Canada’s indigenous people have long shunned national elections in protest over the colonization of their lands, but First Nation people are expected to come out en masse for the first time on Monday to try to sway the ballot.
The push came from Perry Bellegarde, chief of the Assembly of First Nations, which represents 900,000 members of 634 groups across Canada.
Turnout among First Nations on Canadian reserves was 44 percent in the 2011 elections, compared with 61 percent for the general population.
Bellegarde himself has never voted before in a federal election, but vowed to cast a ballot this round to set an example for First Nations people — in hope of gaining traction in Ottawa on issues important to them.
Since his pitch in August, “there’s been a lot of buzz on social media” calling on First Nations to participate in the democratic process, said Thierry Rodon, a professor of politics at Laval University in Quebec.
First Nations number more than 1.4 million, or 4 percent of the population — theoretically not enough to impact the election results.
However, the race is close between the incumbent Tories, led by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and Thomas Mulcair’s New Democrats.
The assembly has identified 51 electoral districts out of 338 where First Nations votes could decide the winner, either because of a slim margin or a high population of indigenous people.
“We’re telling our members to take the time to vote in order to get a government elected that will work with us on issues important to natives,” said Robert Bertrand of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.
The assembly has not endorsed any of the political parties in this contest, but Bertrand said First Nations “should vote for the party that will best represent our interests in Ottawa.”
The New Democrats and the Liberals have made overtures to First Nations in this campaign, while the Tories have kept quiet.
“It is time for a new era that embraces a true nation to nation relationship [between Canada and its First Nations people] that is built on respect and, above all, makes meaningful progress when it comes to bringing about change,” Mulcair said earlier this month.
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