Commissioner of Nunavut

The commissioner of Nunavut (Inuktitut: ᑲᒥᓯᓇ ᓄᓇᕗᒧᑦ, romanized: Kamisin Nunavumut; Inuinnaqtun: Kamisinauyuq Nunavunmut; French: Commissaire du Nunavut) is the Government of Canada's representative in the territory of Nunavut. The current commissioner since January 14, 2021 is Eva Aariak who served as Premier from 2008 to 2013.

Commissioner of Nunavut
ᑲᒥᓯᓇ ᓄᓇᕗᒧᑦ Kamisinauyuq Nunavunmut Commissaire du Nunavut
Badge of the Commissioner of Nunavut
Flag of the Commissioner of Nunavut
Incumbent Eva Aariak since January 14, 2021
Style	The Honourable
Residence	Commissioner's Residence (2554 Paurngaq Crescent)[1]
Appointer	Governor-in-Council
Formation	April 1, 1999
First holder	Helen Maksagak
Website	commissioner.gov.nu.ca

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 and approving territorial legislation. However, unlike a lieutenant governor or the governor general of Canada, the commissioner is not a viceroy and does not represent the Canadian monarch.

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 Government of Canada and represents the Canadian cabinet in the territory.

#	Name	Term	Premiers
1	Helen Maksagak	1999–2000	Paul Okalik
2	Peter Irniq	2000–2005	Paul Okalik
3	Ann Meekitjuk Hanson	2005–2010	Paul Okalik
			Eva Aariak
–[2]	Nellie Kusugak (acting)	2010	Eva Aariak
4	Edna Elias	2010–2015[3]	Eva Aariak
			Peter Taptuna
5	Nellie Kusugak	2015–2020[4][5]	Peter Taptuna
			Paul Quassa
			Joe Savikataaq
–	Rebekah Williams (acting)[5]	2020–2021	Joe Savikataaq
6	Eva Aariak	2021–present[6][7]	Joe Savikataaq
			P.J. Akeeagok

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 and Northwest Territories.^[8]

Name	Term
Helen Maksagak	2005–2009
Nellie Kusugak	2010–2015[9][4]
Rebekah Williams	2019–2022[10]
Lew Philip	2024–present[11]

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 viceroys.