Madeleine Redfern is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 Inuit politician, who was elected mayor of Iqaluit, Nunavut

Nunavut

Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...

 in a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 on December 13, 2010. She was born in Frobisher Bay, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut)

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

.

Redfern graduated from the Akitsiraq Law School

Akitsiraq Law School

Akitsiraq Law School is a legal education program designed to increase the number of lawyers in Nunavut and the Canadian Arctic, including a program leading to a Bachelor of Laws Degree in Iqaluit, Nunavut....

 before becoming the first Inuk

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

 to be offered a clerkship at the Supreme Court of Canada

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...

. She was selected by outgoing Justice Louise Arbour

Louise Arbour

Louise Arbour, is the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda...

 to clerk under her replacement, Justice Louise Charron

Louise Charron

Louise Charron is a Canadian jurist. She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in October, 2004, and is the first native-born Franco-Ontarian Supreme Court judge...

.

Redfern has been a businessperson, consultant and social advocate in Iqaluit, and was most recently the executive director of the Qikiqtani Truth Commission, looking into the legacy of historical effects of federal government policies on Eastern Arctic Inuit during the period from the 1950s through the 1980s. She ran as a candidate for the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut

Legislative Assembly of Nunavut

The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, Canada, is located in Iqaluit, and is the territory's parliament.The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut was opened by Queen Elizabeth II, as Queen of Canada, on 7 October 2002, during her Golden Jubilee tour of Canada...

 in the 2008 territorial election

Nunavut general election, 2008

The Third Nunavut General Election took place on October 27, 2008 to return members to the 3rd Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. The election was contested across 15 of Nunavut's 19 electoral districts under the first past the post system of voting...

 in Iqaluit Centre

Iqaluit Centre

Iqaluit Centre is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, Canada.The riding consists of the community of Iqaluit.The current Member of the Legislative Assembly is Hunter Tootoo.-1999 election:-2004 election:...

, but lost to incumbent MLA Hunter Tootoo

Hunter Tootoo

Hunter Tootoo is a politician in Nunavut, Canada. He is a current member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, and has also sought election to the Canadian House of Commons....

.

She is an outspoken critic of Nunavut's government. "We live in a chilly banana republic,” she said of the territorial government, a short time before becoming mayor.

Electoral record

2008 Nunavut general election Nunavut general election, 2008 The Third Nunavut General Election took place on October 27, 2008 to return members to the 3rd Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. The election was contested across 15 of Nunavut's 19 electoral districts under the first past the post system of voting...
	Name	Vote	%	Hunter Tootoo Hunter Tootoo Hunter Tootoo is a politician in Nunavut, Canada. He is a current member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, and has also sought election to the Canadian House of Commons....	317	61.7%	Madeleine Redfern	146	28.4%	Joe Sageaktook	51	9.9%
Total Valid Ballots		514	100%
Voter Turnout		Rejected Ballots

Iqaluit mayoral by-election, 2010
	Name	Vote	%	Madeleine Redfern	377	30.26	Allen Hayward	314	25.20	Paul Kaludjak	314	25.20	Jim Little	241	19.34
Total Valid Ballots		1246	100%
Voter Turnout %		Rejected Ballots: 16