David Qamaniq

David Qajaakuttuk Qamaniq is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the district of Tununiq in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in a by-election on September 16, 2019.^[1] Prior to his election to the legislature, he was a mayor of Pond Inlet;^[2] he ran in the same district in a 2011 by-election, the 2013 Nunavut general election and the 2017 Nunavut general election, losing each time to Joe Enook, and was elected in the by-election following Enook's death in office.

He was a stage actor in his youth, who toured with the Tunooniq Theatre company to perform in Inuit stage plays.^[3] He was most noted for his performance in David Holman's 1993 play Whale,^[4] for which he received a Dora Mavor Moore Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role – Play (Large Theatre).^[5]

Qamaniq filed a wrongful death suit against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in April 2019,^[6] following the possibly racially motivated shooting death of his son Kunuk in 2017.^[7] He did not base his electoral campaign on the lawsuit, however, instead highlighting basic economic and community improvement proposals such as the construction of a new airstrip to serve the community, and the need for infrastructure facilities such as an indoor swimming pool, a playground, and a community hall.^[1]