Voter participation in Inuit communities during the 2025 federal elections saw a decline, prompting calls from leaders for enhanced community engagement. Elections Canada recently released a report on the estimated voter turnout in Indigenous communities during the 45th general election held in April 2025.
The voter turnout in Inuit communities has shown a downward trend over the past three federal elections, dropping from 43.6% in 2019 to 30.2% in 2025. In comparison, the overall voter turnout across Canada in the previous year was 69.5%.
However, the voting trend varied by region. In the Northwest Territories’ Inuvialuit region and Nunavut, the voter turnout for Inuit increased by 7.5% and 1.6% respectively compared to the 2021 federal election, with a turnout rate of approximately 35%.
Similarly, Inuit in the Nunatsiavut region of Newfoundland and Labrador experienced a slight decrease of 2.5% compared to 2021. Notably, the voter turnout in Nunavik, part of the Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou riding in Quebec, was significantly low at 14.7%, almost half of the rate seen in 2021.
Elections Canada attributed this low turnout partly to early closure or non-opening of polling booths in most of Nunavik’s 14 villages due to adverse weather conditions on the voting day and staff shortages. The agency acknowledged shortcomings in prior outreach efforts and meaningful engagement with all Nunavik communities, including those offering voting services.
Pita Aatami, president of Makivvik representing Inuit in Nunavik, emphasized the need for election officials to engage directly with communities. Aatami suggested that making voting mandatory, similar to the census, could potentially increase voter turnout. He also proposed the adoption of online voting, citing its success in Makivvik’s own elections as a way to facilitate voter participation.
Ultimately, Aatami stressed the importance of individual responsibility in voting, stating that citizens should not solely rely on leaders to encourage voting but should actively take part in the democratic process.