Eva Aariak

Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak grew up in Arctic Bay, a tiny community on the northern tip of Baffin Island. Like most children in the community, Eva went south to Churchill, Manitoba to finish her high school studies and came to Ottawa for her post-secondary education. Her mother worked as an interpreter at the local health centre, her father was with the Hudson's Bay Company. Eva enjoyed a varied career, working as a journalist with the CBC, owner of a arts and crafts store in Iqaluit, and served as the first Languages Commissioner for Nunavut. Aariak was first elected as an MLA in 2008 and under the territory's consensus style government was chosen as the Premier of Nunavut, becoming the first woman to lead the territory. Eva is the mother of four children and grandmother of two, she spoke to Catherine Clark in Ottawa about her life Beyond Politics.