Nunavut general election, 2008

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Nunavut general election, 2008
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←  2004 October 27, 2008 2013  →
17 out of the 19 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut
Turnout 72% [1] (Decrease2.svg16.9pp)

Premier before election

Paul Okalik

Premier
after election

Eva Aariak

The Third Nunavut General Election took place on October 27, 2008, to return members to the 3rd Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. The election was contested across 15 of Nunavut's 19 electoral districts under the first past the post system of voting. Due to local circumstances, the election was delayed in two districts, and two districts did not hold elections as their incumbent MLAs faced no opposition and were acclaimed back into office.

An acclamation, in its most common sense, is a form of election that does not use a ballot. "Acclamation" or "acclamatio" can also signify a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval in certain social contexts as in ancient Rome.

Contents

Ten of the 15 seats went to first-time MLAs, four of whom defeated incumbents. Premier Paul Okalik and Finance Minister Louis Tapardjuk were the only two cabinet ministers to keep their seats. [2]

A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), or a Member of the Legislature (ML), is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction.

Paul Okalik Canadian politician, first Premier of Nunavut

Paul Okalik is a Canadian politician. He is the first Inuk member to have been called to the Nunavut Bar and the first Premier of Nunavut.

Louis Tapardjuk was the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the electoral district of Amittuq from 2004 to 2013, having won the seat in the 2004 Nunavut election. He served in the Executive Council of Nunavut the Minister of Finance and Minister of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth (CLEY).

The political system in Nunavut is not organized along political party lines, but instead uses a consensus government model in which the Executive Council of Nunavut is selected by the members of the Legislative Assembly at the Nunavut Leadership Forum. At the 2008 forum, held on November 14, 2008, Eva Aariak was selected as the new Premier of Nunavut.

A political party is an organized group of people, often with common views, who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. The party agrees on some proposed policies and programmes, with a view to promoting the collective good or furthering their supporters' interests.

Consensus government

A consensus government is one in which the cabinet is appointed by the legislature without reference to political parties. Consensus government chiefly arises in non-partisan democracies and similar systems in which a majority of politicians are independent. Many former British territories with large indigenous populations use consensus government to fuse traditional tribal leadership with the Westminster system. Consensus government in Canada is used in Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Nunatsiavut, and similar systems have arisen in the Pacific island nations of Fiji, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, as well as the ancient Tynwald of the Isle of Man.

The Executive Council of Nunavut or cabinet includes a Premier and seven Ministers and is elected by the members of the Legislative Assembly from among the Assembly members.

Pre-election

The election was proposed by Premier Paul Okalik on March 14, 2008. The writ period under Nunavut law may last as long as thirty five days, so the earliest date the election could have begun was September 22, 2008. [3] Prior to the official announcement the election had been widely speculated going back to late 2007, as the Premier had been openly talking about going to the polls. [4]

The Premier of Nunavut is the first minister for the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The Premier is the territory's head of government and de facto chief executive, although their powers are somewhat smaller than those of a provincial premier.

Writ of election Official writ calling for an election

A writ of election is a writ issued ordering the holding of an election. In Commonwealth countries writs are the usual mechanism by which general elections are called and are issued by the head of state or their representative. In the United States, it is more commonly used to call a special election for a political office.

Nunavut Territory of Canada

Nunavut is the newest, largest, and most northerly territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the boundaries had been drawn in 1993. The creation of Nunavut resulted in the first major change to Canada's political map since the incorporation of the province of Newfoundland in 1949.

Federal election

A portion of the writ period occurred during the 2008 Canadian federal election. This is a rare occurrence as elections on the federal and provincial, territorial level in Canada are usually timed to avoid such occurrences.

The last example of a concurrent federal and provincial election was the 1979 BC election and the 1979 Federal election. The voting date for those two elections was only 12 days apart.

