance to pose questions to candidates directly.
The list of confirmed candidates for all ridings across the country is set to be released Wednesday by Elections Canada.
Sylvie who?
Yes!!!!
Sylvie Who?????
2 out of 14 Nunavik communities for a period of 5 days.
What a representative!!!
Child endangerment, alcoholism, drug addiction, bootlegging, domestic violence is an all time high!!!
What is she supposedly doing?
…n NO Inuk working in her constituency office either from what I gather.
… n this after 5 years, 5 months and 21 days as the MP
You post this message every time she is mentioned here. You know who she is. Maybe you don’t like it, but maybe you should explain why instead of just whining every time. I think you don’t believe a francophone from outside Nunavik should represent the riding. The riding include Cree and francophones because Nunavik does not have the numbers to even be close to its own separate riding at the federal level.
Be honest.
@ “I think you don’t believe a francophone from outside Nunavik should represent the riding” AKA Lol
Wow to think having an MP that strives for the destruction of Canada. (BTW In case you don’t know) “Sylvie Who” is a member of the Bloc Quebecois whose stated goal is to separate Quebec from Canada, is a “French speaking” thing.
We’ve had many Francophone MP represent Nunavik since Prime Minister Brian Mulroney removed the territory from his riding, so he wouldn’t have to deal with Inuit.
The issue is indeed the way ridings are established. For this one Abitibi-Eeyou-Nord du Québec, it is just sad that the issue of the election is decided by a majority of people that live in a region (Abitibi and Val d’Or) that has a reality (economically, culturally, language, autonomy, society etc) that is so far remote and appart from the reality experience in Eeyou Istchee and Nunavik. Yes, there is less people in James Bay and Nunavik but should this be the sole criteria to delineate riding boundaries? I don’t think so, not when we should strive to have representation of our diverse and multiple country à la chambre des communes. I know that poor rhetoric might say “well then other ridings too host population living in very different contexts bla bla bla”, yet I think in Quebec this riding geography contributes in shutting the voices of Cree and Inuit. It is a shame for our democracy and for the voices of Indigenous people of Quebec in Ottawa. Steve Corriveau is right on this point, too large riding, no good representation on Cree and Inuit.