Northern voter turnout lags behind national numbers in federal election

Voter turnout in Canada’s North fell well below the national participation rate in Monday’s federal election, according to unofficial results released by Elections Canada.

In Nunavut, 36.8 per cent — slightly more than one of every three registered voters — cast a ballot, with 7,558 votes cast from the 21,376 eligible voters on Elections Canada’s list.

That’s about the same turnout for Nunavut as the 2021 federal election, which sat at around 34 per cent, compared to a 48 per cent turnout in 2019.

With all the polls counted, incumbent MP Lori Idlout of the NDP won with 2,945 votes, defeating Liberal Kilikvak Kabloona who received 2,868 votes and third-place finisher James T. Arreak for the Conservatives with 2,055.

Meanwhile, turnout in the northern Quebec riding of Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou was higher than Nunavut, at 46.4 per cent. That riding saw 30,562 ballots cast out of 65,833 registered voters.

That was despite major polling problems in some of Nunavik’s communities.

The poll in Ivujivik never opened, and polls in several other communities remained open for less than the scheduled eight hours.

Liberal Mandy Gull-Masty — who received 12,578 votes to defeat incumbent Bloc Québécois’ MP Sylvie Bérubé with 10,381 votes — told Nunatsiaq News on Monday she has reported the inconsistencies to Elections Canada.

The 2021 turnout in Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou was 42 per cent, compared to almost 50 per cent in the 2019 federal election.

Turnout numbers for both ridings trailed significantly behind the national voting rate of 68.7 per cent, based on the 19.5 million Canadians who voted out of 28.5 million registered electors.

Alex Marland, a professor and Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, said voter participation in the North must be understood within the unique context of Indigenous and remote communities.

“From what I understand, there can be people who, even if they have the ability to vote, would be concerned about doing so because it substantiates a colonialist system,” Marland said in an interview.

“There’s an extra dynamic that is not comparable to other ridings that won’t have as many Indigenous people.”

He also pointed to the geographic challenges many northern voters face just to get to the polls.

“Whenever somebody has to put in extra effort, it naturally means that you’re less likely to see somebody end up voting,” he said. “You need to try to find a way to make it as easy for [voters] as possible.”

Marland said more targeted engagement with communities in the North is needed. Measures such as mobile polls or opening advance polls earlier in the North could help, he said, cautioning that any solution must be weighed against the broader national context.

“There are lessons we can learn,” he said. “But it just raises the bigger question of, if you give special treatment to one group of people in one area of the country and you don’t extend that to others, then you will be criticized for favouritism.”

In contrast to low turnout in the federal election, at least one recent local election in the North used incentives to drive participation.

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., which held its presidential election in December, offered $100 vouchers to eligible voters.

It worked — voter turnout jumped to 66.7 per cent, from 17 per cent in the 2021 presidential election.

John Beebe, founder of the Democratic Engagement Exchange at Toronto Metropolitan University, said the NTI approach stands out.

“I know that there were some really interesting and creative solutions to increasing participation in the elections of local bodies,” Beebe said. “I’d be curious if that’s something people want to continue.”

He added that the themes that dominated the national campaign may not have resonated with northern voters.

“The debate was so much around the threats from [U.S. President Donald] Trump and the threats to Canada’s sovereignty and to its economic vitality. Were those issues that resonated locally?” he said.

The Elections Canada data, which does not yet include voters who registered on election day, shows strong participation in advance voting. More than 7.3 million Canadians voted over four days of advance polls — a 25 per cent increase over 2021.

Beebe noted that 967 Nunavut voters — or 4.5 per cent of the electorate — cast ballots in advance polls, a rate “significantly lower” than the national average.