Nunavut

The Nunavut federal riding covers the full extent of Canada's newest and largest territory -- nearly two million square kilometres of Arctic tundra, islands, and sea ice stretching from Hudson Bay to the High Arctic archipelago. Its roughly 39,000 residents live in twenty-five fly-in communities spread across three regions: Qikiqtani (Baffin), Kivalliq, and Kitikmeot. Iqaluit, on the southeastern coast of Baffin Island, serves as the territorial capital, while Rankin Inlet, Arviat, Cambridge Bay, and Pond Inlet function as regional hubs.

Candidates

Mumilaaq Qaqqaq (NDP) -- Born in Baker Lake and raised across several Nunavut communities, Qaqqaq was twenty-five years old at the time of the campaign. She had worked as a wellness program specialist with the Government of Nunavut, with Northern Youth Abroad, and most recently as an Inuit employment officer with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, the organization responsible for implementing the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. She took leave from that position to run for office.

Megan Pizzo Lyall (Liberal) -- Originally from Taloyoak, Pizzo Lyall attended Nunavut Sivuniksavut and graduated from Nunavut Arctic College's Environmental Technology Program. She worked for the territorial Department of Environment, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, and the Atuqtuarvik Corporation, an investment company for Inuit-owned businesses. She served as an Iqaluit city councillor after winning election in 2015 and later served on Rankin Inlet's hamlet council.

Leona Aglukkaq (Conservative) -- A former federal cabinet minister, Aglukkaq represented Nunavut in the House of Commons from 2008 to 2015. She became the first Inuk appointed to the federal cabinet when she was named Minister of Health, a role she held during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic response. She subsequently served as Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, and chaired the Arctic Council during Canada's 2013--2015 chairmanship. Before entering federal politics, she served in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut representing Nattilik.

Douglas Roy (Green Party) -- A seventy-two-year-old educator who had worked as a school principal across western Canada and internationally, Roy had most recently been principal of Qaqqalik School in the hamlet of Kimmirut. He previously ran as a federal Green candidate in British Columbia in 2011 and served as deputy leader of the BC Green Party.

About the Riding

Created in 1999 when the territory was carved from the eastern Northwest Territories, Nunavut is governed under a consensus model with no political parties in its territorial legislature. The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement of 1993 -- the largest Aboriginal land claim settlement in Canadian history -- underpins the territory's governance, guaranteeing Inuit wildlife harvesting rights, a share of resource royalties, and representation on co-management boards overseeing land, water, and development.

Housing dominated the 2019 campaign. The territory faced a shortage of several thousand units, with severe overcrowding in many communities and long public housing waitlists. Construction costs ran far above southern Canadian levels due to the expense of shipping materials by summer sealift and the brevity of the Arctic building season. Overcrowding had been linked to the spread of tuberculosis and other health concerns.

Food security was equally pressing. With no road connections between any of Nunavut's communities and grocery prices running two to three times southern levels, residents relied heavily on the federal Nutrition North Canada subsidy and on country food harvested through hunting and fishing. All three leading candidates called for a review of the Nutrition North program during the campaign.

Suicide prevention was a deeply felt issue, with Nunavut's suicide rate among the highest in the world, particularly among young people. Candidates debated how federal investment in mental health services, housing, and education could address root causes. Health care delivery posed enormous logistical challenges across the territory, as most communities had only a nursing station, and patients requiring hospital care or specialist treatment had to fly to Iqaluit or southern cities. The Baffinland Mary River iron ore mine on northern Baffin Island was the territory's largest private employer, and its proposed expansion divided communities between economic opportunity and concerns about caribou migration and marine ecosystems.