The Qikiqtani Inuit Association has named Joanna Quassa as Igloolik’s new Community Director, filling the seat left empty by Louis Tapardjuk, who died on April 7, 2026.
Quassa was appointed during a virtual board meeting on May 21 and will serve until December 2026, when the regular election process picks the next person for the job.
As Community Director, she will represent Igloolik on the QIA Board, starting when it meets this June in Iqaluit. The board makes decisions affecting Inuit across 13 Qikiqtani communities.
Quassa previously served as MLA for Aggu from 2021 to 2025 and as mayor of Igloolik. She lost her seat in a December 2025 by-election after the October 2025 general election ended in a tie with Erasmus Ivvalu. Before politics, she worked as a teacher after graduating from Nunavut Arctic College.
Tapardjuk, who held the Community Director role before her, was a former mayor, MLA, and cabinet minister known for his work on Inuit language rights. He was also chair of the Inuit Language Authority at the time of his death at age 73.
