Nancy Karetak-Lindell, former MP, appointed as Nunavut Senator

By Nick Murray, The Canadian Press on December 19, 2024.

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon stands with Nancy Karetak-Lindell after investing her in the Order of Canada during a National Indigenous Peoples Day ceremony at Rideau Hall, in Ottawa, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed Karetak-Lindell to the Senate. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA – The first person to ever serve as the member of Parliament for Nunavut is being appointed to the Senate.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will announce the appointment of Nancy Karetak-Lindell to fill Nunavut’s only Senate seat today.

She was elected to Parliament in 1997 after playing a key role in negotiations to establish Nunavut as its own political riding two years before it achieved status as a territory.

She would represent the territory for more than a decade and served for a time as the parliamentary secretary to the minister of natural resources.

She was a key player in the negotiations to establish Nunavut as its own political riding and was the president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada, which represents Inuit at an international level and has status at the United Nations.

The appointment comes nearly a year after the retirement of former Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2024.