In the latest federal elections of 2025, voting participation in Inuit communities witnessed a decline, prompting calls for enhanced community engagement by leaders. Elections Canada recently released a report on the voter turnout among Indigenous communities during the 45th general election held in April 2025.
Over the past three federal elections, the voter turnout in Inuit communities has decreased from 43.6% in 2019 to 30.2% in 2025, while the national average turnout across Canada stood at 69.5% last year. However, there were regional variations in this trend.
Compared to the 2021 federal election, voting rates increased for Inuit in the Inuvialuit region of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut by 7.5% and 1.6% respectively, with a turnout rate of around 35%. Similar trends were observed among Inuit in the Nunatsiavut region of Newfoundland and Labrador, which saw a slight 2.5% decrease from 2021.
Notably, the voter turnout data for 2025 was skewed by the low turnout in Nunavik, part of the Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou riding in Quebec. Only 14.7% of Inuit voters participated in the election last year, nearly half the rate seen in 2021.
Elections Canada attributed this low turnout partly to polling booths closing early or not opening at all in most of Nunavik’s 14 villages due to adverse weather conditions and a lack of staff on voting day. The agency also acknowledged shortcomings in prior outreach efforts and meaningful engagement with all Nunavik communities that had voting services.
Pita Aatami, the president of Makivvik representing Inuit in Nunavik, emphasized the need for election officials to actively engage with communities and fulfill their responsibility to facilitate voting. He expressed concerns about voter apathy and suggested making voting mandatory, similar to the census, to boost participation. Aatami also proposed the adoption of online voting, citing its convenience based on Makivvik’s experience, but stressed the importance of individual accountability in exercising the right to vote.