Canadian Energy Person 2004

The Energy Council of Canada warmly congratulates Nellie Cournoyea, as Energy Person of 2004. 

Nellie Cournoyea

Nellie Cournoyea

Nellie Cournoyea is the Chair/CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC). The corporation was established in 1985 with the mandate to receive the Inuvialuit lands and financial compensation resulting from the 1984 land claim settlement. Today it has assets in excess of $267 million.

Before her election as Chair of IRC, Ms. Cournoyea was Premier of the Northwest Territories for four years beginning November 1991. Representing the Western Arctic riding of Nuakput from 1979 to November 1995, Ms. Cournoyea held a number of portfolios including:

• Minister of Health and Social Services
• Minister Responsible for the Northwest
• Territories Power Corporation Minister of Renewable Resources
• Minister of Culture and Communications
• Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
• Minister of Public Works and Highways
• Minister Responsible for Workers' Compensation Board

Born in Aklavik in 1940, Ms. Cournoyea was educated through the Federal Aklavik Day School by Alberta correspondence courses. She worked at CBC Inuvik for nine years as an announcer and station manager and has been a land claim fieldworker for the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (ITC). Ms. Cournoyea was a founding member, and later administrator and land rights worker, of the Committee of Original Peoples' Entitlement (COPE).

Ms. Cournoyea was the first managing director of the Inuvialuit Development Corporation after being part of the land rights negotiating team. She also held the position of implementation coordinator for the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) for several years, and served on the Board of Directors of the Inuvialuit Petroleum Arbitration Board. Having decided not to run in the 1995 NWT Election, Ms. Cournoyea returned to the Beaufort-Delta. In January 1998, she was re-elected Chair/CEO of IRC for an additional two-year term.

In a volunteer capacity, Ms. Cournoyea served as a director of the Ingamo Hall Friendship Centre in Inuvik and a founding member of the Northern Games Society. Continuing volunteer communities include work in Inuvialuit historical and cultural activities.

Awards received included:

• Woman of Year Award (NWT Native Women's Assn.) 1982
• Wallace Goose Award (Inuvialuit Regional Corporation) 1986
• National Aboriginal Achievement Award 1994
• Honorary Doctorates in Law (Lakehead University 1995; Carleton University 1996 and the University of Toronto 1996

The Energy Council of Canada warmly congratulates Nellie Cournoyea, as Energy Person of 2004. Her appointment by the Energy Council follows in the illustrious steps of James Gray in 2001, Richard Drouin in 2002, and Eric Newell in 2003. The award was formally presented in absentia in Ottawa on Tuesday 26 October 2004.

The event has been summarized by your President in the October 2004 Report from the President. See the downloads section at the bottom of this page for Nellie Cournoyea's Speech of Acceptance, and Chairman Sigvaldason's timely Energy Council Overview.