Idlout calls it a night while holding the lead in Nunavut
Incumbent NDP MP held the lead throughout the night
Lori Idlout takes down campaign signs after calling it a night at her campaign party around midnight. She held a comfortable lead, but some results were still to be reported. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Holding a lead but with election results still pending for Nunavut’s only riding, NDP candidate Lori Idlout called it a night shortly after midnight at her election party.
“I think it’s best to let everyone have the rest that they need so that we can start planning [Tuesday],” she said at Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, as about 20 of her aides and supporters took down signs, packed up pins and popped orange balloons.
Idlout held the lead all night with 2,253 votes as of 2:20 a.m. Her closest rival, Liberal candidate Kilikvak Kabloona, had 1,853 votes at that point and Conservative James T. Arreak had 1,515 votes.
“I’m feeling hopeful,” Idlout said, adding the longer-than-usual vote tabulation was likely due to the community-wide power outage in Iqaluit.
As of 2:20 a.m., 55 out of 66 polls were reported, according to Elections Canada.
Throughout the night, Idlout watched many of her fellow New Democrats lose their seats with the NDP projected to shrink significantly from the 25 seats held after the 2021 elections. At 2:20 a.m., the party held seven seats — five short of the number needed to keep official party status in the House of Commons.
The losses included the Burnaby Central riding that had been held by NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. He was defeated and announced late Monday he will quit as leader as soon as an interim successor is named.
“Obviously it’s always sad to experience transition, and we’ll just have to see what happens. I think he’s given us a lot to think about,” Idlout said of Singh, who made several visits to Nunavut in the past term, including one just before the election was called.
She didn’t reveal whether she is thinking of joining the race to be the next NDP leader.
“I need to focus on the results,” Idlout said of the Nunavut race.
Nunavut has none of it, thanks lori:(
If the Cons or the Libs put out a candidate with name and face recognition, then yeah, we’d have an MP from either party. They nominate people that no one from the territory knows. Even then, we’d still have none of it.
we are doomed!!!
Team ‘Eff Your Feelings!’ seems to have a lot of feelings
April 28 2025 will go down as one of the darkest days in canada history
Take some deep breaths …
“I need to focus on results.” I said it before now the NDP don’t even have party status , good luck getting anywhere in parliament.
Not do fast Uvilluk, the Liberals have a minority government right now, even though there are only 7 NDP MPs they essentially hold the balance of power so there is a really big opportunity to work with the Liberals to get their agenda advanced. Pretty sure that Carney will be open to that.
The BQ holds the Balance of Power far more than the NDP. Not to mention that it Carney wants to avoid a major western separatist movement – he’d best find any way possible to cooperate with the Conservatives instead of fuelling the fire by relying on Trudeau’s balance of power strategies (re: relying on the NDP). The Carney Liberals are far more centrist than the Trudeau Liberals. There are ways to govern with PC conservative cooperation. Now, let’s see if the Conservatives themselves can even stay together as one party..:
I think you’re a little delulu if you think the Conservatives will ever cooperate with the Liberals. Also, even though the BQ holds more seats than the NDP, all the Liberals need is enough votes to get to 172. The way it currently stands the Libs will have 168 and NDP will have 7. So the Liberals don’t need the BQ at all.
The Conservatives are in not in a position to risk toppling the government, which could easily lead to a Liberal majority. They have to work with the Liberals within what is reasonable. Same w, especially given the sense of threat coming from the US. The same applies to the Bloc. The dynamics are a lot more complex than some seem to understand.
Do you think it matters at all to the Conservatives whether the Liberals have majority government or govern in a minority government with NDP (even more politically left) support?
I guarantee you the Tories would taken down a minority Liberal government in a heartbeat if they had a chance at a new election.
Don’t know why you’re being downvoted. The current Conservatives are running the American Republican playbook. They will 100% be obstructionist for anything that the Liberals want to do whether or not they themselves agree with it.
