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Ittinuar 'doesn't stand a chance' in Nunavut: Nunatsiaq editor

The Green Party is touting Peter Ittinuar as a front-runner in Nunavut’s electoral race, but the editor of a Nunavut newspaper said the popular Inuk candidate doesn’t stand a chance.

Ittinuar was the first Inuk elected to Parliament, and was a major player in Nunavut’s recognition as an independent territory. Though he left politics 24 years ago and currently resides in Ontario, the green Party lists Ittinuar among their party’s strongest candidates.

“Peter is one of the top three Inuit leaders to emerge in the last 30 years,” said Jim McDonald, the Greens’ national campaign manager. “He’s extremely well known up there.”

Jim Bell, editor of the Iqaluit-based Nunatsiaq News, said Ittinuar’s entry into the northern race has livened up the campaign, but won’t make a difference on election day.

“He doesn’t stand a chance,” Bell said. “If he’s one of the [Green Party’s] front-runners, they’re not going to elect anybody.”

Bell said the real race is being fought between Conservative candidate Leona Aglukkaq and Liberal Kirt Ejesiak over the Grits’ proposed carbon tax.

“Fuel is much more expensive to purchase here than anywhere else in the country,” Bell said. “Bread and butter issues figure highly in people’s minds.”

In the 2006 election, the Liberal candidate took nearly 40 per cent of the vote while the Conservatives trailed in a distant second with 29 per cent. The Greens finished dead last with less than six per cent, garnering even less votes than the Marijuana party candidate.

McDonald said he thinks things will be much different this time around.

“[Peter] probably has the most recognized name of any of the current candidates,” he said. And besides, he added, Nunavut’s scattered and rural voter base means that individual personalities matter far more than party platforms.

Bell said that may be true in some cases, but doubts Ittinuar’s name will have much resonance: “He hasn’t served since 1984 – Probably more than half the people now voting won’t even remember he was an MP."

It would appear even Ittinuar himself is doubtful of his chances. At a recent candidate’s debate in Iqaluit, the Nunatsiaq News reported that he told the crowd any one of his three opponents would make good MPs.

“He’s not pretending he has a chance of winning,” said Bell. “He’s entering to raise ideas.”

Geoff Dembicki is a staff reporter for The Hook.


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