Nunavik Inuit head to the polls to choose Makivik Corp. president
Nunavimmiut to vote in three-way race on Thursday
A voter casts his ballot at the Kuujjuaq Forum in January 2019 for two of Makivik Corp.’s executive positions. Nunavimmiut will vote in Makivik’s presidential election on Feb. 4. (Photo by Isabelle Dubois)
Nunavik Inuit will go to the polls Thursday to vote for the president of Makivik Corp., the region’s Inuit birthright organization.
The three-way race includes incumbent president Charlie Watt, former president Pita Aatami and newcomer Noah Cain.
Makivik’s president serves as the corporation’s chief executive officer and chairman of its board of directors. The president serves a three-year term.
Nunavimmiut must be at least 18 years old and beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement in order to be eligible to vote.
Polls open Thursday morning at 10 a.m. and remain open until 6 p.m. Polling stations are listed by community here.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there is no in-person polling available to Nunavimmiut in Montreal. Beneficiaries outside of the region can vote by proxy; forms and instructions on how to vote that way are available at Makivik’s website.
This is the first year the organization is holding executive elections in February. Previously, election campaigns would start before the Christmas season in a lead-up to a mid-January election.
But in 2020, Makivik’s board of directors opted to push the election period forward, so campaigns wouldn’t straddle the holiday period.
The right man won , congratulations Pita!