Nunavut election saw one of the lowest voter turnouts in territory’s history
CBC
As victory sets in for Nunavut’s newly-elected MLAs, it’s clear the outcome could’ve been very different if more people voted.
Nunavut Elections data shows voter turnout in Monday’s territorial election was just 48 per cent, on par with the 2021 election which saw the lowest in the territory’s election history.
Out of the 17,063 people registered to vote in this election, Elections Nunavut results show 8,190 of them cast ballots.
Voter turnout in Nunavut elections has been in steady decline since the territory was created in 1999 amid much hope — though it's not clear why.
Nunavut’s chief electoral officer, Kiran Situt, was not available for an interview.
One of Elections Nunavut’s mandates, according to its website, is to promote voter participation.
Some candidates offered rides to polling stations to encourage voter participation.
Manitok Thompson was a member of the Northwest Territories legislature prior to the creation of Nunavut and was elected to the new territory’s first legislative assembly where she served for five years.
She remembers the early enthusiasm.
“Everybody was just so excited to be part of it and then it started to go down,” she said.
Thompson says she heard people say they weren't going to vote in this year's election because of a lack of action by the territorial government.
“It’s very discouraging and that’s why I think people are not interested to go out to vote — because the food prices have not gone down, the housing [wait]list is still the same no matter who they vote for.”
Elisapee Sheutiapik, another former Nunavut MLA, believes voter apathy comes down to broken promises. For example, she points to missed deadlines with the territory's housing strategy.
The Nunavut government launched its Nunavut 3,000 strategy in 2022 to address the territory’s housing crisis. Part of that strategy is to build 3,000 homes by 2030.
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