Lori Idlout

Lori Idlout represents Nunavut as an NDP Member of Parliament — the sole federal MP for a territory the size of Western Europe, with a population of approximately 40,000 people spread across 25 communities accessible only by air. She is Inuk, and her election in 2021 represented a significant shift in how Nunavut is represented in Parliament. The challenges facing Nunavut are so extreme that any federal representative faces a near-impossible task. Food insecurity is structural — a bag of apples can cost $25 in a northern community. Housing is in crisis, with overcrowding rates that would constitute a public emergency anywhere in southern Canada. Healthcare requires air evacuation for anything beyond basic care. The legacy of residential schools continues to shape mental health outcomes for entire generations. Climate change is transforming the land, the ice, and the traditional practices that sustain Inuit culture and food security. Idlout has been a loud and persistent voice for Nunavut in Parliament. She has advocated for food security investments, housing construction funding, Inuit self-determination in land and resource decisions, and accountability for the federal government's obligations to Inuit Peoples. She has been willing to be uncomfortable in Ottawa on behalf of communities that have been made uncomfortable by Ottawa for generations. With only seven NDP MPs in the 45th Parliament, her ability to leverage her position is limited. But Nunavut needs an MP who will take up space, ask hard questions, and refuse to let the South forget the North. She does that.