Megan Pizzo-Lyall announced as Liberal candidate for Nunavut in upcoming election

Megan Pizzo-Lyall will run in the 2019 federal election under the Liberal party banner, she announced Thursday night in Iqaluit alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Pizzo-Lyall is a former Iqaluit city councillor. She was elected to a three-year term in October 2015 but resigned for a job opportunity. She now works as manager of operations for Atuqtuarvik Corporation, a financing and investment company for Inuit-owned businesses.

Pizzo-Lyall made the announcement Thursday at the Black Heart Café, with Trudeau in attendance. The prime minister is in Nunavut to announce plans to create a new protected area off the coast, and also visited the community of Arctic Bay.

During the announcement, Pizzo-Lyall said that she had several priorities for the upcoming campaign.

"Housing, increasing housing," she said. "Eliminating poverty, that's a huge one.

"I'm from a community where the majority of the residents rely on social assistance from the government and it's hard.  And I want people to know that I am going to fight for them."

Hunter Tootoo, the current MP for Nunavut, announced earlier this week that he would not seek re-election. When he was elected he was the Liberal candidate, but he is currently serving as an Independent. 

According to a bio of Pizzo-Lyall, she lives in Rankin Inlet, and grew up in Taloyoak. She lived in Iqaluit for 10 years. She attended Nunavut Sivuniksavut and graduated from Nunavut Arctic College in the Environmental Technology Program. She's worked for the territorial Department of Environment and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association.

Leona Aglukkaq running for Conservatives

Gjoa Haven's Leona Aglukkaq announced her plan to run for the Conservatives in April.

She's a former territorial MLA and was elected as the Conservative member of Parliament for Nunavut for two terms in 2008 and 2011 in Stephen Harper's government.

Aglukkaq was also in cabinet, serving terms as the minister of health, environment, and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

She lost to Tootoo in the 2015 election.

"There's a lot of work to be done, I'm very excited about getting back to politics again," she told CBC in April. 

"You know I served eight years as a cabinet minister in the federal government. I represented Nunavut for eight years and with my experience and background I feel that I can make a difference again."

The NDP and Green Party candidates for Nunavut have not yet been named.

The federal election is scheduled to take place on or before Oct. 21.