Manitok Thompson pursues change of political venue

PATRICIA D’SOUZA

Manitok Thompson opened the door to several new political opportunities this week, after announcing she will not seek re-election in next month’s territorial campaign.

The MLA for Rankin Inlet South-Whale Cove said she made the decision over the Christmas holidays, but was quick to point out that she’s not ready to leave politics.

“I will run for anything. It might be a change – it might not be for MLA,” she said in an interview from her home in Rankin Inlet.

“It could be municipal politics, it’s just as much fun for me. I know just about everybody in Nunavut. I know all the mayors, I know all the past mayors. I’ve been there.”

She also wouldn’t rule out entering federal politics, or running for the leadership of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

“I’ve been asked a lot of times. I was asked in the last government to run for federal politics; I’ve been asked to run for NTI. I’ve been asked for other options, and I think it’s time to make a change, change my life around,” she said.

As far as NTI and the federal government are concerned, there may be no better time to make a change.

The nomination period for the NTI election opens on Jan. 12, the same day nominations open for the territorial election. The positions of president, currently held by Thompson’s sister, Cathy Towtongie, and second vice-president are both up for grabs.

But Thompson has indicated she wants to take a short break – to sew parkas, do the laundry and clean the house. So it’s unlikely she’ll be back on the campaign trail by next week.

With a federal election on the horizon, however, she may be gearing up for the biggest campaign of her life.

Asked whether she’s considered joining Paul Martin’s team in Ottawa, she said, “my options will be open to anything that comes forward that I might be interested in.”

Martin has made some changes to the Liberal Party’s nomination process to weed out lingering supporters of Jean Chrétien. That means Nunavut MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell, a longtime Chrétien loyalist, does not have an automatic ticket to run as a Liberal in the next federal election.

According to a source within the Liberal Party, the Nunavut Liberals have yet to decide on a candidate. They’ll have to wait for Martin to give the order, but a candidate could be chosen during a nomination meeting held in the spring.

In bowing out of the territorial election, Thompson is giving up what she believes would have been a sure thing. And she is giving it up for what she believes could be an even greater challenge – even though she hasn’t said specifically what that may be.

“I know I could win this one if I ran again. I’ve never begged for votes and I’ve never asked anybody to finance my campaign,” she said. “If I worked hard at it, I know I would get a lot more votes than I usually get. My attitude has always been, ‘Here I am. I’m willing to work day in, day out. I’m a hard worker, I’m reliable, I’m responsible. If you want me, I’m available.'”

To an ordinary voter, that might sound more like a campaign speech than a resignation notice.

Though she seems sure of herself, Thompson won by a slim margin in February 1999, beating Levinia Brown by just 13 votes.

A teacher by training, Thompson first entered territorial politics in the last term of the Northwest Territories legislature before the creation of Nunavut. She served as MLA for Aivilik from 1995 to 1999, and was minister of municipal and community affairs, as well as minister responsible for the status of women.

She was the only woman elected to the Nunavut legislative assembly in 1999, and went on to serve as minister of public works, minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corp., minister of community government and transportation, and most recently, as minister of human resources, minister responsible for Arctic College, and minister of education.

Though she said she doesn’t know who will run in Rankin Inlet (with the appointment of Jack Anawak as Arctic Ambassador, both seats will be contested by new candidates) she said it should be somebody with a thick skin.

In the final days of the first assembly, she made the issue of same-sex marriage a priority, but she said the new candidates should run on issues that are closer to home.

“I know the people want a road to their camping ground, and they want the arena up and running, they want a bigger community hall. There are so many issues, there’s a housing problem, oh, we have so many people on the waiting list. There’s a major job shortage.

“There’s so many issues. There’s more issues besides the same-sex stuff. If somebody wants to make it a priority, it could be, but there’s too many things that are close to your livelihood, your house, your fuel bill, food.”

But with politics in her blood, those issues are likely to remain on her radar.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get out of politics entirely,” she said. “It’s very addictive.”