Hunter Tootoo
Hunter A. Tootoo PC (Inuktitut: Hᐊᓐᑕ ᑐᑐ; born August 18, 1963) is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Nunavut from 2015 to 2019. Elected as a Liberal to the House of Commons, he was appointed Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard by Justin Trudeau on November 4, 2015. Tootoo resigned from that position on May 31, 2016, to take a leave from Parliament to seek treatment for alcohol addiction. He returned to Parliament by the end of July 2016 after the completion of his treatment program, but sat as an independent member for the remainder of the 42nd Parliament and did not run for re-election.
Hunter Tootoo
Hᐊᓐᑕ ᑐᑐ
Hᐊᓐᑕ ᑐᑐ
Territory Established
Riding Dissolved
August 18, 1963
Rankin Inlet, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut)[2]
Liberal[3]
New Democratic (1997-1999)
Before federal politics, Tootoo served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, where he represented the riding of Iqaluit Centre from 1999 to 2013. Tootoo was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2013. He was a member of the New Democratic Party from 1997 to 1999.[4][5]
Early life and career[edit]
Tootoo was born in Rankin Inlet, the son of Batiste Tootoo, an Inuk, and Sally Luttmer (née Wolfe), originally from Montreal and descended from Lithuanian Jewish immigrants.[6] He is a businessman in northern Canada, and was the co-founder of the Iqaluit branch of Arctic Insurance Brokers Ltd. Tootoo is a former member of the Northwest Territories Co-op Business Development Board, the Sport North Board of Directors, and Arctic Co-operatives Ltd.[5]
Tootoo has long been involved in government administration. He served as regional coordinator for the town of Arviat in 1993. He became the administration officer for the NWT Department of Recreation and Tourism in 1995, and was named as the corporate control officer of the NWT Department of Finance later in the same year. In 1997, he became assistant director of the NWT Housing Corporation in Iqaluit. Tootoo was a member of the Public Service Alliance of Canada in this period.[5]
Post-political career[edit]
In 2020, Tootoo became the president of the Nunavut Curling Association.[17]
Personal life[edit]
Tootoo is the cousin of hockey player Jordin Tootoo and the nephew of Manitoba NDP MLA George Hickes. Tootoo's mother is Jewish from Montreal. Tootoo is also an avid curler. He has played for the Nunavut team at three Canadian Curling Club Championships (2013,[18] 2019 and 2021).[19] In 2021, Tootoo was a member of the Wade Kingdon team at the Nunavut Brier Playdowns. They lost in a best-of-five series, three games to two.[20][21]