Jeannie Hakongak Ehaloak is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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, who 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 2017 general election."'I'm finally feeling rested': Recount confirms Jeannie Ehaloak's election in Cambridge Bay"

CBC North CBC North (; ; ) is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio and television service for the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon of Northern Canada as well as Eeyou Istchee and Nunavik in the Nord-du-Québec region of Quebec. Hist ...

, November 5, 2017. She represented the electoral district of

Cambridge Bay Cambridge Bay (Inuinnaqtun: Inuktitut syllabics, Inuktitut: ; 2021 Canadian census, 2021 population 1,760; Census geographic units of Canada#Population centres, population centre 1,403) is a Hamlet (place)#Canada, hamlet located on Victoria Is ...

from 2017 to 2021. Prior to her election to the legislature, Ehaloak served as mayor of

Early life

At four years old, Ehaloak was forcibly relocated by the Canadian government to

Indian residential school The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The scho ...

Inuvik Inuvik (''place of man'') is the only town in the Inuvik Region, and the List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories, third largest community in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Re ...

Career

Ehaloak was a hamlet councillor for Cambridge Bay and worked in

Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI; , ) is the legal representative of the Inuit of Nunavut for the purposes of native treaty rights and treaty negotiation. The presidents of NTI, Makivik Corporation, Nunatsiavut, and the Inuvialuit Regional Co ...

before running for mayor in 2011. Ehaloak ran for the Cambridge Bay riding in the

2017 Nunavut general election The 2017 Nunavut general election was held on October 30, 2017 to return the members of the 5th Nunavut Legislature. The fifth general election held since the creation of the territory in 1999, it was the first election held under Nunavut's new F ...

and won. After the victory, she vacated her mayor position. She was assigned to three portfolios and became the Minister of Justice, Minister responsible for Qulliq Energy Corporation and Minister responsible for Status of Women. After a cabinet shuffle in November 2020, she retained her responsibility as Minister for Qulliq Energy Corporation and also became the Minister of Community and Government Services. She was defeated by

Pam Gross Pamela Hakongak Gross, usually known as Pam Gross is a Canadian Inuk politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in the 2021 Nunavut general election. She represents the electoral district of Cambridge Bay Cambridge ...

in the

2021 Nunavut general election The 2021 Nunavut general election was held on October 25, 2021, to return the members of the 6th Nunavut Legislature. Since the adoption of a Fixed election dates in Canada, fixed election date law in 2014, general elections in Nunavut are held ...

. She became the director for communications for

Polar Knowledge Canada Polar Knowledge Canada is a departmental corporation of the Government of Canada under the Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) portfolio. It is responsible for monitoring, promoting, and disseminating knowledge of th ...

in 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehaloak, Jeannie Women MLAs in Nunavut Inuit politicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut 21st-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century indigenous leaders of the Americas 21st-century Inuit people 21st-century Inuit women Women mayors of places in Nunavut Mayors of Cambridge Bay Inuit from the Northwest Territories Inuit from Nunavut Members of the Executive Council of Nunavut Women government ministers of Canada Canadian Inuit women Nunavut municipal councillors 21st-century mayors of places in Nunavut