Meet the federal candidates running in Nunavik

Samuel Wat · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 11, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Canadians volition caput to the polls connected April 28, and Nunavimmiut and different Quebec voters volition formed their ballot to determine who volition correspond them successful Ottawa.

Nunavik is portion of Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou, the third-largest riding by country successful the country. 

The riding encompasses galore antithetic cultures, including Naskapi, Anishinaabe, Cree, Inuit and francophone, and each assemblage has its ain unsocial stories and challenges. 

Four radical are moving in Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou, for the Bloc Québécois, Conservatives, Liberals, and NDP. 

The Green Party antecedently named a campaigner but the enactment has since confirmed that Simon Paradis didn't unafraid capable signatures to beryllium connected the ballot. No replacement has been named. 

CBC spoke to 3 of the 4 candidates who are moving successful Nunavik.

Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc Québécois

Bloc Québécois candidate Sylvie Bérubé is seeking reelection for a 3rd word arsenic MP for the bluish Quebec riding. 

She declined a petition for interview in English with CBC North. 

The riding has been a Bloc Québécois stronghold. The enactment has held the spot for much than half of the past 25 years. 

In 2019, Bérubé was the archetypal woman to beryllium elected successful the riding. Before entering politics, she worked for 32 years successful the health-care system, wherever she was the erstwhile manager of the societal committee astatine the Val-d'Or Hospital and head of the Taxibus Corporation for nationalist transportation.

As MP, she was the Bloc Québécois critic for family, children and societal improvement until precise recently.

Speaking to Radio-Canada, Bérubé said she believes the Bloc has been a defender of Quebec's interests successful Parliament amidst expanding aggression from the U.S. She besides sees herself arsenic an progressive idiosyncratic who has worked with respective organizations crossed the region. 

Steve Corriveau, Conservative

Conservative campaigner Steve Corriveau is moving successful the riding for a 2nd time. 

Originally from Val-d'Or, Corriveau is speedy to accidental helium has nary priorities for Nunavik, due to the fact that helium says determination are already section organizations, like Makivvik and the Kativik Regional Government, who've outlined issues affecting their communities. 

"Who americium I to get present and determine that this precedence would beryllium amended than different 1 already acceptable by those already elected?" Corriveau said.

"So me, erstwhile elected, I volition instrumentality the phone. I volition telephone each those radical and say, 'what tin I bash connected the national matters that I could assistance you with,' and I volition bring that to Ottawa." 

He said helium recognizes the challenges with gathering lodging successful the North – with higher costs and much logistics involved – and helium wants to enactment connected that. 

"Down present [in confederate Quebec], we would not judge the conditions that you guys up northbound are living," helium said. 

If elected, Corriveau said helium plans to question to each of Nunavik's communities, truthful helium tin conscionable the radical helium represents, and said he'll participate those conversations with an unfastened caput and respect. 

"When I was a young boy, my parents told maine that whenever you privation respect successful life, you indispensable archetypal amusement respect," helium said.

Mandy Gull-Masty, Liberal

Liberal campaigner Mandy Gull-Masty was the archetypal pistillate expansive main of the Cree Nation Government successful Quebec. She resigned arsenic expansive main connected March 27 to tally successful this national campaign. 

Her asset, she said, is her quality to physique relationships with antithetic communities and leaders, which she has done successful her erstwhile role. She said those meetings volition beryllium the archetypal measurement for her successful her campaign.  

"Doing that legwork is truly the archetypal measurement – speaking to radical who unrecorded successful the antithetic communities, asking them wherever are the gaps not lone successful representation, but wherever are the gaps successful service," she said. 

From the conversations she's had truthful far, she said she's heard astir a tendency for action on clime change, economical development, and hunting rights for Inuit. 

That besides leads to nutrient insecurity, which she said she noticed having erstwhile lived successful bluish Quebec. Her hubby is from Whapmagoostui, which is adjacent to the Inuit assemblage of Kuujjuarapik.

"Immediately [I had] concerns with entree to food, ensuring that they're capable to have, you know, immoderate benignant of subsidy to bring down the outgo of living," she said.

"And present much truthful than ever, seeing the imaginable of what caller tariffs tin origin for america … we person a batch of earthy resources, but the disbursal of surviving present is rather high."

Thai Dillon Higashihara, NDP

Entering the contention precocious was the NDP's Thai Dillon Higashihara. The enactment had antecedently named Catherine Louie Leblanc Oweetaluktuk, who past dropped retired for idiosyncratic reasons. 

Since January, Higashihara has been moving arsenic the NDP's integer organizer based successful Ottawa, but helium has idiosyncratic connections to the region. 

He said his gramps had a relation successful the instauration of Oujé-Bougoumou, a Cree colony successful bluish Quebec.

Higashihara said he's having conversations with radical crossed the portion to amended recognize their needs, and he's starting with his grandfather's community.  

Infrastructure, fulfilling the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations, and protecting Indigenous languages are immoderate of his priorities. 

"I deliberation determination needs to beryllium a amended propulsion for Indigenous languages really being protected, codified and legally," helium said.

"There should beryllium a ineligible abstraction to support Indigenous languages, overmuch similar [how] the French and English languages person been done crossed Canada."

He believes the diverseness of the portion – and the galore antithetic perspectives – volition beryllium beneficial successful uncovering a solution to communal problems similar lodging and the outgo of living.