Voter participation in Inuit communities during the 2025 federal elections showed a decline, sparking calls from leaders for improved 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 turnout in Inuit communities has decreased over the past three federal elections, dropping from 43.6% in 2019 to 30.2% in 2025, while the national voter turnout in Canada was 69.5% last year. However, there were regional variations in this trend.
Compared to the previous federal election in 2021, 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 patterns were observed among Inuit in the Nunatsiavut region of Newfoundland and Labrador, which experienced a slight 2.5% decrease from 2021.
The data for 2025 was skewed by the low turnout in Nunavik, part of the Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou riding in Quebec, where only 14.7% of Inuit voters participated in the election. This marked a significant drop from the turnout rate seen in 2021. Elections Canada attributed this partly to polling booths closing early or not opening at all in most of the region’s 14 villages due to adverse weather conditions and a lack of staff.
Elections Canada acknowledged shortcomings in their outreach efforts and meaningful engagement with all Nunavik communities that offered voting services. Pita Aatami, president of Makivvik representing Inuit in Nunavik, emphasized the need for election officials to be present in communities and collaborate with them to ensure proper voter turnout.
Aatami expressed concerns about voter apathy and proposed making voting mandatory, suggesting that it could increase voter turnout. He also highlighted the potential of online voting, similar to the approach taken in Makivvik’s elections, to make the process more convenient for individuals. Ultimately, Aatami emphasized the individual responsibility of citizens to participate in the electoral process.