Parties make (not always welcome) connections with Indigenous voters

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/09/2023 (764 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson travelled last week to St. Theresa Point First Nation, one of several campaign stops in northern Manitoba.

The premier was met by an eerie silence as she entered the local school. Hundreds of students and community members lined the hallway and gym, standing silently and dressed in red, carrying signs honouring missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, with messages such as “Search the landfill” and “Every child matters.”

This was not a protest or rally, school staff said. It was a “silent statement” on the premier’s position not to fund a search for the remains of Indigenous women at the Prairie Green Landfill, north of Winnipeg.

After the event, Stefanson issued a statement: “While I respect that not everyone agrees with my position, my stance remains firm: that for health and safety reasons, the answer just has to be no.”

The Liberals and NDP, on the other hand, have promised to support any such search of the privately owned landfill.

Tell anyone this if they think Indigenous people — and voters — don’t care about this upcoming provincial election: they do.

The St. Theresa Point campaign stop was a striking (and somewhat embarrassing) moment for the premier and, at minimum, evidence of a significant communicative gap between her party and Indigenous voters.

To be frank, Indigenous voters have never formed a significant voting base for the PCs, but with nearly 15 per cent of Manitoba’s electorate being Indigenous and approximately 20,000 first-time Indigenous young voters, no party can afford to simply ignore Indigenous votes.

But who will harness this electorate?

On Thursday, Indigenous organizations in Winnipeg held a “rock the vote” rally at the Manitoba legislature. Everyone who spoke at the gathering acknowledged, if appealed to, Indigenous votes could make a difference in the Oct. 3 result.

The question is whether Indigenous voters will be inspired to use their power.

I’ve spent the last week doing an informal poll of about 50 Indigenous voters supporting all three major political parties, asking what they are looking for in the lead-up to next month’s election.

For the most part, they are the same issues all Manitobans care about: poverty and affordability, crime, health care and climate change.

There are, however, some promises catching the eye of First Nations, Métis and Inuit voters.

Among Indigenous voters eyeing the Liberals, for example, there is support for the promise to return to Indigenous child welfare agencies more than $300 million in federal benefit funding instead kept by the Manitoba government.

I also heard they like the Liberal vow of a guaranteed livable income for seniors, changes to Employment and Income Assistance, and a $300-million green fund to support the environment.

One said they would support whomever would adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (which the Liberals have vowed to do).

Indigenous voters are particularly attracted to NDP Leader Wab Kinew and his promise to forge “unity” in the province (although respondents couldn’t really tell me how).

Those I spoke with really like the NDP promise to promote economic livelihood for northern communities, promote resource development and jobs, protect the environment, and end homelessness in 10 years.

Oddly, I didn’t hear as much interest on NDP plans to restore health care. However, there was support for promises to deal with crime through improved bail measures, harsh penalties for drug dealers, and more mental health supports.

The most consistent appreciative comments I heard were for NDP promises on school nutrition programs, a temporary reduction of the gas tax, and stringent rent controls.

Amongst Indigenous voters supporting the Conservatives (about one-sixth of those I spoke to), I heard more interest and engagement in tax cuts then I perhaps expected. Many also were encouraged by promises to hire more health-care workers and health services for downtown Winnipeg.

By far the most positively received promise made by the PCs is the commitment on treaty education for all K-12 schools in the province.

However, all 50 of the Indigenous voters in this informal poll said it is hard to support the PCs — solely on the issue of the landfill search.

Election promises are making some impact on Indigenous voters and an opportunity for all parties to connect with an interested electorate.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca

Niigaan Sinclair
Columnist

Niigaan Sinclair is Anishinaabe and is a columnist at the Winnipeg Free Press.

   Read full biography