Elections Canada to investigate voting barriers in Nunavik

Elections Canada says it will investigate "shortcomings" that prevented some people in Nunavik from casting their vote inMonday's federal election. 

In a statement Wednesday, chief electoral officer Stéphane Perrault apologized to residents of the northern region of Quebec, which is the homeland of Inuit in the province.

"I deeply regret that some electors in Nunavik were not able to cast their vote," he said. "Over the last three years, Elections Canada has engaged with Indigenous communities across the country and made it a priority to remove barriersand improve voting services for Indigenous electors.

"Nevertheless, the shortcomings of our services in Nunavikduring the general election underscore the importance of the work that remains."

Perrault said the agency will "review the circumstances that led to this situation," and will publish its findings. 

The apology comes after news reports said polling stations insome Nunavik communities closed hours early, apparently because weather conditions were affecting flights for election workers. In some cases, polling stations reportedly didn't open at all.

Mandy Gull-Masty, the newly elected Liberal MP for the riding of Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, said she's hearing "a lot of disappointment and a lot of outrage" from her constituents. 

She pointed to the fact that voter turnout tends to be lower inIndigenous communities. "Maybe we need to ask ourselves, 'Why is that?'" she said. "Is it because they're not participating or they're not receiving the service to participate?"

Gull-Masty said her understanding is that Elections Canadaofficials were present in Nunavik communities during the advance polling days over the Easter long weekend, trying torecruit community members to man voting stations on election day. But she said many people were out on the land over the holiday weekend. 

As a result, she said, several communities were served by teams that flew in to oversee the vote on April 28. Weather conditions then forced them to fly out early, she said, meaning some polling stations closed unexpectedly as early as 2:30 p.m. 

Gull-Masty said Elections Canada should start recruiting local poll workers as soon as an election is called. She also said the agency needs to employ more Indigenous language speakers. 

"There is a language barrier in Nunavik," she said. "Not everybody speaks fluently English or French."

Gull-Masty, former grand chief of the Cree Nation Government in Quebec, won the riding by just over 2,000 votes on Monday, defeating Bloc Québécois incumbent Sylvie Bérubé.

Still, she said people contacted her on election day to say they had planned to vote for her but had been unable to cast their ballots. "I was very stressed out because it's election day, but I was more stressed out knowing that so many of my supporters were not offered the opportunity to vote for me," she said. 

On Tuesday, Makivvik, the organization representing Quebec Inuit, said it was "deeply disappointed" by how the vote was handled in Nunavik, and called on Elections Canada toinvestigate. 

"This is unacceptable in 2025," the organization said in a statement. "In many cases, Nunavimmiut were effectively denied their right to participate in this election."

The federal agency should "take immediate steps to ensure that every Inuk in Nunavik has equal access to voting in future elections," the statement said. 

However, Makivvik president Pita Aatami said he was pleased to see an Indigenous woman elected to represent the region. 

“Mandy Gull-Masty understands the realities of our communities, and we are thankful that she took the time tovisit Nunavik during the campaign," he said in the statement. "Her election marks a significant step forward for our riding, and we look forward to working closely with her.”

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang