Peter Ittinuar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Peter Ittinuar
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| ᐲᑎᕐ ᐃᑦᑎᓄᐊᕐ | |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Nunatsiaq |
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| In office 22 May 1979 – 4 September 1984 |
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| Preceded by | Riding established |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Suluk |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 19, 1950 Chesterfield Inlet, Northwest Territories (Now Nunavut) |
| Political party | New Democratic Party (1979-1982, 1993-2008) Liberal Party (1982-1984) Independent (1984-1993) Green Party (2008-present) |
Peter Freuchen K. Ittinuar (born January 19, 1950) is an important Canadian politician. He made history as the first Inuk person in Canada to be elected as a Member of Parliament (MP). An MP is someone who represents a specific area, called an electoral district, in the Canadian government. Peter Ittinuar represented the area of Nunatsiaq in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1984.
About Peter Ittinuar
Early Life and Education
Peter Ittinuar was born in Chesterfield Inlet, which was then part of the Northwest Territories and is now in Nunavut. His grandfather was a famous Danish explorer named Peter Freuchen.
When he was young, Peter Ittinuar spent some time studying in Ottawa, Ontario. He was there with two friends from his childhood, Zebedee Nungak and Eric Tagoona. All three of them later became important leaders who worked to protect the rights of the Inuit people.
They didn't know it at the time, but the government had moved them to Ottawa as part of a plan. This plan was an experiment to see if Inuit children could be made to live more like people from other cultures. This story and what happened because of it are shown in a documentary film called The Experimental Eskimos (2009).
His Political Journey
Peter Ittinuar first became an MP with the New Democratic Party. But on November 26, 1982, he decided to join the Liberal Party. This happened shortly after a government minister announced plans to give the Inuit more control over their own government. These plans included dividing the Northwest Territories into two new areas, which eventually led to the creation of Nunavut.
In 1984, Peter Ittinuar faced some serious accusations about how he used his parliamentary budget. While he was suspended from his party for a short time, he was later found not guilty of these accusations.
He tried to be re-elected in the 1984 federal election but was not successful. Another politician named Thomas Suluk won the election instead.
Later, in 1993, Peter Ittinuar wanted to run for the New Democratic Party again. However, the leader of the party at that time did not support his plan.
In 2008, while living in southern Ontario, Peter Ittinuar ran for the Green Party in the Nunavut area during the federal election. He did not win this election either.
Election Results
| Canadian federal election, 2008: Nunavut | ||||||||
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Leona Aglukkaq | 2,806 | 34.78 | +5.72 | $59,574 | |||
| Liberal | Kirt Ejesiak | 2,359 | 29.24 | −10.74 | $59,600 | |||
| New Democratic | Paul Irngaut | 2,228 | 27.62 | +10.47 | $20,095 | |||
| Green | Peter Ittinuar | 675 | 8.37 | +2.45 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 8,068 | 100.0 | $80,098 | |||||
| Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +8.23
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| Canadian federal election, 1984: Nunatsiaq | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Thomas Suluk | 2,237 | 32.49 | +24.71 | ||||
| Liberal | Robert Kuptana | 1,990 | 28.90 | −12.90 | ||||
| New Democratic | Rhoda Innuksuk | 1,973 | 28.65 | −18.61 | ||||
| Independent | Peter Ittinuar | 686 | 9.96 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes | 6,886 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative gain from New Democratic | Swing | +18.80 | ||||||
| Independent candidate Peter Ittinuar lost 37.31 percentage points from the 1980 election, when he ran as a New Democrat. | ||||||||
| Canadian federal election, 1980: Nunatsiaq | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Peter Ittinuar | 2,688 | 47.27 | +10.99 | ||||
| Liberal | James Arvaluk | 2,377 | 41.80 | +15.81 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Lyle Stevenson | 442 | 7.77 | −18.22 | ||||
| Rhinoceros | Lloyd Ellsworth | 180 | 3.17 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes | 5,687 | 100.00 | ||||||
| New Democratic hold | Swing | −2.41
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| Canadian federal election, 1979: Nunatsiaq | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| New Democratic | Peter Ittinuar | 1,963 | 37.74 | |||||
| Liberal | Tagak Curley | 1,887 | 36.27 | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Abe Okpik | 1,352 | 25.99 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 5,202 | 100.00 | ||||||
| This riding was created from part of Northwest Territories, where New Democrat Wally Firth was the incumbent. | ||||||||
