Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
North

Several Nunavut communities short municipal candidates

Cape Dorset, Nunavut, doesn’t have anyone running for mayor and many other communities are short candidates for council. Ten communities have fewer than eight members acclaimed to council.

No mayoral candidates running in Cape Dorset, many communities short candidates for council

Jackie McKay · CBC News ·
To be eligible to vote in Nunavut you must be a Canadian citizen, 18 years or older and you must have been a resident of Nunavut for the year preceding election day. (Nick Murray/CBC)

Five communities in Nunavut will not take part in municipal elections on Oct. 28.  

In Cape Dorset, a community of about 1,400 people, not only will there not be a municipal ballot, but the community will be short two councillors and a mayor once acclamations are complete.

Cape Dorset has six councillors acclaimed and will have to elect two more. Once the new council is sworn in they will need to decide if they will appoint a mayor from council or hold a by-election. 

If the council decides to hold a by-election the electoral process will "start from scratch," said Dustin Fredlund, chief electoral officer for Nunavut.

The current mayor of Cape Dorset, Timoon Toonoo, wanted to run again but was on medical travel and wasn't able to register in time to be on the ballot.

Many shortages across Nunavut

Of 25 communities, five will have no municipal election, and eight will have elections, but only for mayor.

Cape Dorset will have no municipal election, but will be short councillors and a mayor. Coral Harbour will have an acclaimed mayor and full acclaimed council. Arctic Bay, Grise Fiord, and Resolute Bay will not have municipal elections and will be short councillors, but will have an acclaimed mayor.

Clyde River, Hall Beach, Igloolik, Kimmiruit, Pond Inlet, and Qikiqtarjuaq will have municipal elections for mayor, but will be left with vacant positions on council.

Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak will have fully acclaimed councils, with two candidates standing for mayor in each community.

The remaining 12 communities will have full elections for both council and mayor.

In all, 10 communities have fewer than eight members acclaimed to council. According to Fredlund, each community needs eight councillors and one mayor. Except for Grise Fiord which has six councillors. 

Fredlund said the newly acclaimed council can appoint councillors from the voting public to fill vacant positions.

Advanced polls for the municipal election will be held on Oct. 21, the same day as the federal election.

This is the first year Elections Nunavut has run municipal elections since the Nunavut Elections Act replaced the Local Authorities Elections Act in April.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jackie McKay

Reporter

Jackie McKay is a Métis journalist working for CBC Indigenous covering B.C. She was a reporter for CBC North for more than five years spending the majority of her time in Nunavut. McKay has also worked in Whitehorse, Thunder Bay, and Yellowknife.

    CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC News
    Corrections and clarifications|Submit a news tip|

    Related Stories