Peter Freuchen K. Ittinuar (

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 ...

: ᐲᑎᕐ ᐃᑦᑎᓄᐊᕐ; born January 19, 1950) is a Canadian politician. He was the first

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 ...

in Canada to be elected as an MP, and represented the

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Nunatsiaq in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

from 1979 to 1984.

Biography

Early life

Ittinuar, the grandson of Danish explorer, Peter Freuchen, was born in

Chesterfield Inlet Chesterfield Inlet (Inuit: ''Igluligaarjuk'')Issenman, Betty. ''Sinews of Survival: The living legacy of Inuit clothing''. UBC Press, 1997. pp252-254 is an inlet in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is an arm of northwestern Hudson Bay, an ...

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

(now

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 spent part of his youth and adolescence being educated in Ottawa, Ontario, with two childhood friends,

Zebedee Nungak Zebedee Nungak ( ; born 23 April 1951) is a Canadian Inuit, Inuk author, actor, essayist, journalist, and politician. As a child, Nungak was taken from his home in the community of Saputiligait, along with two other children, for the purposes ...

and Eric Tagoona. All three later were important figures in advocating for the rights of the Inuit. Unbeknownst to them, they had been relocated to Ottawa by federal government authorities, as part of an experiment in cultural assimilation. These actions and their consequences form the subject of the documentary '' The Experimental Eskimos'' (2009).

Political career

Ittinuar was originally elected as a member of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

, but on November 26, 1982, he

crossed the floor In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...

to sit with the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

caucus shortly after

Indian Affairs and Northern Development Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

minister John Munro announced plans to improve

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

self-government by dividing the Northwest Territories into two (see

). In 1984 Ittinuar was charged with breach of trust, theft and forgery for allegedly using his parliamentary budget to purchase a boat motor. As a result of the court case he was suspended from the Liberal Party caucus, and he became an independent for the final few months of his term in office. Ittinuar ran for re-election in the 1984 federal election, but was defeated by the Progressive Conservative candidate

Thomas Suluk Thomas Suluk (Inuktitut: ᑖᒪᔅ ᓱᓗᒃ; March 14, 1950 – October 13, 2018) is a former Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constit ...

. Ittinuar was later found not guilty on the 1984 breach of trust, theft and forgery charges. However, Ittinuar had earlier, in 1979, been convicted of possession of a small amount of cocaine. In addition, in 1986, he was convicted of assaulting his then wife, Susan Munro, daughter of former Liberal Cabinet Minister John Munro, and was fined. In 1993, Ittinuar again sought the NDP nomination in Nunatsiaq, but was unable to do so, due to then NDP leader

Audrey McLaughlin Audrey Marlene McLaughlin (name at birth, née Brown; born November 8, 1936) is a Canadian politician and former leader of the New Democratic Party (Canada), New Democratic Party from 1989 to 1995. She was the first female leader of a politica ...

refusing to endorse his candidacy. In 2008, while living in southern Ontario, Ittinuar ran unsuccessfully for the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

in the

riding in the federal election. He had previously sought and lost the Green Party nomination in the southern Ontario riding of Brant.Ittinuar 'seriously considering' Green party run
''CBC News'', 2007-08-01. Government of Canada website

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ittinuar, Peter 1950 births 20th-century Inuit people 21st-century Inuit people Inuit from the Northwest Territories Canadian people of Danish descent Inuit politicians Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from the Northwest Territories New Democratic Party MPs People from Chesterfield Inlet Green Party of Canada candidates in the 2008 Canadian federal election Independent MPs in the Canadian House of Commons Indigenous Members of the House of Commons of Canada Canadian politicians convicted of crimes Inuit from Nunavut Nunavut candidates for Member of Parliament 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada