First Nations leaders, candidates reach out to mobilize Indigenous voters
Voting is 'a sacred responsibility,' one grand chief in Manitoba says
Tania Cameron is logging a lot of time in her 2023 Ford Explorer these days.
"I'm already at 2,700 kilometres and 52 hours of drive time since the start of the campaign," Cameron said on a recent visit to Washagamis Bay First Nation, about 20 minutes southwest of Kenora, Ont.
"I am doing my best to get to every little town, every big city and all the First Nations in the riding. That's my goal. Whether I can get to all of it, we'll see."
Cameron is the NDP candidate for Kenora-Kiiwetinoong — the second-largest Ontario riding, covering one-third of the province. It's home to 38 First Nations, many of them remote.
It's one of 36 ridings across the country where the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) says the outcome of this federal election could be determined by First Nations voters. In these ridings, the percentage of First Nations voters is higher than 2021's margin of victory or where they are 10 per cent or more of all eligible voters.
But Indigenous people are less likely to vote than non-Indigenous people. Every province and territory saw a decline in Indigenous voter turnout in 2021, according to Elections Canada.
First Nations leaders recognize that concern, and are encouraging community members to learn everything they need to get out and cast their ballots.
And candidates like Cameron are reaching out to people who may be interested in voting, even if others in their communities may not want to take part at all.
"If you want to participate in this colonized system of governance, then you are welcome to. If you don't want to, I totally respect that," said Cameron, a member of the Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty 3.
She acknowledges some Indigenous people don't vote, because they view First Nations as sovereign within Canada. To some, voting could be seen as casting their own governing systems as illegitimate. First Nations were granted the right to vote federally in 1960.
Charles Fox, the Liberal candidate for Kenora-Kiiwetinoong, said there's a "hangover" from the time First Nations weren't allowed to participate in mainstream society. Many older Indigenous people have never voted, and young people haven't been taught the process, so he's also doing a lot of education on the doorstep.
For some, part of the challenge is having appropriate identification. Fox is directing residents to a list of acceptable documents on Elections Canada's website.
"I'm appealing to the leadership. I'm appealing to the younger generation.… We've got to participate. And that's my rationale for running. I'm not running for myself. I'm running for the future," said Fox, a member of the Bearskin Lake First Nation and former Nishnawbe Aski Grand Chief and Ontario Regional Chief.
"If you're going to influence policies in this country, we have to participate in this exercise, get a Member of Parliament into the House — the big house, as I tell them, the big band office. And he's got to be or she's got to be part of that debate to influence policy with the governing party."
'First Nations votes matter'
First Nations leaders recognize that concern, which is why they're encouraging Indigenous people to get educated on what they need, find out where to go, and then get out to cast their ballots.
For example, in Manitoba, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, and Southern Chiefs' Organization (SCO) have joined together to launch "Rock the Vote" campaigns.
The goal is "to show to the electorate in Canada that First Nations votes matter," said SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels.
"We've got to show it through our vote. It's a sacred responsibility … so that when decisions are being made, they're made with your thoughts and your values in mind."
SCO Youth Chief Billy Bird, 18, will be voting in his first election on Apr. 28. He's been researching his local candidates and the federal party platforms, and has already made plans to go to the polls with his friends.
"It's up to us to empower the next generation to come and to get familiar with these positions and these opportunities. I think we have a really big influence in this election and I think that it's crucial that we get the youth to vote," he said.
"You know, we're still strong. We're still resilient. And we're still rising as Indigenous youth."
Daniels and Bird shared that message, and voting information, on the organization's podcast Fireside Chats.
Indigenous issues at the wayside this election
Although all three main parties have platforms on Indigenous issues, they haven't gotten much attention in this campaign. Daniels said that's making it difficult to generate interest for some First Nations people.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh conceded that in Timmins last weekend, as he unveiled his plan for northern Ontario.
"I would say those critics are right," he said.
"I challenge the other parties to make Indigenous issues a fundamental and important issue in this campaign because it is fundamental and important."
The AFN is reminding federal politicians not to overlook Indigenous priorities, including economic reconciliation, the well-being of First Nations children, and community safety and security.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre are offering similar-sounding energy development plans that would involve dealing with landholder rights, protected areas and Indigenous communities.
"[Some leaders are] talking about wanting to start mines up north and stuff like that. And those natives don't want that," said John Wassaykeesic, a resident of Washagamis Bay.
Back in Kenora, Fox says he's hearing many of the same concerns from Indigenous and non-Indigenous voters in his riding, including tariffs and sovereignty threats from the United States, the cost of living, health, homelessness and addiction, infrastructure, and resource development.
"I can bring the two societies together to address common issues," he said. "I've been doing this for most of my life."
CBC News reached out multiple times to Kenora–Kiiwetinoong incumbent and Conservative candidate Eric Melillo — who also happens to be the associate shadow minister for Crown-Indigenous Relations — but his campaign didn't respond.
With files from Cameron MacIntosh