The race is on: Nunavut, Nunavik voters face choice as federal election set for April 28
Two northern incumbents seek re-election
Voters will elect a new federal government on April 28, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Sunday. (File photo)
Updated on Monday, March 24, 2025 at 10 a.m. ET.
After months of speculation, Canadians finally know when they will go to the polls to elect a new federal government.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the election will be held April 28, after Gov. Gen. Mary Simon agreed with Carney’s request to dissolve Parliament.
By law, a federal election had to be held by Oct. 20. However, the ball started rolling toward an early vote with then-prime minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement on Jan. 6 that he would resign as prime minister and leader of the Liberal party and that Parliament would be prorogued until March 24.
Earlier this month, Carney was elected as leader of the Liberal party and days later was sworn in as prime minister, replacing Trudeau. Carney has never held elected office.
With Sunday’s election call, Parliament will not resume on Monday as planned. Instead, MPs who are seeking re-election as well as the candidates who will challenge them will hit the campaign trail.
In the House of Commons, 172 seats are required by a party to form a majority government. At dissolution, the Liberals held 152 seats, the Conservatives had 120, Bloc Québécois had 33, the NDP had 24, the Green Party had two, there were three independent MPs and four seats were vacant, according to the House website.
Here’s the lay of the land for voters in Nunavut and Nunavik as the election race unfolds:
Nunavut riding
Who’s running? Lori Idlout, NDP (incumbent); no candidates have been nominated yet by the Liberal, Conservative or Green parties.
How many eligible voters are there? 21,499 as of 2021, according to Elections Canada.
What happened last time? In the 2021 federal election, Idlout won in Nunavut with 3,427 votes, or 47.7% of all votes cast; Pat Angnakak of the Liberals came second with 2,578 votes, 35.9%; and Laura Mackenzie of the Conservatives was third with 1,184 votes, 16.5%.
What was the voter turnout? Overall, voter turnout in the Nunavut riding was 34 per cent.
How about previous elections? In 2019, New Democrat Mumilaaq Qaqqaq won Nunavut with 40.8% of the votes. And in 2015, Liberal Hunter Tootoo was elected with 47.1% of votes cast.
How big is the Nunavut riding? It is just shy of 2.1 million square kilometres, according to Elections Canada.
Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou riding
Who’s running? Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc Québécois (incumbent); Steve Corriveau, Conservative; the Liberal, NDP and Green parties have not yet nominated candidates.
How many eligible voters are there? 65,543 as of 2021, according to Elections Canada.
What happened last time? In the 2021 federal election, Bérubé won with 10,784 votes, or 37.9% of all votes cast. Voters had a lot of candidates to choose from: In second place was Liberal Lise Kistabish with 7,384 votes, or 26%; followed by Conservative Steve Corriveau with 4,508 votes, or 15.9%; New Democrat Pauline Lameboy with 3,323 votes, 11.7%; and four other candidates who combined received 2,437 votes, or 8.7%.
What was the voter turnout? It was 33 per cent.
How about previous elections? In 2019, Bérubé won with 36.1 per cent of the vote, and in 2015 the NDP’s Romeo Saganash won the riding with 37 per cent of the votes cast.
How big is the Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou riding? It is 854,754 square kilometres in size, according to Elections Canada.
Correction: This article has been updated from its originally published version to state that 172 House of Commons seats are needed for any party form a majority government.
How much gift cards do we get if we vote for Lori?
How about Bingo Cards?
Or…. remember the last Nunavut MP wanted CRB debts by Nunavut residents to be “forgiven” as people were “mistakenly” filling forms and they were”pressured “to submit applications?🤣😂🥳🥳
At least , it will be a short election.
I’m not voting till I get payed to vote maybe 500.00 will do as 100.00 was a little too small 😵💫
Typical, got your hand out, as a Canadian you have an obligation to vote without special incentives. Maybe try doing something for yourself and your country without expecting cash. If your comment was sarcasm it badly missed the mark. By the way I’m probably a lot older of .a fart
Lorie, easy win
4 more. Years , 4 more Years
A vote for the NDP is a vote to keep the Liberal Party in power.
Not sure if voting for a guy who has clearly demonstrated that he has no respect for Canada’s indigenous is a smart choice either. After all, he did say that only Santa Claus lives in the north. He then he arrived in Iqaluit unannounced and pitched his plan for a military base in Iqaluit without any conversations with local government or other leaders. Then, he did it again with the ring of fire in Ontario just last week. You can hate on the Liberals all you want, but at least Carney had the respect to talk and listen to the premier and other leaders beforehand and while he was here. Regardless, people can make up their own minds and vote they way they want, which is what democracy is all about and what makes this country great and worth fighting for.
Carney’s advantage at this point is no one really knows what he is or will be like as a leader. He has had 10 days to make an impression, which was carefully handled well, but what will he be like after a year, two or more? For our part, we can’t help but fill in the blanks with projections.
Now, be fair. That trip caused the amusing self-own of Poilievre trying to make a deal out of Carney wearing expensive footwear right after Poilievre was wearing an equally expensive parka. Which he probably had someone else pay for.
It’s interesting how the Liberals have (wisely) moved right, ostensibly making room for the NDP to capture more votes from the left, yet the party is polling so poorly some predict it may lose party status. Honestly, I hope that happens.
172 seats are needed to form a majority due to the increase in seat count since 2021.
People who don’t know Carney must have a very sheltered life. He has been on the world stage working for not only Canada but, Great Britain, the United Nations. He has a much broader perspective on world politics, world finance, world trade and business. Now if we looking at the other guy. He has been a politician, nothing else, that has been his career. Cuddled in the bosom of the Conservative party living off the milk of the taxpayers. I prefer someone with broader experience .especially now.
a vote for liberals or ndp is a vote for high gas prices, strict gun control, censorship, high taxes, employment grants to immigrants over inuit (look around you), useless carbon tax. do we really want another 4-5 yrs o these failed redundant policies?
Mark Carney is running, running scared. Fresh off being sworn in to the prime minister office of the land he doesn’t open the house. I see more yellow than red in the banker.