Cree Leader Mandy Gull-Masty Wins Big in Federal Election

By Stephen Hendrie

Political junkies almost ran out of popcorn observing the dramatic political changes in Canada and the USA during the six-month stretch between November 2024 and May 2025. The election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, coupled with his threats to annex Canada as the 51st State, and impose punitive tariffs on Canadian industries had a direct effect on our federal politics.

Heading into Christmas 2024, Conservatives had a solid 25-point lead over the Liberals in Canada. A majority Conservative government lead by Pierre Poilievre appeared to be a certainty. This all changed early in 2025 when Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on January 6. The Liberals then held a six-week leadership campaign won by political outsider Mark Carney, who became Prime Minister on March 14, 2025. Within a week he called a federal election for April 28, 2025, mostly fought over who would be best to negotiate a trade deal with Donald Trump.

With Mark Carney as the new leader, the Liberals swiftly turned the tables on the Conservatives, who watched their 25-point lead in the polls evaporate during the spring election. The effect in the huge Nunavik riding – Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou – was just as dramatic. It was held by the Bloc Québécois over the past two elections, since 2019. Sylvie Berubé, based in Val-d’Or was the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP).

Enter Mandy Gull-Masty, the Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees (GCC). She received a 2025 calendar in the mail from the Bloc Québécois MP. “It had zero representation of the Indigenous people that live in the riding, and for whatever reason it got to me,” she said. “It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.” It prompted her to text a contact in the Liberal Party telling them to get a better candidate for the riding. She ended up being that “better candidate.”

Keeping in mind the fast pace of political change in the Canadian political landscape in early 2025, Mandy Gull-Masty expected to conclude her term as Chief of the GCC on schedule and run in the fall of 2025. It didn’t turn out that way. There was a snap spring election. Gull-Masty declined to run because she was still Grand Chief. But the Liberal website still had her as the can-didate, and it became public. The GCC strongly encouraged her to run, and following a three-day meeting passed a resolution fully supporting her.

Her home community is Waswanipi. She’s lived in Kuujjuaraapik with her husband and now has a house in Chibougamau. She joked, “I think I’m going on year nine of living out of a suitcase!”

Observing this from Nunavik, Makivvik President Pita Aatami endorsed Gull-Masty’s candidacy, openly encouraging Nunavimmiut to vote for her in the April 28, 2025 federal election. He met with her during the election campaign when she visited the Nunavik riding in Kuujjuaq. “I had breakfast, and lunch with her. It was Easter weekend. She was the only person that took the time to contact us and ask what our needs were,” said Pita. “We have very similar issues as the Crees, and I had worked with her in the past, trying to see if we can get our own specific riding for the Inuit, Cree, and Naskapi.”

On election day, Mandy Gull-Masty won with a comfortable margin of over 2,400 votes ahead of the second-place candidate Sylvie Berubé. There was controversy in Nunavik as some Elections Canada officials left some Nunavik communities early, before the polls were supposed to close at 9 pm on April 28. Makivvik President Pita Aatami sent a letter expressing his disappointment. “Some people didn’t vote at all because of what happened, and it’s sad to hear the different excuses that were made.”

Elections Canada issued an apology on their website. Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perreault stated, “I deeply regret that some electors in Nunavik were not able to cast their vote. To them, I apologize.” The statement went on to say, “Elections Canada will review the circumstances that led to this situation, as well as the measures taken during this election to improve voting services to Indigenous electors. We will publish the findings.”

Newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney, with a strong minority government, wasted no time in announcing a new federal cabinet. Mandy Gull-Masty was among the 28 members of the new team. History was made on the morning of May 13, 2025 when Gull-Masty was sworn in as the first Indigenous “Indigenous Services Canada” minister. She stood with pride aside Her Excellency Governor General Mary Simon, and Prime Minister Carney for an official photo, signed the Oath Books, and joined the new cabinet in a group photo.

That evening she attended the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) annual event called Tapiriit. The sold-out event is an important networking opportunity among Inuit leaders across Inuit Nunangat, elected federal leaders, media, political observers, and the Inuit community.

ITK President Natan Obed, who had attended the cabinet swearing in ceremony at Rideau Hall that morning commented on Gull-Masty’s election and appointment to cabinet. “She came to Ottawa ready to work, even though she is new to her position, she’s not new to politics, and she’s not new to the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and government,” said Obed. “I first met her at The Vatican, when we travelled to Rome in March 2022. She’s somebody that I look forward to working with and I know is going to be a really strong minister in cabinet.”

Her department has one of the biggest budgets in Ottawa. For 2024-2025 it was approximately $32-billion, up from $27.7-billion in 2023-2024. Created in 2017, the mandate of the department focuses on closing socio-economic gaps, empowering Indigenous communities to deliver their own services, and advancing self-determination.

A key initiative started by the Trudeau government in 2015 was the Inuit Crown Partnership Committee (ICPC). It’s a high-level forum bringing together elected Inuit leaders from the four land claims organizations, ITK, Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada, and Pauktuutit. This forum has been preserved, with the first meeting under Prime Minister Carney’s leadership held in Inuvik on July 24, 2025. The meeting was caught up in Canada’s strategic response to bolster our own economy in the face of the economic and political threats from the USA. Major Arctic infrastructure projects were discussed, as part of the national strategy.

In an ITK press release, Prime Minister Carney stated, “Today’s ICPC meeting was about building our shared future and Inuit Nunangat’s full economic potential. In partnership, Inuit and the federal government will build major projects that connect and transform our economy, create greater prosperity and opportuni-ties, and build a stronger Canada.”

Back in Nunavik Pita Aatami is hopeful that important issues will move forward now that the MP for Nunavik is not only a member of the government, but also a minister. “We’ll have an ear that will actually listen to our issues, being a minister. So, she’ll have a big say of the different issues, whether it’s housing, whether it’s cost of living, or the size of the riding, if there’s a will within government, they can make changes.”

In the space of less than six months, Nunavik has gone from being represented by a back bench separatist MP who had hardly visited the Inuit communities in the second largest riding in Canada, to having an Indigenous MP who is a member of cabinet with a budget of $30-billion. During a year when the 50th anniversary of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement will be commemorated, this bodes well for continued advancement in Nunavik.