Herb Nakimayak, from Paulatuk, was elected president of Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Canada by its 13 leadership members on July 21 in Iqaluit. Nakimayak, who has served as interim president since September 2025, received 11 votes to defeat challenger Kilikvak Kabloona, who garnered two votes. Nakimayak is expected to serve as president until the next scheduled election in 2030. ICC Canada is the Canadian chapter of the international organization representing Inuit, which includes peoples in Russia (Chukotka), Alaska, the Northwest Territories (Inuvialuit), Nunavut, Northern Quebec (Nunavik), Labrador (Nunatsiavut) and Greenland. Nakimayak said he won the election by managing the organization through a turbulent period when the Arctic was becoming a global flashpoint. “The way the geopolitics are in this world, ICC, we’ve been successful in ensuring that we can still implement their mandate, with the geopolitics, and also that we continue to work with the ICC leadership in ensuring that our message is brought out to the rest of the world from the grassroots, which is here at home,” Nakimayak said. Navigating the treacherous waters of U.S. claims on Greenland, Russia’s war on Ukraine, and Chinese icebreakers in Arctic waters has put pressure on the ICC to stand up for Inuit sovereignty — all part of council discussions preceding the presidential vote. The Arctic should remain a zone of peace and the ICC cannot intervene in conflicts between states, Nakimayak explained. ICC Canada will continue to campaign against European Union rules banning the sale of seal skin products as well as the recent decision by online retailer Etsy to prohibit fur product sales, Nakimayak promised. “All the longstanding data that we have on the ringed seals is actually utilized to bring to the European Union and the rest of the world to show that the seals are doing fine right now,” he said. He added that he was too busy leading ICC Canada as interim president to campaign ahead of the election. The organization is in a much different place than it was just a few years ago, according to Nakimayak. “It’s been a whirlwind presenting the status of where ICC is right now as compared to where it was when when Natan [Obed] had to take over, and then September, when I was appointed as interim acting chair. I thought it would be the end of ICC, of us,” Nakimayak said in his acceptance speech. Obed, president of national association Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and one of the 13 voters, took the helm of ICC Canada for eight months before Nakimayak was appointed interim president. Nakimayak served as MLA for his home region of Nunakput from 2015 to 2019 in the NWT legislative assembly. He was previously elected ICC Canada vice-president, of international affairs for two terms, stretching from 2014 to 2018 and then again from 2022 to September 2025. Kabloona, his challenger, had most recently served as CEO of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) from December 2018 to June 2026. But Kabloona ceased to hold the position days after Gloria Uluqsi was elected president of NTI. Uluqsi, who was also one of the 13 voting members in the ICC Canada election, declined to explain why Kabloona was no longer CEO of NTI back in June. Nakimayak and Kabloona were both given 10 minutes to pitch their platforms to the 13 Inuit leaders who make up ICC Canada, and then 20 minutes to answer questions. The same questions were asked of each candidate, on the suggestion of Makivvik Corporation President Pita Aatami, who represents Nunavik Inuit. Kabloona presented first, reading from a prepared statement and waited a handful of seconds in silence for the first question. In contrast, Nakimayak said he hadn’t prepared a pitch and spoke entirely off the cuff, joking with the 13 voters about how the following day was his birthday. Both candidates were asked how they would manage ICC Canada’s position of peace in a world of increasing conflict and what their management style would be. The 13 leaders of ICC Canada who voted in the presidential election were: -Erwin Elias, chair of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation -Warren Esau, vice-chair of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation -Darrel Nasogaluak, board member of Inuvialuit Regional Corporation -Gloria Uluqsi, president of NTI -Paul Irngaut, vice-president of NTI -Olayuk Akesuk, president of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association -Johannes Lampe, president of the Nunatsiavut Government -Roxanne Barbour, minister of health and social development at the Nunatsiavut Government -Gerald Asivak, minister of education and economic development at the Nunatsiavut Government -Pita Aatami, president of Makivvik Corporation -Adamie Delisle Alaku, vice-president of the Department of Environment, Wildlife and Research at the Makivvik Corporation -George Berthe, treasurer of the Makivvik Corporation -Natan Obed, vice-president of national affairs at ICC Canada
Herb Nakimayak elected Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada president
