Tough choices for Indigenous voters in key Prairie ridings

In order to understand the Indigenous vote in next week’s federal election, two ridings will tell the story.

The first is Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River in northern Saskatchewan, where First Nations voters make up 67.6 per cent of the electorate, 15 Métis communities exist, and a small but significant proportion of Denesuline and Inuit peoples reside.

The riding also features an all-Indigenous slate. Jim Lemaigre (Conservative) is a member of Clearwater River Dene Nation, Buckley Belanger (Liberal) is Métis and Doug Racine (NDP) is a descendant of Red River Métis peoples.

Electoral boundary redrawing has also reallocated a handful Conservative-leaning Saskatchewan towns to the south — which is why Conservative incumbent and former Meadow Lake mayor Gary Vidal decided not to run again.

The riding has been a battleground between the Conservative party and the NDP since 2008 but is now at risk of being picked up by the Liberals, as pollsters such as 338Canada claim 59 per cent of eligible voters are swaying red, 25 per cent blue and 15 per cent orange.

Indigenous voters, of course, aren’t immune to the overwhelming influence of U.S. President Donald Trump, but this riding is equally influenced by other factors, including candidate strength, histories with political parties in power and, by far the most important, party platform promises on Indigenous issues.

Both the Conservatives and Liberals promise resource-development agendas that build projects in the “national interest” and require Indigenous consultation.

Both also promise to make Indigenous communities financial partners.

For Liberals, this means doubling of the “Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program” (from $5 billion to $10 billion) so Indigenous peoples basically co-own projects.

Conservatives are promising virtually the same idea called a “Canadian Indigenous Opportunities Corporation” but have added “an optional First Nations Resource Charge” — an idea I wrote about in a column and criticized as short-sighted.

The main difference is that Liberals have much more in their platform than just resource development.

The term “Indigenous,” in fact, appears dozens of times throughout their party platform, which addresses food sovereignty, environmental co-stewardship, funding Jordan’s Principle, increasing lands on First Nations and one promise that deserves much attention: to pass legislation affirming a human right to clean drinking water.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, have a couple of promises beyond resource development, such as “supporting Indigenous languages and culture through community-led media and education” and “supporting housing and infrastructure in Indigenous communities” but these are vague and the words “Indigenous rights” do not appear in their platform.

For Indigenous voters, that simple difference likely makes the choice between Canada’s two leading parties clear in a riding such as Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River.

Meanwhile, in the riding of Churchill —Aski Keewatinook in northern Manitoba, arguably the most interesting battle for Indigenous votes in the country is happening between NDP incumbent Niki Ashton and popular Liberal candidate Rebecca Chartrand.

This is the second time these two candidates have faced off, with Ashton winning by three percentage points in the 2015 federal election. This time, 338Canada has Chartrand with a slim lead — 37 per cent to 36 per cent); the Conservatives are a distant third.

Once again, Indigenous voters are the primary constituency in this riding, with First Nations voters making up 64.1 per cent of the electorate, 30 Métis communities, and Inuit and Dene people throughout the region.

In this riding, party platforms don’t really make the difference. Both parties are progressive and, while at varying degrees, have stated commitments to Indigenous rights, inclusion and addressing issues including poverty, water and land.

The Liberals, in fact, have a track record of 10 progressive years on Indigenous issues while the NDP has never been in power but has maintained a role advocating for Indigenous communities.

With little differences between party platforms, candidate strength is vital.

While Ashton has been 17 years in office and has developed a strong voice, her integrity has come into question after she billed taxpayers for a family trip and was stripped of her federal critic role after travelling to Greece during the COVID-19 pandemic when Canadians and her Indigenous constituents had to stay at home.

Chartrand, meanwhile, has gained much attention as a strong Anishinaabe, Inninew, Dakota and Métis leader who has worked in education, anti-racism and business. She represents several constituencies the federal Liberals want — indeed, need — and is widely expected to hold a significant role in Mark Carney’s cabinet if she wins.

At the same time, Donald Trump will be a significant factor in Indigenous minds at the ballot box — particularly considering his policies and threats that exacerbate poverty and inspire Canada’s two major political parties to make resource development their main focus.

In that scenario, Indigenous voters have to decide if they want Ashton and her 17-year track record of advocacy or Chartrand advising Mark Carney at the country’s decision-making tables.

The question of whether it is best to be outside or inside the circles of power is a question Indigenous peoples face all the time; on Monday, in Churchill Aski Keewatinook, voters will give us an answer.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca

Niigaan Sinclair
Columnist

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

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