Parti Québécois candidate Sonia Caron won the Ungava riding with almost 40% of the vote in the October 5 provincial election as her party secured a minority government. Denis Lamothe of the Coalition Avenir Québec had represented the riding since 2018, but perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, retired before his party was shut out of the National Assembly.
Caron is very familiar with northern Quebec. She began her teaching career in the Nunavik community of Inukjuak in 2003 before returning home to Chibougamau, where she continues to reside. Before making the leap into politics, Caron was the director of professional development at the Centre de services scolaire de la Baie-James, which oversees northern Quebec’s trades programs.
She has worked with Cree and Inuit partners while sitting on several boards of directors, including the Assembly of Partners of the Société du Plan Nord, the Quebec National Mining Institute and the Regional Council of Labour Market Partners.
“We worked with the Cree School Board and Cree Health Board to organize training to make sure there is manpower in the organization to provide services,” said Caron. “I don’t pretend that I know everything, but I’ve always worked closely with Eeyou Istchee people.”
Caron told the Nation she wants to establish positive relations between regional leaders and new provincial ministers. She said there’s already been contact between Grand Chief Paul John Murdoch and PQ Indigenous Affairs Minister Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay.
“It’s the major priority to have a solid base and after we can build together,” said Caron. “Simon-Pierre is aware we need to work differently with our Nations up North. It’s not the same needs and governance. We have to make sure we understand each other well to have a strong relationship for the future.”
Appointed Parliamentary Assistant to Education Minister Joël Arseneau, Caron hopes to highlight the realities of schools in remote regions. She believes development must be rooted in decentralization, saying her education background helps her address issues at their source.
Witnessing deficiencies in frontline healthcare and other public services, she says a long history of northern concerns are misunderstood. After 25 years working in education, Caron is frustrated that the same issues arise again and again.
“It is the only way now in my career I can help my North,” Caron asserted. “My daughter is 18 years old and I want her to come back after her studies. But if it goes on like this, in 10 years I cannot imagine. I’ll go work in an elementary school in Quebec City.”
Visiting childhood friends in Ouje-Bougoumou and Mistissini during her campaign, Caron sought to understand Cree concerns that she can now raise with government colleagues. Advancing relationships forged by past PQ premiers René Lévesque and Bernard Landry, she intends to consult hunters and trappers to address gaps in the application of previous agreements.
“The Parti Québécois is sensitive about how those agreements weren’t applied like they were at first sight,” said Caron. “We want to work hand-in-hand with the First Nations and Inuit to make sure we’re not just a territory where our resources are exploited. I’m tired of fly-in-fly-out manpower – my vision is for people in the territory to develop the territory, not some companies from down south.”
Including Eeyou Istchee and Nunavik, Ungava is Quebec’s geographically largest riding. As usual, it had a far lower voter turnout: only 27.6% of registered voters cast ballots this election. Voting documents sent only in French may have contributed to the low turnout.
After the last general election, Élections Québec reached out to Inuit, Cree, Innu and Atikamekw communities to better understand their voting challenges. Spokesperson Julie St-Arnaud Drolet said their request to send bilingual documentation was rejected several times by the CAQ government.
While an Élections Québec team visited Eeyou Istchee for election preparations, some Crees couldn’t vote because they weren’t on the electoral list. Charles Hester discovered he wasn’t on the Waskaganish list despite having the same address as previous elections.
“They couldn’t explain why I was not on the list and I didn’t know either,” Hester told the CBC. “If I was informed previously and told that I’d have to register, maybe something could have been done, but I did not receive anything in the mail.”
The Grand Council of the Crees congratulated PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon for his victory, expressing hope for constructive dialogue on Cree priorities.
“The Cree Nation has a longstanding relationship with Quebec and will continue to affirm the importance of our meaningful participation in any discussions that may affect our lands, rights and future,” stated the GCC.
Many Cree are skeptical of Plamondon’s promise for a referendum on independence. Convinced that independence is the only way to adequately address Quebec’s vision and needs, Caron affirmed, “Quebecers want the same thing that the Crees want – we don’t want others to decide for us.”
While she won’t be responsible for many files that the Cree Nation is coordinating with the province, Caron wants to be kept in the communications loop to ensure northern realities are reflected in future policies.
“It’s because I care about the North that I am in politics right now,” said Caron. “I want the First Nations, Inuit and Jamesian people to believe I’ll do everything I can to push our priorities. We will work together in transparency. That’s the kind of relationship I want with everyone up North.”