Sylvie Bérubé claims victory in Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou
Bloc Québécois MP vows to visit Nunavik in her second term
Kuujjuaq voters are seen heading to the polls during the Sept. 20 federal election. (Photo by Malaya Qaunirq Chapman)
Bloc Québécois candidate Sylvie Bérubé committed to spending time in Nunavik and working directly with Indigenous communities after claiming victory in the Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou riding that includes the Nunavik region, though ballots were still being counted late Monday night.
Bérubé was seeking a second term as member of Parliament in the sprawling Quebec riding that includes Quebec’s Nunavik region. She was first elected in 2019, and was unable to visit that part of the riding before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
At 11:20 p.m., nearly two hours after polls closed, Bérubé held 42.2 per cent of the vote in the riding, with 95 of 210 polls reporting their results.
After the polls closed, Bérubé went live on Facebook from her campaign headquarters in Val-d’Or, thanking her supporters. After the results were announced on TV, she went around the room hugging and high-fiving those in attendance, before they broke out into a brief “Olé, Olé, Olé” chant.
Bérubé said that she promised to visit Nunavik during the coming months in a French interview with Nunatsiaq News.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to visit Nunavik and the north of Quebec,” Bérubé said, citing concerns about bringing COVID-19 to Indigenous communities.
“My goal is to make it to Nunavik, spend a few days there as soon as I have the chance, so I assure you that I will go.”
Bérubé said that working with Indigenous communities is a priority upon resuming her mandate and she promises to work directly with nations.
“Once everything with the election has wrapped up, we’re going to get straight to work, nation-to-nation with Indigenous communities,” she said.
Bérubé thanked her campaign staff and supporters, while also offering some reassurance to people in her riding that she would be a voice for them in parliament.
“Be assured that we will be allies, and we will be deployed for these issues in Ottawa,” she said.
Hope she learns another language
I heard she hung up on Nunavik media cuz they could conduct the interview in French. Boo Bloc!
Couldn’t***
Effectivement, Mme Bérubé prends des cours d’anglais depuis quelques semaines.
Any maybe she also needs to learn Inuktitut and Cree since she is also supposed to be representing those communities as well!!!
Or maybe, just maybe, it is reasonable to expect minority groups to learn the language of their province and country, you know?
It’s very sad and disturbing that just a handful of densely populated cities in our VERY large riding can decide the fate for all of us. I am so disappointed and ashamed that a member of a racist, separatist party represents our riding. I know that the communities in our non-french region did not vote for her and she certainly does not have our interests or values in mind.
Sad indeed, but thats what majority of nunavimmiut and cree signed up for long time ago, and i guess they didnt see this coming, welcome to abitibi district
If Nunavik & Eeyou Istchee wants its own riding, we’d have to wait for the CAQ to be voted out of office.
It was truly a sad day in Nunavik to learn that she was re-elected in our riding. She’s never been present, we’ve never really heard from her nor her party while she was in the seat. We seriously need our own riding. We need a leader who will represent us well and take us seriously. I also received an automated message and her name showed up on my caller ID. Doing her campaign only in French. I hung up.
She should try and pass a bill to separate Nunavik and south Quebec probably draw the line at 55th parallel and then she would be seen as a champion which she probably is not
We as Inuit in Northern Quebec will forever be out voted by southern voters. There has to be a solution for unbalanced statistical numbers. James bay-Abitibi-Nunavik-Eeyou will HAVE to eventually separate from Quebec.