Election infrastructure

Sandy Kusugak, the chief electoral officer for Elections Nunavut, announced at a press conference on June 4, 2008 that Nunavut will begin voting on October 13, 2008 with special ballots being made available at returning officers. Provisions are also being established to allow paperless voting by radio and satellite phone from very remote locations. On October 20, 2008 Elections Nunavut will conduct mobile polling visiting the homes of elders and people confined to their homes by disability or house arrest. Absentee ballots for students and inmates living or incarcerated outside of the territory will be made available by registration beginning on September 22, 2008. Official advanced polling will take place on October 20, 2008. [5]

Issues

Prior to the election in the last sitting of the Assembly, members debated tightening up eligibility requirements for preventing persons convicted of criminal offences. The MLAs decided not to change any of the election regulations. [6]

A big pre-election issue in the capital city of Iqaluit developed over Inuksuk High School. The government has been debating whether to build a new high school or do a complete renovation on the existing building. [7]

Election summary

Election summary# of candidatesPopular vote
IncumbentNew#%
Elected candidates5104,18351.9%
Acclaimed candidates2-
Defeated candidates4253,82547.4%
Vacancies at dissolution 2-
Totals468,067100%
Voter Turnout 71.2%Rejected Votes 59 (0.7%)

Election results

Nominations for candidates to file closed on September 26, 2008. There were two candidates acclaimed among the initial 46 candidates running. Both candidates acclaimed were seasoned incumbents. Tagak Curley was acclaimed to the riding of Rankin Inlet North for the second straight election. Incumbent Keith Peterson won his second term in office after his acclamation in the Cambridge Bay electoral district.

Results by district [8] [9]
DistrictWinnerSecondThirdFourthRejected ballotsTurnoutIncumbent
Amittuq Louis Tapardjuk
399, 63.5%		Joanna Quassa
213, 33.9%		16, 2.5%628, 59.2%Louis Tapardjuk
Akulliq see below
Arviat Daniel Shewchuk
310, 48.0%		Sheila Napayok
169, 26.2%		Peter Kritaqliluk
162, 25.1%		5, 0.8%646, 59.2% David Alagalak
Baker Lake Moses Aupaluktuq
266, 41.0%		 David Simailak
236, 36.4%		Elijah Amarook
144, 22.2%		3, 0.5%649, 67.1%David Simailak
Cambridge Bay Keith Peterson
acclaimed		Keith Peterson
Hudson Bay Allan Rumbolt
152, 45.0%		Johnny Manning
121, 35.8%		Bill Fraser
65, 19.2%		0, 0.0%338, 81.6% Peter Kattuk 3
Iqaluit Centre Hunter Tootoo
356, 61.8%		 Madeleine Redfern
160, 27.8%		Joe Sageaktook
57, 9.9%		Okalik Eegeesiak 4 3, 0.5%576, 69.7%Hunter Tootoo
Iqaluit East Eva Aariak
439, 62.5%		Glenn Williams
221, 31.5%		Kakki Peter
39, 5.6%		3, 0.4%702, 73.3% Ed Picco 3
Iqaluit West Paul Okalik
340, 53.0%		 Elisapee Sheutiapik
296, 46.1%		6, 0.9642, 90.3Paul Okalik
Kugluktuk Peter Taptuna
264, 59.5%		 Donald Havioyak
178, 40.1%		2, 0.5%444, 68.2%Vacant 1
Nanulik Johnny Ningeongan
214, 46.5%		 Patterk Netser
182, 39.6%		Harry Tootoo
63, 13.7%		1, 0.2%460, 86.3%Patterk Netser
Nattilik Enuk Pauloosie
229, 34.3%		 Jeannie Ugyuk
197, 29.5%		Louie Kamookak
192, 28.8%		Paul Ikuallaq
45, 6.7%		4, 0.6%667, 83.7%Vacant 2
Pangnirtung Adamee Komoartok
245, 62.0%		Looee Arreak
147, 37.2%		3, 0.8%395, 54.8% Peter Kilabuk 3
Quttiktuq Ron Elliot
183, 51.0%		 Levi Barnabas
174, 48.5%		2, 0.6%356, 63.9%Levi Barnabas
Rankin Inlet North Tagak Curley
acclaimed		Tagak Curley
Rankin Inlet South/Whale Cove Lorne Kusugak
329, 61.0%		 Levinia Brown
203, 37.7%		7, 1.3%539, 63.9%Levinia Brown
South Baffin see below
Tununiq James Arvaluk
239, 49.7%		Simon Merkosak
171, 35.6%		Elizirie Peterloosie
68, 14.1%		3, 0.6%481, 70.8%James Arvaluk
Uqqummiut James Arreak
218, 40.3%		Loasie Audlakiak
212, 39.2%		Igah Hainnu
110, 20.3%		1, 0.2%541, 84.9%James Arreak

By-elections

Due to local circumstances, the election was delayed in two districts.