In the US the Biden Administration tried to reform immigration, but the Republicans blocked it in the Senate so they could use immigration as an election issue. The Conservatives will do the same. The biggest example I can think of is if the Liberals try to build pipelines the Conservatives will block it so they can use it as an election issue.
“Western separatism” isn’t a movement, it’s a temper tantrum.
Quebec separatists when the LPC wins – we want to separate
Quebec separatists when the Bloq wins – we want to separate
Alberta separatists when the LPC wins – we want to separate
Alberta separatists when the CPC wins – WE LOVE CANADA!
Also, Prairie Separatism would be a much more apt name since this hissy fit doesn’t seem to include BC, NWT, or YK.
This is your new reality, Nunavut.
Being an MP in a party with no status means Lori will enjoy no funding for research and have no right to ask questions during Question Period. She sold you on holding the government to account, but won’t even enjoy the privilege of asking a single question in the house of commons (unless the speaker takes pity and allows it, which they may or may not)
It’s not quite that bad. Losing official party status does mean that the NDP caucus will lose funding and have lower priority in various proceedings. However, all MPs have the right to ask questions and all MPs get basic funding for staff.
She has no right to ask questions during question period, which is to say directly to the government (when it matters).
Sure, she can hang out and ask questions later to a half empty room if she wants.
That’s cool.
Uviluk:
Far from being irrelevant the NDP once again holds the balance of power even with 7 seats.
The Liberals have no obligation to consult the NDP and would be much wiser to form working coalitions with larger parties, which Carney will do. The NDP will not have the near the same clout they once did, thankfully.
Is party switching allowed in Canada? If the Liberals were willing could Lori be allowed to join them?
Switching to a party simply because it’s a popular party or that party’s candidate is unknown is not a reason to give up one’s values.
The voters made their choice, you can do your second guessing in 4 years or less.
Yes, switching parties is allowed. Canada’s slave-like devotion to party over issues is quite unique among modern democracies.
Someone please educate me, why did NEU campaign so hard for NDP and not other candidates? Is that allowed inthiughtbthey had to remain unbiased?
Unfortunately, yes.
By Law 3 – Objective, part ‘e’ allows for it.
“To engage in educational, political, economic and other activities to advance and protect the economic and social conditions of members and other working people.”
So, NEU permits themselves to engage in political activities (ie. elections through endorsement) to advance and protect the economic and social conditions of members.
NEU executives lean so far left that each of them have severe scoliosis.
Yes, it’s allowed, and they always do. Unions tend to support NDP for various reasons, mainly being the ethos that it’s a “workers’ party” and the hope of better support/money for union workers under an NDP government. Similar to how police organizations typically support the Conservatives (their direction better aligns with police sentiments, and potentially more funding for police under Con rule).
If Idlout was really for NU, then she would of seen the writing on the wall and resign, she knew very well that her party was to lose hard, what a national embarrassment.
If you beat a dog but feed it, it still comes back. That’s NU’s election in a nutshell. There’s been more handouts in NU and Canada frankly in the past 10 years than ever. Lori promising handouts again, the dog will crawl back.
Elections Canada Voter Info Card stated 9:30am-9:30pm, I went at 8pm because during the day, the line ups were very long. Went at 8pm-it was closed. I will stay quiet for 4 years.
The smart move if Lori does win would be to cross the floor join the Liberals in exchange for a commitment for something for Nunavut or a Parliamentary Secretary position, where she could actually do something. She could potentially be in a position to give Carney a majority government. That would definitely be worth something to benefit Nunavut.
I know you are tryibg to cope with an unfortunate reality, but this isn’t going to happen.
The salvation short term would be in a minority gov, it would be more than they the Liberal Party deserve. Canadians are in a slow death spiral as the federal two party option takes root. Hello USA Jr! Welcome corporate masters! Goodbye middle working class!
Do what Peter Ittinuar did and cross the floor. Nunavut will only have one person representing the territory at the parliament hill and it would be muffled if it stays with the NDP who lost party status.
MP Idlout has already demonstrated her willingness to wrongly stray into Inuit affairs, territorial affairs, and the decisions of our Institutions of Public Government.
Now, with more time on her hands, and even less of a political party structure to oversee her, I predict she will do more of the same.
That is, Idlout going sideways from the mandated actions of our Premier and Cabinet, NTI President, RIA Presidents, and further second guessing resource management decisions.
Instead of having a strong advocate in Ottawa for our territory, we may instead have a loose cannon to contend with.
Less than irrelevant, someone that our other leaders and decision makers will have to manage and cope with while they try to do their jobs and undertake their roles.
I’m surprsied that 1,500 people voted for Arreak, the Conservative candidate; not because he didn’t merit the votes.
Of the 6,000 people who voted (~30% turnout) most will have government jobs (unionized or not), be retired from government jobs or work for a non-profit or NGO.
Nearly 100% of those people vote Liberal or NDP. That’s the “base” for those two parties. None are or have been entrepreneurs or independent professionals.
Union involvement in politics is OK. The NDP as a political party is very pro-worker and has its roots in organizations like the Canadian Labour Congress and Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. That being said, the relationship between the party and unions can be tenuous and fragile.
The NDP likes unionized workers that do what they think are benign and worthwhile things like pushing paper as civil servants are prone to do. The NDP cozy up to groups like the NEU. The NEU knows the NDP likes and supports big government so they cozy right back.
The NDP and our MP likes other unionized workers less. Like mine workers where our MP, for her former day job, legally represented protesters who were against them making a living. There, the mutual love is not so apparent.
I think that you are asking the wrong question. It is not whether NEU supporting the NDP is OK. It is totally fine. It is how the NDP does not get called out on being so schizophrenic about which workers they choose to support and work with.
Nunavut being in the position of having its MP be one of the 7 or so holding the balance of power is not bad at all.
They don’t hold the ‘balance of power’ as you say. That’s an illusion.
the government is failing and needs to be held to account. Election day comes. they elect the same government…. I have a feeling Canada is gunna fail its IQ test!
Nunavut most of all!!
Jagmeet and his NDP puppies, who would bark on how bad the Liberals were. But when came time to vote, NDP would always rubber stamp with their Liberal approval every time. When Liberal scandals overflowed into committees, the NDP protected the Liberals by shutting committees down. The NDP, now knows it’s not wise to support the Liberals. Meaning if the NDP want to gain seats back in next election and get party status back (comes with big money), they can’t be supporting Liberals. Next election probably within in a year if Liberals don’t make it to 172.
If the NDP focus on future seats. This means NDP won’t be the Liberal guard dogs to shut down committees. Instead, they will let the Liberals squirm, and held accountable. The Bloc won’t support the Liberals unless a whopper of a gain for the Bloc.
Now if Liberals need one seat, watch Elizabeth May twist the knife into Canadian’s 4 years of pain. For the path of no pipelines or financial growth across Canada. Watch the arctic fast track Net Zero to go backwards with solar panels and wind turbines madness to run havoc on our diesel generators.
Say good by to caribou, eagles, birds, insects with wind choppers, causing animal and human health problems. Hunters and Trapper associations better grow a pair, to stop this insane madness if they want wildlife around. Warning of human harm if have a cabin within 5k of a wind turbine. Question how will hunters charge their snow machine? Residents charge electric car within a few years from now in freezing winter with solar or wind. Electricity is gonna get real expensive.
As Liberal PM said last week and Trudeau and WEF have been saying for years, no gas cars by 2035, 80% gone within 5 years. That’s snow machines, ATV, outboard motors. I bet very few Liberal or NDP voters have read Carney’s book, Values, published 2021. Canada’s gloomy blue print.
Thanks, Mass Formation
What are you people talking about, she has been a liberal hack for 4 years, oh right we live in Nunavut sorry I forgot about the last 4 years