Here are some of Nunavik’s biggest news stories of 2025
Water emergency and a historic milestone with a land claims treaty made headlines this year
Every year, CBC North publishes thousands of stories online, from breaking news and political coverage, to crime stories, community features and much more.
In 2025, Nunavik experienced the gamut — emergencies, voting issues and some major milestones.
Here are some of the biggest stories out of the northern Quebec region this year.
The fight to be heard: 50 years of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement
In April 1971, four years before signing the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA), Quebec’s premier Robert Bourassa unveiled his “project of the century” — a plan to harness the huge hydroelectric potential of the province’s northern region as a means to both boost the economy and keep up with growing demand.
But the project was met with stiff opposition among the Cree and Inuit, who felt the proposed reservoirs would threaten their traditional ways of life.
After years of negotiating, Indigenous leaders signed the agreement on Nov. 11, 1975. It gave the Cree and Inuit more autonomy over education, health care and economic development within their territories — unprecedented concessions in Canadian history.
But in exchange, the Cree and Inuit had to abandon their rights and claims to the vast majority of their traditional territories.
Read more about the treaty here.
Puvirnituq struggles with a water emergency
For months, residents in Puvirnituq had limited water delivery, or no water at all.
The village’s pipeline, which connects the water pumping station to the treatment plant, froze in March. That forced the village to drive farther out of town to truck in water and have it manually chlorinated, slowing delivery to the community of roughly 2,100 people.
Of particular concern were the cuts in water to the hospital, which was forced to closed due to unsanitary conditions. All this happened as the village struggled with a rise in gastroenteritis cases.
The situation eventually triggered the northern village to declare a state of emergency.
Read more about the water crisis here.
Nunavik's 14 mayors call for public health emergency over tuberculosis cases
In June, all 14 mayors in the region teamed up to demand the provincial government declare a public health emergency as tuberculosis cases reached the highest reported level in recent history.
"These statistics are a direct reflection of colonial systemic racism that continues to dictate health policy and resource allocation in Quebec," the mayors wrote. "Inuit in Nunavik are not treated as equal citizens under Quebec's health system."
The mayors collectively described the state of Nunavik's health services as "abhorrent," alleging there aren't enough qualified staff, there are high levels of burnout and turnover, and basic health resources for tuberculosis — like testing kits and lab services — aren't readily available, if they're available at all.
Read more about their call here.
Federal voting booths closed early — or didn’t open at all — in some Nunavik villages
Many Nunavimmiut didn't get the chance to cast their vote in April’s federal election.
Polling booths in half of the region’s 14 villages closed early, and in two communities there were no voting services at all.
At the time, Elections Canada said weather issues on election day were affecting flights for workers, and in some cases, the agency failed to recruit local teams.
Some Nunavimmiut felt they were stripped of their right to vote, and that it was another example of Inuit being left behind by politicians and government officials who claim they’re engaging with Indigenous people.
Read more about what happened here.
Nunavimmiut have wound back their clocks for the last time
Starting next year, Nunavik will stay permanently on daylight time. The rest of Quebec, however, has no plans to do the same yet.
The change means that once Nunavimmiut switch to daylight time next March, there will be no more seasonal time changes to "spring forward" or "fall back."
In November, Makivvik, the organization representing Inuit in Nunavik, confirmed the region had set its clocks back in the fall for the last time.
Some Nunavimmiut worry about the logistical challenges that could occur, though leaders in other communities which have already stopped changing their clocks say they have no regrets.
Read more about the change here.