Another aboriginal federal-race hopeful

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This article was published 12/12/2014 (4177 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — For the second time this month, a First Nations candidate from the Winnipeg civic election is turning their sights to the federal Liberals.

Rebecca Chartrand, a teacher, community development worker and author, announced this week plans to seek the Liberal nomination in Churchill-Keewatinook Aski.

Chartrand finished second to Mike Paghtakhan in the race to represent the Point Douglas ward in the Winnipeg civic election in October.

“I had a really good run in the civic election,” she said. “I had lots of support from people, even in the Churchill riding, and I’m being strongly encouraged to run by the same people.”

Chartrand was raised in Point Douglas but has worked extensively across northern Manitoba in a number of First Nations. She says her father is from the Pine Creek First Nation, which is actually in the Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette riding.

Chartrand said if she wins the nomination, she will “absolutely” consider moving to the riding but said she doesn’t know where yet. She has connections to York Factory and some good friends in Little Grand Rapids, but she wouldn’t commit to either place yet.

Chartrand is the second civic election candidate to announce a bid for the Liberals at the federal level this month. Robert-Falcon Ouellette intends to seek the nomination in Winnipeg Centre for the Liberals. Ouellette finished third in the Winnipeg mayoral race.

Chartrand said she met with federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau when he was in Winnipeg recently and liked what he had to say. She is a new member of the party but said she has long had a preference for the party, particularly since the Kelowna accord. That $5-billion deal for Canadian aboriginal peoples was struck by then-Liberal prime minister Paul Martin just before he was voted out of office. It was subsequently cancelled by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

She also said the Liberals were the only party she was aware of that had an aboriginal people’s commission that is purposely seeking out aboriginal candidates to run.

Chartrand is on extended leave from her job as an aboriginal education consultant.

There is no one else currently known to be seeking the Liberal nomination for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, and no nomination date has been set.

The current incumbent is NDP MP Niki Ashton, who was elected for the second time in 2011 with just over 50 per cent of the vote.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca