IQALUIT
The Liberals are banking on Hunter Tootoo to beat Conservative MP Leona Aglukkaq on Oct. 19, announcing the former Iqaluit-Centre MLA as the party's Nunavut candidate July 27.

Former Iqaluit-Centre MLA Hunter Tootoo announced his candidacy in the Oct. 19 federal election for the Liberal Party of Canada in the Nunavut riding at a news conference in Iqaluit July 27. - Casey Lessard/NNSL photo

"I got out of public life two-and-a-half years ago, and believe me, I had no intention of getting back into it," Tootoo told Liberals at the announcement in Iqaluit.

He said he was happy in his current job at Canadian North, but felt called to return to politics.

"What I've seen happen and not happen, the manipulation, the interference, the silence on issues that Nunavummiut want to be heard on, they just turn my stomach. I could not personally sit back and do nothing."

So it's back in the ring for the man who ran federally as an NDP candidate in 1997, losing to Nancy Karetak-Lindell. He then turned to territorial politics, serving as MLA for Iqaluit-Centre from 1999 to 2013.

For Liberal riding association president Michel Potvin, Tootoo is a breath of fresh air.

"We're glad we have a strong candidate," Potvin told Nunavut News/North. "We have to win all three regions, and Hunter being from the Kivalliq with strong ties here in Baffin, it was definitely an asset for us."

Potvin said Liberal leader Justin Trudeau issued a challenge during his January visit to Iqaluit, and Tootoo is the appropriate response.

"Elect a Liberal member of Parliament capable of being a strong voice for Nunavut in Ottawa, and not merely Ottawa's voice in Nunavut," Potvin told supporters, echoing the leader's words. "I'm confident we're well on our way to answering Justin Trudeau's challenge."

Tootoo accused Aglukkaq of neglecting Nunavummiut.

"What have they done? Made lots of promises," Tootoo said. "When Nunavummiut were crying out about food security, and the Nutrition North program, Nunavut heard nothing. On the environmental issues that are important to the people of Clyde River, what have we heard? Nothing. I won't be the puppet to sit there and be told what to do and say."

He also said the ruling Conservatives would make financial promises in the coming months, but that they would be empty and reminiscent of previous promises left unfulfilled.

"A port here in Iqaluit, I remember that being said before," he said. "A road to Manitoba, or a Bathurst Inlet road project. They're going to try to buy their way back into power. I'm smarter than that, Canadians are smarter than that, and Nunavummiut are smarter than that."

Polls detailed on threehundredeight.com, which showed the pre-announcement Liberals in strong contention to defeat Aglukkaq, indicate that Tootoo, if he won, would be on the losing team, since the Liberals are currently in a distant third nationally. That, however, is not how Tootoo sees the election panning out.

"I firmly believe the next government that's going to take power in Ottawa is going to be a Liberal government," he told supporters.

Tootoo was asked whether he had changed his ideology in the 18 years since running for the NDP.

"I'm still me. I still have the same beliefs, the same values, and I believe Justin Trudeau and the Liberal party fit in line with those. I've met with him, and he's genuinely concerned and wants to deal with issues of the North."

If the Liberals take power, Trudeau has made no promises of a cabinet position for a Nunavut MP, which Prime Minister Stephen Harper has done since Aglukkaq's election. Tootoo acknowledged the value of having an Inuk on cabinet.

"There's been no discussion on that, and no commitments made, but I have experience and I think I bring a lot to the table and we'll just have to wait and see how things roll out after."

One drawback of choosing Tootoo is his inability to communicate in Inuktitut.

"I've served as an MLA for almost 15 years and I never had a problem communicating with unilingual residents," he said. "We have very good interpreters around the territory, and when interpretation is required, they'll be there."

For Potvin, language loss is a reality for many in the territory.

"Hunter can communicate and connect with people, regardless of language," he said. "Hunter's still a proud Inuk regardless of language loss, and he is a strong advocate, he has a strong past as an MLA. We're confident he'll be a strong voice in Ottawa for Nunavummiut."

Tootoo said he would continue to work at Canadian North until the writ dropped, which it did Aug. 2. The election is scheduled for Oct. 19.

A decision about whether he can continue as chair of the Nunavut Planning Commission is coming "very shortly," he said.

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