Water crisis, calls for justice mark Nunavik’s top stories of 2025
Here are the year’s top 5 stories from the region
Community organizers Mary Mesher and Annie Kumarluk lead a march in Kuujjuaq in November calling for justice and an end to police brutality. Marches were also held in Salluit and Inukjuak. Nov. 4 was the one-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of a man in Salluit by police. Two other police-involved fatalities have occurred in Nunavik since then. (File photo by Dominique Gené)
Canada’s chief electoral officer Stéphane Perrault, shown in an Elections Canada Facebook post. (Photo courtesy of Elections Canada/Facebook)
2025 was a headline-making year for Nunavik.
From voting issues during the federal election, widespread marches sparked by three police shootings in eight months, to a longstanding water crisis in Puvirnituq, the region saw major events.
Here are this year’s top stories.
The federal election fiasco
On Nov. 27, Elections Canada released a report blaming the voting problems in Nunavik on lack of planning and insufficient outreach with local communities.
Many voters reported they could not cast a ballot because polling stations closed early and others did not open at all.
In September, Canada’s chief electoral officer Stéphane Perrault apologized to residents over the handling of the federal election. But some residents were not satisfied with the report.
Tiivi Tullaugak, an 18-year-old who filed a formal complaint with the agency, asked for more answers into what went wrong.
“I’m still confused,” he said. “They took our right to vote.”
Meanwhile, Russ Johnson, a Nunavik advocate, called the report “an insult to Inuit.”
Nunavik-wide marches sparked by police shootings
On Nov. 4, residents in Kuujjuaq and across Nunavik marched in memory of Inuit who have died in confrontations with police, calling for justice and an end to police brutality.
The day coincided with the one-year anniversary of the death of Joshua Papigatuk. Since then, there have been two other police-related deaths of Nunavik residents.
“I want people to be able to feel safe to request assistance without the fear of being harmed,” said Mary Mesher, one of the volunteers who led the march in Kuujjuaq, in an interview.
A review into the Nunavik Police Service’s practices by Kativik Regional Government is ongoing.
The disappearance and death of Sanaak Unatweenuk
Police in Quebec charged two men in September with the murder of Sanaak Unatweenuk, who was last seen in Kuujjuaq in June.
The 31-year-old was reported missing on June 24 after failing to show up for work. He was last seen on the night of June 20 leaving the Kuujjuaq Inn.
Two men have been charged with murder after the disappearance of a man in Kuujjuaq last June, says Quebec’s provincial police service. A missing person poster for Sanaak Unatweenuk hangs in Kuujjuaq’s Northern store in August 2025. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Peter Saunders, 28, and Sandy Mesher, 57, appeared in a Montreal court on Sept. 10, facing multiple charges including second-degree murder, accessory to murder and indignity to a corpse.
After a 17-day search for Unatweenuk, the case was handed on to Quebec’s provincial police as a “criminal matter” on July 7.
The longstanding Puvirnituq water crisis
The water pipeline in Puvirnituq was finally repaired in October after a 20-day state of emergency in the spring over a water shortage caused by a frozen pipe intake.
Untreated water had to be trucked into the community, but these efforts were undermined by weather conditions and out-of-service trucks.
A temporary 2.9-kilometre pipeline was installed in late May to connect the pump at the river to the water filtration plant.
A new cable used to keep the pipe from freezing is scheduled to be replaced next summer.
The Quebec government launched an independent review to determine the causes and a path forward. Findings have yet to be released.
Best Indigenous language album of the year
Inukjuak-based band Qimutjuit won the award for album of the year in Indigenous languages at the 2025 Premier Gala de L’ADISQ.
Quebec’s Association for the Recording, Concert and Video Industries celebrated the best of Quebec’s music and art on Nov. 5.
Qimutjuit members Charlie Iqaluk, Jobie Oweetaluktuk, Pauloosie Kasudluak and Eric Atagotaaluk accept the Best Indigenous Language album of the year award at the 2025 Premier Gala de l’ADISQ on Nov. 5. (Photo courtesy of Saali Kuata)
The self-titled album Qimutjuit, the band’s second album was released in December 2024.
“We were pretty much dumbfounded. We were genuinely not expecting to win the award,” said singer and drummer Eric Atagotaaluk.
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