South Baffin

In the district of South Baffin, there were no candidates who filed by nomination day. The original writs were returned to the Commissioner and reissued for a new election to be held on November 3, 2008. The lack of candidates on election day surprised the constituency, causing former incumbent Olayuk Akesuk to muse about coming out of retirement for another term if no one else wanted to step forward. Four new candidates came forward to file nomination papers by the new nomination deadline on October 3, 2008.

Results by district [8] [10] [11]
DistrictCandidatesRejected ballotsTurnoutIncumbent
South Baffin
November 3, 2008 [12] 		Fred Schell
203, 39.6%		Adamie Nuna
118, 23.0%		Joannie Ikkidluak
116, 22.7%		Zeke Ejesiak
72, 14.1%		3, 0.6%512, 58.7% Olayuk Akesuk 3

Akulliq

Former Member of Parliament and Nunavut MLA Jack Anawak attempted to file nomination papers to run for election in the electoral district of Akulliq. Chief Electoral Officer Sandy Kusugak ruled that Anawak was not eligible to run for office as he had a mailing address outside of Nunavut. Anawak took Elections Nunavut to court. The judge however ruled in favour of the decision by Kusugak that Anawak had not met the twelve month resident requirement, but under the Elections Act Kusugak was required to cancel the election. [13] [14]

Although the judge ruled in favour of Kusugak's disqualification under the residency rule, Anawak's constitutional challenge was allowed to go ahead. Anawak had argued that the one-year residency rule was in violation of his charter rights. However, judge Johnson ruled that the rule did not discriminate against Anawak as an Inuk. The election was rescheduled for December 15, with nominations being open until November 14. [15] [16]

All of the original candidates, with the exception of Anawak, refiled for the by-election, as did one new candidate, Helena Malliki.

In the initial results, former MLA John Ningark defeated incumbent MLA Steve Mapsalak by a margin of just two votes. [17] A judicial recount was conducted, but resulted in Ningark and Mapsalak each receiving exactly 157 votes, thus forcing a second by-election. [18] The revote was held on March 2, 2009, and Ningark won by a margin of 193 to 179 for Mapsalak.

December 15, 2008 by-election [19]
DistrictCandidatesIncumbent
Akulliq John Ningark
157		 Steve Mapsalak
155 initial
157 recount		Helena Malliki
111		Marius Tungilik
38		Steve Mapsalak
March 2, 2009 by-election [20]
DistrictCandidatesRejected ballotsTurnoutIncumbent
Akulliq John Ningark
193, 37.04%		 Steve Mapsalak
179, 34.36%		 Ovide Alakannuark
83, 15.93%		Helena Malliki
66, 12.67%		0521, 77.53%Steve Mapsalak

Notes

Related Research Articles

Jack Iyerak Anawak is a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Nunatsiaq in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1997. He sat in the house as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. Following his retirement from federal politics, he also served a term in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut after that territory was created in 1999. He ran as the New Democratic Party's candidate for his old riding, now renamed Nunavut, in the 2015 election, but was defeated by Liberal candidate Hunter Tootoo.

Iqaluit City Council

Iqaluit City Council is the governing body of the city of Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada. As of February 2017, the council consists of mayor Madeleine Redfern and councillors Joanasie Akumalik, Terry Dobbin, Simon Nattaq, Romeyn Stevenson and Kuthula Matshazi.

Tagak Curley is an Inuit leader, politician and businessman from Nunavut. As a prominent figure in the negotiations that led to the creation of Nunavut, Tagak is considered a living father of confederation in Canada. He was born in a hunting camp at Coral Harbour, Northwest Territories.

Akulliq was a territorial electoral district (riding) for the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, Canada.

Iqaluit West was a territorial electoral district (riding) for the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, Canada.

Leona Aglukkaq Canadian politician

Leona Aglukkaq, is a Canadian politician. She was a member of the non-partisan Legislative Assembly of Nunavut representing the riding of Nattilik from 2004 until stepping down in 2008; then was a Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada representing the riding of Nunavut after winning the seat in the 2008 federal election. She was the first Conservative to win the seat, and only the second centre-right candidate ever to win it. She remained MP until she was defeated in the 2015 federal election by Liberal candidate Hunter Tootoo. Aglukkaq is the Conservative candidate for the 2019 federal election.

