Picking a president: How Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami will handle the election
A total of 13 ITK members and delegates get vote for president Sept. 18
Incumbent Natan Obed and former CBC North managing editor Kevin Kablutsiak are vying to be president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. Votes will be cast at ITK’s annual general meeting Sept. 18 in Cambridge Bay. (File photo)
Updated Sept. 17 at 1:15 p.m. ET
First in a three-part series on the Sept. 18 Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami presidential election
The president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami is not chosen in a wide-open vote by all Inuit beneficiaries the way Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and Makivvik Corp. leaders are elected.
Instead, the president of the national organization for Inuit in Canada will be elected Sept. 18 by about a dozen representatives of the groups that make up its board.
Incumbent Natan Obed is seeking a fourth term and is being challenged by former CBC North managing editor Kevin Kablutsiak.
Votes will be cast by designated representatives from the Inuvialuit Regional Corp., Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., Makivvik Corp. and the Nunatsiavut government.
In total, 13 people can cast votes. They include Duane Smith, chairperson and CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corp.; Jeremy Tunraluk, president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.; Johannes Lampe, president of the Nunatsiavut government; and Pita Aatami, president of Makivik Corp.
Each organization also appoints two additional delegates who will vote.
As well, the ITK vice-president typically participates in the vote.
But that position is currently vacant, though, and a new ITK vice-president will be determined by the Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada at its annual general meeting next week, ITK said in an emailed statement.
The official elector list will be formalized and made public on the ITK website at the start of the election.
The president of ITK is elected through a democratic governance process that represents all Inuit in Canada, the statement said, while respecting the election processes of the four Inuit treaty organizations.
On Sept. 18, the two candidates will be given 10 minutes to address the 13 members and delegates before the vote, being held during the ITK annual general meeting in Cambridge Bay.
There will also be a question-and-answer period.
The president will then be elected by majority vote, with multiple rounds of voting if no candidate initially receives more than 50 per cent, according to the ITK election procedures handbook.
After the count, chief returning officer Jasmine Redfern will announce the official results. The new president will assume office immediately, followed by a swearing-in.
Note: This story has been updated to note that statements from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami were provided by the organization and not by a spokesperson.
2 candidates from 4 regions. Nobody gets a vote.
Democracy at its finest!
Did someone mention gift cards?
The gift card has my vote.🤣🥳🤘
Remember that after a few years there is typically good reason to have fresh ideas and new faces. Even the current incumbent learned as he went.
I don’t know what the concern is about a democratic vote by all Inuit in Canada. The rate of Inuit voters is so low; in all four settlement regions of Inuit in Canada voter turnout is less than 50%.
For NTI president in December 2024 voter turnout was 17%
For Makkivik Corporation in February 2025 voter turnout was 19%
For Nunatsiavut Government in 2020 voter turnout was 30%
For Inuvialuit the 46 directors of the 6 community corporation vote for the CEO
Why should the four Inuit regions want to expend hundreds of thousands of dollars to hold a national vote for ITK president when the turnout of voters will be less than 50%?
The expense of advertising across Canada, the hiring of people in each jurisdiction to ensure a votes are collected and counted.
I believe those who are considered to be the best leaders of each Inuit region deciding on the national president is far better a national election. Especially when many Inuit now live across southern Canada.