Thompson quits Liberal race to run as independent

As Nunatsiaq News went to press this week, Manitok Thompson announced that she has pulled out of the race to become the Liberal candidate for Nunavut in the next federal election and will now run for Parliament as an independent.

Unless another candidate steps forward, incumbent MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell will win the Liberal nomination in Nunavut by acclamation.

Thompson is upset at Liberal Party of Canada officials, who recently told executive members of the Nunavut Liberal association that the former deadlines for signing up new members and electing a candidate are no longer in effect.

The cut-off date for new member sign-ups was March 16, and the date for a vote among Nunavut Liberal members to nominate a candidate was March 31.

So, instead of choosing their candidate for the next federal election on March 31, party members in Nunavut were to vote sometime in the coming months.

“As a candidate who has stood for election in past municipal and territorial elections, I have no intention of participating in a process that is not completely open and transparent or one that is subject to any improper or unfair influence,” Thompson said in a news release this week.

It’s unclear why Thompson is upset with the change of dates, but it’s likely because she believes that the change will give her rival, incumbent MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell, more time to sign up members who will support her.

Alain Carrière, an executive member of the Liberal association in Nunavut, said they’ve seen a spectacular growth in membership, from under 200 last month, to almost 900 people last week.

Carrière attributed the growth to the competition between Thompson and Karetak-Lindell.

He claimed the race is inspiring an increasing number of Nunavummiut to get involved in politics, both at the partisan level and beyond.

Carrière said he doesn’t know why the deadline was extended, but pointed out that the party’s central office is still reviewing his association’s rules and regulations for the nomination process, such as proxy voting.

The Conservative Party recently acclaimed Duncan Cunningham of Pond Inlet as their candidate for Nunavut. The NDP expects to nominate their candidate on April 15.