James Arreak is a territorial and municipal level politician in Canada. He has served as a member of both the Nunavut and Northwest Territories legislatures.

Elisapee Sheutiapik is a Canadian politician, who served as mayor of Iqaluit, Nunavut, from 2003 to 2010, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in the 2017 general election.

John Ningark was a territorial level politician in Nunavut Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories and Legislative Assembly of Nunavut.

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 Minister for Community and Government Services, Minister for Energy and the Minister responsible for the Qulliq Energy Corporation.

Eva Aariak Canadian politician

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The 3rd Legislative Assembly of Nunavut began after the 2008 general election on October 27, 2008. The election returned 17 of the 19 non-partisan members with two deferred for other days. The last member returned in the general election in the Akulliq district on March 2, 2009.

2013 Nunavut general election

The 2013 Nunavut general election, formally the 4th Nunavut general election, was held October 28, 2013, to elect 22 members to the 4th Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. In November 2012 the assembly passed the Nunavut Elections Act 2012, stating that the writs for election drop September 23, 2013, and an election be held October 28, 2013, the proclamation was registered November 9, 2012. At the 2013 forum, held on November 15, 2013, Peter Taptuna was selected as the new Premier of Nunavut.

Pauloosie Keyootak is a Canadian Inuk politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, representing the electoral district of Uqqummiut, in a by-election on February 9, 2015. He won the by-election over Niore Iqalukjuak, who had been the second-place candidate behind Samuel Nuqingaq in the 2013 election, and former MLA James Arreak.

2017 Nunavut general election

The Nunavut general election, 2017 was held in the Canadian territory of Nunavut 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 fixed election dates law, which requires elections to be held no more than four years after the prior election.

References

  1. ↑ "Annual Report 2013-2014". Elections Nunavut. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  2. ↑ Lee, Donna (October 28, 2008). "Fresh faces unseat cabinet ministers in Nunavut election". CBC News. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Nunavut General Election Date Proposed" (PDF). Government of Nunavut. March 14, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Nunavut election likely in 2008: premier". CBC News. December 28, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  5. ↑ Chris Winderyer (June 13, 2008). "Elections chief in overdrive as Oct. 27 looms". Nunatsiaq News.
  6. ↑ "In the Legislative Assembly". Nunatsiaq News. June 6, 2008.
  7. ↑ John Thompson (June 27, 2008). "GN struggles with Inuksuk High School renovation". Nunatsiaq News. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Official Candidates List" (PDF). Elections Nunavut. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  9. ↑ "2008 General Election Official Results". Elections Nunavut . Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  10. ↑ "Schell wins South Baffin byelection". CBC News. November 4, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  11. ↑ "2008 South Baffin By-Election Official Results". Elections Nunavut. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  12. ↑ "News Release" (PDF). Elections Nunavut. October 3, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Akulliq election cancelled". Elections Nunavut. October 7, 2008. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  14. ↑ Nunavut Court of Justice – Anawak v. Nunavut (Chief Electoral Officer)
  15. ↑ "Nunavut judge throws out Anawak election challenge". CBC News. November 6, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Akulliq byelection scheduled for Dec. 15". CBC News. November 7, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Recount underway after close Akulliq byelection". CBC News. December 16, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Akulliq by-election recount leads to tie". CBC News. January 8, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Four Candidates contest Akulliq By-election". Elections Nunavut. November 14, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
  20. ↑ "2009 Akulliq By-Election Official Results". Elections Nunavut. March 2, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  21. ↑ "MLA for Kugluktuk resigns from the Legislative Assembly" (PDF). Elections Nunavut. August 22, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Nunavut MLA Evyagotailak resigns to seek KIA leadership". CBC News. August 22, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Nunavut health minister Aglukkaq running for Tories/Iqaluit mayor sets sights on premier's seat". CBC News. September 10, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Eegeesiak pulled from ballot in Iqaluit Centre". CBC News. October 17, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Josie Okalik Eegeesiak removed from Iqaluit Centre Ballot". Elections Nunavut. October 18, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Final Cease and Desist Order issued against Josie Okalik Eegeesiak". Elections Nunavut. October 24, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
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