New Ungava MNA promises to bring Nunavik to the table

Newly elected Ungava MNA Sonia Caron says her first priority after taking office will be to travel north and begin building relationships with Nunavik’s communities.

Caron, a Parti Québécois candidate and longtime educator from Chibougamau, won the northern riding in Monday’s provincial election with 39.5 per cent of the vote. The PQ formed a minority government, winning 59 of 127 seats in Quebec’s national assembly.

“I feel honored and very proud that the people of Ungava have placed their trust in me for the next term,” Caron said in a French interview Wednesday.

Caron succeeds Coalition Avenir Québec member Denis Lamothe, who represented the riding since 2018. He was a member of the Coalition party’s governments led by former premiers François Legault and Christine Fréchette.
Coalition Avenir Québec, which won elections in 2018 and 2022, was wiped out Monday, losing all it seats across the province.

Caron said she plans to make Nunavik her first official destination once the government’s schedule is established.

She hopes to visit all 14 communities in Nunavik if logistics allow, although she acknowledged that it may require several trips.

“I will be present,” she said.

The PQ is a separatist party, and its victory has renewed questions about what independence could mean for Indigenous nations and their relationship with the province and with Canada.

First in 1980, then again in 1995, the party brought forward referendums that asked voters if Quebec should separate from Canada and become independent. Neither passed.

Current PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has committed to holding a third referendum.

Nunatsiaq News asked Caron whether a minority PQ government could still pursue a referendum and what that might mean for the province’s Inuit.

She declined to take a position on a referendum.

“As for issues surrounding a referendum, I can’t comment on that at this point,” she said.

Instead, Caron compared the aspirations of Quebecers with the desire for self-determination among Inuit and Cree.

“What Quebecers want is exactly the same thing that the Cree Nation government, Makivvik and Kativik Regional Government are asking for: namely, looking out for ourselves, our culture, our French language,” she said.

She added that her focus will be on making sure the nations in the province have a voice.

Voter participation in the Ungava riding remained low.

Only 27.7 per cent of registered voters in Ungava cast a ballot Monday, compared with 66.9 per cent across Quebec.

Caron said she wants to understand why so many people feel disconnected from Quebec’s political system.

Ultimately, she said she wants to build a relationship based on trust and transparency.

“We need to sit down together to define our priorities and what Nunavik wants me to push first.”