Carney names Virginia Mearns as Canada’s new Arctic ambassador

By Daron Letts, Nunatsiaq News July 25, 2025
862

QIA calls Iqaluit woman’s appointment ‘milestone achievement’

Canada’s newly named Arctic ambassador Virginia Mearns, right, meets with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed and Gov. Gen. Mary Simon in Inuvik, N.W.T. on Thursday. (Photo courtesy of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami)

Virginia Mearns of Iqaluit has been named to represent the North as Canada’s new Arctic ambassador.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the appointment Thursday in Inuvik, N.W.T., where he co-chaired a meeting of the Inuit-Crown partnership committee meeting alongside Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed.

Mearns served as senior director of Inuit relations with Qikiqtani Inuit Association, prior to her appointment.

It was with “pride and sadness” that QIA received the news, said Karen Flaherty, director of strategic communications with the organization, in a news release Thursday.

“Virginia’s appointment is a milestone achievement,” she said. “While Virginia’s departure marks a tremendous loss for the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, we cannot imagine a more dedicated and visionary representative of Canada in the international arena.”

She said Mearns’ leadership helped shaped policy and guide association initiatives, such as the implementation of its revenue allocation policy.

The ambassador position was a pillar of the federal government’s $34.7-million Arctic foreign policy that was announced late last year.

It was originally created by Jean Chretien’s Liberal government in 1994. The first person to hold the position was current Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, who stayed there for 10 years. The ambassador position was eliminated in 2006 under prime minister Stephen Harper as a cost-saving measure before the idea was revived in December.

As Arctic ambassador, Mearns will work with Canada’s Arctic allies, Indigenous Peoples and provincial and territorial governments to promote the country’s domestic and foreign policy agendas, advance Canada’s Arctic interests and raise awareness of Indigenous rights in the Arctic, according to a news release from Global Affairs Canada.

Mearns previously served as deputy minister and associate deputy minister of Executive and Government Affairs, cabinet secretary, and principal secretary for the Government of Nunavut.

Located in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, Nunatsiaq News is dedicated to covering affairs in Nunavut and the Nunavik territory of Quebec since 1973. It has been a partner to ArcticToday and its predecessors since 2016.