The commissioner of Nunavut ( iu, ᑲᒥᓯᓇ ᓄᓇᕗᒧᑦ;

Inuinnaqtun Inuinnaqtun (; natively meaning ''like the real human beings/peoples''), is an indigenous Inuit language. It is spoken in the central Canadian Arctic. It is related very closely to Inuktitut, and some scholars, such as Richard Condon, believe ...

: ''Kamisinauyuq Nunavunmut''; french: Commissaire du Nunavut) is the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

's representative in the territory of Nunavut. The current commissioner since January 14, 2021 is

Eva Aariak Eva Qamaniq Aariak ( iu, ᐄᕙ ᐋᕆᐊᒃ, ; born January 10, 1955) is a Canadian Inuk politician, who was elected in the 2008 territorial election to represent the electoral district of Iqaluit East in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut ...

. The commissioner is appointed to represent the Canadian federal government and performs many of the same duties of lieutenant governors in Canadian provinces, such as swearing in members of the

Legislative Assembly of Nunavut The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut is the legislative assembly for the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The seat of the Assembly is the Legislative Building of Nunavut in Iqaluit. Prior to the creation of Nunavut as a Canadian territory on Apr ...

and approving territorial legislation. However, unlike a lieutenant governor or the

governor general of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

, the commissioner is not a

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

and does not represent the

Canadian monarch The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...

History

The position was created in 1999 with the creation of the new Nunavut territory. Like other territorial commissioners, the commissioner is appointed by the

and represents the Canadian cabinet in the territory. ''Note.'' Prior to April 1, 1999, Nunavut was part of the Northwest Territories. See Commissioners of Northwest Territories.

Deputy commissioner

The role of deputy commissioner was added in 2005 by amending the Public Officer Act and Seals Act to be inline with the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and Northwest Territories.Regulations Amending the Formal Documents Regulations

Living former commissioners

* Peter Irniq * Ann Meekitjuk Hanson *

Nellie Kusugak Nellie Taptaqut Kusugak (born 1955) is a Canadian educator who served as the fifth commissioner of Nunavut from June 2015 to June 2020. Early life Kusugak is from Rankin Inlet. Kusugak received a BEd in 1996 through the Nunavut Teachers Educa ...

Edna Elias Edna Agnes Ekhivalak Elias (born c. 1955) is a Canadian politician from Kugluktuk, Nunavut. On 12 May 2010 she was appointed as the fourth commissioner of Nunavut by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Her term ended on 11 May 2015. Elias, who was i ...

Duties

The duties of the commissioner are similar to that of the lieutenant governors of the provinces. However, since commissioners represent the Government of Canada rather than the Crown, they are not

References

External links

*
Official Handbook for Commissioners of the Territories (Canada)
{{Nunavut * Nunavut Commissioners Nunavut politics-related lists