David Joanasie (born June 22, 1983) is a Canadian

Inuk Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labr ...

politician from

Cape Dorset Kinngait (Inuktitut meaning 'high mountain' or 'where the hills are'; Syllabics: ᑭᙵᐃᑦ), known as Cape Dorset until 27 February 2020, is an Inuit hamlet located on Dorset Island near Foxe Peninsula at the southern tip of Baffin Island ...

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

. He was elected 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 ...

in the 2013 election. He represents the electoral district of

South Baffin South Baffin (, , Inuinnaqtun: Hivuraa Qikiqtaaluk) is a territorial electoral district ( riding) for the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, Canada. The riding consists of the communities of Kinngait and Kimmirut. Election results 1999 electio ...

Education

David attended school at

Kinngait Kinngait (Inuktitut meaning 'high mountain' or 'where the hills are'; Syllabics: ᑭᙵᐃᑦ), known as Cape Dorset until 27 February 2020, is an Inuit hamlet located on Dorset Island near Foxe Peninsula at the southern tip of Baffin Island ...

and learned

Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...

up until third grade. He graduated from Peter Pitseolak High School in 2001 and was interested in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. He eventually earned a certificate in business communication from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax and a diploma from

Algonquin College Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is a publicly funded English-language college located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The college has three campuses, all in Ontario: a primary campus in Ottawa, and secondary campuses in Perth and ...

Career

Pre-legislative assembly

Before his election, he was the Communications Manager of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and worked for the

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (Inuktitut syllabics: , meaning "Inuit are united in Canada"), previously known as the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (Eskimo Brotherhood of Canada), is a nonprofit organization in Canada that represents over 65,000 Inuit acro ...

Elections

He was elected twice to serve in the 5th Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. He was re-elected to represent the constituency of

. He was also elected to serve in the Executive Council on November 17, 2017. He was sworn into office on November 21, 2017. He currently serves as the Minister of Education, Minister of Culture and Heritage, and Minister of Languages.

Impaired driving incident

In July 2013, David was arrested for

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. He attempted to evade police by fleeing to

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

. He pleaded guilty and was sent to jail. He was ordered to pay a $1200 fine and $500 in victim sub-charges.

Personal life

David is married to Emily Joanasie, and together they have five children: Sayri, Cynthia, Qulittalik, Pittaaluk, and Pattu.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joanasie, David Living people Inuit from the Northwest Territories Inuit politicians 21st-century Inuit people 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut 21st-century indigenous leaders of the Americas 1983 births Inuit from Nunavut Members of the Executive Council of Nunavut People from Kinngait