Mumilaaq Qaqqaq was chosen as Nunavut’s member of Parliament last Oct. 21 after spending less than $25,000.
The figures from all four Nunavut candidates were finally made public last week after Elections Canada granted a couple of extensions to the filing deadline due to Covid-19.
NNSL file photo
Qaqqaq, running for the NDP, was the only individual seeking office to show contributions from individuals. A total of $8,111.70 came from 318 people. She received $16,682.47 in transfers from the Nunavut NDP Electoral District Association. Another $530.05 was donated in non-monetary contributions. Her total expenses amounted to $24,514.12.
The only contender to spend less than Qaqqaq was Douglas Roy, who represented the Green Party. Roy, a newcomer to the territory as principal of Kimmirut’s Qaqqalik School and a former deputy leader of the Green Party in British Columbia, reported no campaign contributions and no related expenses.
The Conservatives’ Leona Aglukkaq revealed the largest sum of financial resources – $93,000 in transfers, the bulk of which came from the Conservative Party of Canada Nunavut Electoral District Association – and the greatest total expenses: $87,109.03.
Megan Pizzo-Lyall took in $40,000 from the Nunavut Federal Liberal Association and another $14,225.74 from the Liberal Party of Canada for a total of $54,225.74. Her expenditures totalled $45,216.74.
Qaqqaq was selected on 3,861 ballots in the Oct. 21 federal election, earning close to 41 per cent of the overall votes cast. Pizzo-Lyall finished with 2,918 votes, Aglukkaq with 2,469 and Roy with 206.
Wow! This really underscores the accomplishment of her electoral campaign.
It cost less than $25,000 to send a breath of fresh air down to Ottawa. And the other big parties outspent to a big degree, for a real upset… I’m sure the Liberals and Conservatives will have a long hard look at their efforts before the next election, so at least if they lose the campaign, they won’t waste as much money on unsuccessful campaigns.
This likely will put an end to Leona’s efforts in electoral politics for good, as we now see you can’t just throw the most money in the race to make up for all the accumulated baggage over the years.
I imagine Qaqqaq will receive many more individual donations for her next campaign, too, given that she will no longer be the unknown factor of the race next time around.