Territorial
Commissioner
Commissioner of Nunavut · Nunavut
Official page (commissioner.gov.nu.ca) Report a problem with this page
How it's filled
- In plain words
- Appointed by the Governor General
- Exact method
- Chief executive officer of Nunavut, appointed by the Governor in Council (the federal Cabinet, formally the Governor General) under the Nunavut Act, s. 5. Acts on written instructions of the Governor in Council or the federal Minister (s. 6); gives assent to bills and appoints the Executive Council on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly. Nunavut is a territory, so it has a Commissioner instead of a Lieutenant Governor.
- Chosen by
- Governor General
- Seats
- 1
Who holds it now
- Lew Phillip Acting Report Source: assembly.nu.ca, checked
Previous holders
- Eva Qamaniq Aariak February 2021, left office by May 2026
Sources
- laws-lois.justice.gc.ca · checked territorial: Nunavut Act, ss. 5-8; Commissioner of Nunavut website (role, deputy). For: Commissioner
- assembly.nu.ca · checked Acting Commissioner: Nunavut Hansard 11 June 2026, pp. 48-49, the Clerk checks whether "the acting commissioner" is ready and Lew Phillip gives assent "As Deputy Commissioner of Nunavut". Authority: Nunavut Act, S.C. 1993, c. 28, s. 8 (https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/N-28.6/page-1.html). For: Lew Phillip, current term
- assembly.nu.ca · checked end_date_precision observed_by: 21 May 2026 is the first official record of the vacancy, not the exact end of her term. For: Eva Qamaniq Aariak, past term
- nunatsiaq.com · checked Nunatsiaq News, 21 May 2026: Aariak retired after a 5-year term; no successor named. Cross-check only. For: Eva Qamaniq Aariak, past term
- assembly.nu.ca · checked Nunavut Hansard 19 March 2026: Opening Address delivered by Commissioner Eva Qamaniq Aariak (last record of her in office). For: Eva Qamaniq Aariak, past term
- assembly.nu.ca · checked Nunavut Hansard 21 May 2026 (unedited), p. 1-2: Speaker thanks "the former commissioner, Eva Aariak, whose office recently ended" and awaits federal appointment of the next commissioner; money message signed by Lew Phillip, Deputy Commissioner. Corrects the earlier claim that she assented to bills on 11 June 2026. For: Eva Qamaniq Aariak, past term
- commissioner.gov.nu.ca · checked territorial: Appointment announced 12 January 2021, sworn in 3 February 2021 (Commissioner of Nunavut website); still Commissioner on Bills 1-4 of the 7th Assembly, assented 11 June 2026 (https://assembly.nu.ca/bills-and-legislation). For: Eva Qamaniq Aariak, past term