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Qaqqaq spent less than $25,000 to win federal election; candidate expense reports finally submitted

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.

Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, left, the successful candidate for the NDP party in the 2019 federal election, had the second-lowest contributions and spending totals during the election campaign.
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.