The 2017 Nunavut general election was held on October 30, 2017 to return the members of the
5th Nunavut Legislature
The 5th Nunavut Legislature began after the 2017 general election on October 30. The election returned 22 non-partisan members. In March 2019 the riding of Tununiq was vacated by the death of Joe Enook.
Change of premier
After the election, the ...
. The fifth general election held since the creation of the territory in 1999, it was the first election held under Nunavut's new fixed election dates law, which requires elections to be held no more than four years after the prior election.
Unlike most federal or provincial elections in Canada, elections to the
Legislative Assembly of Nunavut
The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut is the legislative assembly for the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The seat of the Assembly is the Legislative Building of Nunavut in Iqaluit.
Prior to the creation of Nunavut as a Canadian territory on Ap ...
premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
and
executive council Executive Council may refer to:
Government
* Executive Council (Commonwealth countries), a constitutional organ that exercises executive power and advises the governor
* Executive Council of Bern, the government of the Swiss canton of Bern
* Ex ...
are then selected internally by the MLAs at the first special sitting of the legislature.
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Peter Taptuna were the only incumbents not running again. One district,
Kugluktuk
Kugluktuk (, ; Inuktitut syllabics: ; ), formerly known as Coppermine until 1 January 1996, is a hamlet located at the mouth of the Coppermine River in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada, on Coronation Gulf, southwest of Victoria Islan ...
, saw only one candidate register by the close of nominations; that candidate,
Mila Adjukak Kamingoak
Mila Adjukak Kamingoak is a Canadians, Canadian politician, who represents the electoral district of Kugluktuk (electoral district), Kugluktuk in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut as of October 30, 2017. Kamingoak was the only candidate to regi ...
Nunatsiaq News
''Nunatsiaq News'' ( iu, ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕐᒥ ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᔪᑦ, italic=no) is a Canadian weekly newspaper in operation since 1973 based in Iqaluit, serving Nunavut and Nunavik, in Kativik, Nord-du-Québec. The paper is published every F ...
'', October 2, 2017.
In one district,
Cambridge Bay
Cambridge Bay ( Inuinnaqtun: ''Iqaluktuuttiaq'' Inuktitut: ᐃᖃᓗᒃᑑᑦᑎᐊᖅ; 2021 population 1,760; population centre 1,403) is a hamlet located on Victoria Island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is the largest settl ...
, formal declaration of the winner was not made until November 5, with the initial results undergoing an automatic recount due to a margin of less than two per cent between the top two finishers. The recount confirmed that the original count was correct.
CBC North
CBC North ( iu, ᓰᐲᓰ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ, lit=CBC Northwest, translit=, SiiPiiSii Ukiuqtaqtumi; cr, ᓰᐲᓰ ᒌᐌᑎᓅᑖᐦᒡ, label=cr, SiiPiiSii Chiiwetinuutaahch; french: Radio-Canada Nord) is the Canadian Broadcasting Corpora ...
, October 30, 2017. in addition to Kamingoak's acclamation, four more women were declared elected on election night, and a woman won the recount in Cambridge Bay. These six women, representing 27 per cent of the legislature, represent the first time in the territory's history that it has ranked higher than last or second-last among Canada's provinces and territories for female membership in the legislature.
Following the election, only three of the eight incumbent cabinet ministers had been reelected: three were defeated and two, including Premier Peter Taptuna, chose not to run again. Overall, half of the legislature's 22 incumbents were reelected.
On November 17, 2017, the Nunavut Leadership Forum convened in
Iqaluit
Iqaluit ( ; , ; ) is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, its largest community, and its only city. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on which the city is situated. In 1987, its t ...
Cathy Towtongie
Q. Cathy Towtongie is a Canadian Inuk politician from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in the 2017 general election to represent the electoral district of Rankin Inlet North-Chesterfield Inlet.
Prior ...
, Patterk Netser, and Paul Quassa put their names forward; ultimately, Quassa was elected premier, and
Joe Enook
Joe Enook (1957 – March 29, 2019) was a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the district of Tununiq in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in a by-election on September 12, 2011.David Akeeagok, Pat Angnakak,
Jeannie Ehaloak
Jeannie Hakongak Ehaloak is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in the 2017 general election. She represents the electoral district of Cambridge Bay.
Prior to her election to the legislature, Ehaloak se ...
Lorne Kusugak
Lorne Kusugak is a Canadian politician, who is Member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut for the electoral district of Rankin Inlet South. Prior to becoming an MLA, Kusugak was the mayor of Rankin Inlet. Kusugak served as the Nunavut Minist ...
The Legislative Assembly is run on a consensus government system, in which all MLAs sit as independents and are not organized into political parties. Note, accordingly, that colours in the following charts are used solely to indicate candidate status, not political party affiliations.
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...