Former Kuujjuaq mayor named Liberal candidate for Ungava in Quebec election

Tunu Napartuk, a former mayor of Kuujjuaq, Que., will run inthe riding of Ungavaas acandidate forthe Liberal Party of Quebec in theOct. 3 provincialelection.

Dominique Anglade, the Quebec Liberal leader, said as a member of the National Assembly, Napartuk would be the voice of isolated communities,youth, families, elders and all Indigenous communities.

"Honestly, I don't think we could have a better candidate to represent the north of Quebec," Anglade said at the launch of Napartuk's candidacy in Montreal on Tuesday.

Napartuk, raised in Puvirnituq and Kuujjuaq, speaks Inuktitut, French and English fluently.

At the launch, speaking first in Inuktitut, then in French, Napartuk said he was delighted and honoured to be running for the Liberals.

On Twitter, he called his candidacy an "exciting adventure."

Napartuk, 50, married to Lynn Lemire, is the father of six.

Until recently, he worked as director of compassionate services at Nunavik'sKativikIlisarniliriniq school board.

If elected,Napartuk said he would work to improve school success, lower the cost of living and tackle food security throughout the Ungava riding.

Ungava is the largest geographical riding in Quebec, at about 850,000 square kilometres, but has one of the smallest populations, with 28,314 registered voters for the 2018 election.

Ungava includes several First Nations communities, along with Nunavik.

Turnout forprovincial elections has been relatively lowfor Ungava in the past, with only one in three eligible voters casting ballots in the 2018 election.

Two other candidates have been announced in Ungava the incumbent member of the national assemblyDenis Lamothe,a member of the governingCoalition Avenir Qubec, and Quebec Solidaire's Mate Labrecque-Saganash.