Hundreds of First Nation chiefs from across the country will begin voting for the next national chief of the Assembly of First Nations this morning in Vancouver.
The vote begins at 9 a.m. local time as chiefs, or their proxies, cast ballots for one of five candidates vying to lead the country’s most prominent First Nation organization for the next three years.
There are so far 522 eligible voters registered to cast ballots and the winner will be declared once a candidate secures 60 per cent of the vote.
B.C has the largest contingent of chiefs, with 155 registered to vote, and they could prove decisive in electing the winner, according to data released Tuesday evening.
Ontario has the second-largest block of chiefs present in Vancouver with 120 chiefs and proxies registered to vote, followed by Saskatchewan with 64, Manitoba with 50, Alberta with 29 and 26 from Quebec.
Sheila North, grand chief of Keewatinowi Okimakanak in Manitoba, is running to become the first woman to lead the AFN. (Marc-André Cossette/CBC News)
There are also 14 chiefs from the Northwest Territories, 13 from the Yukon, 12 from Nova Scotia, 10 from New Brunswick, three from Newfoundland and Labrador and two from Prince Edward Island.
The chiefs heard final pitches from each of the five candidates Tuesday who outlined their campaign platforms in hopes of swaying the undecided.
Russ Diabo, a policy analysis from Kahnawake in Quebec, said the AFN is too close to the Trudeau government.
Perry Bellegarde, the incumbent national chief, defended his record as his opponents keyed on the theme that the AFN had lost its way.
“We need a national chief who can sit at the table with Liberals without becoming one,” said candidate Sheila North, a grand chief from Manitoba, during her speech Tuesday.
Russ Diabo of Kahnawake in Quebec, said the organization had “strayed” from its principles and is now Ottawa’s “cheerleader.”
Miles Richardson, former president of the Council of the Haida Nation, is the only candidate from B.C. running for the position of national chief.
Miles Richardson, the former president of the Haida Nation, heads into voting day with a number of endorsements, including those from three former AFN national chiefs.
Richardson said his experience achieving recognition of the Haida Nation’s right to rule its own territory makes him well prepared to lead the AFN and force the government to acknowledge the same for other First Nations.
Katherine Whitecloud is a former Manitoba regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations now seeking the top job. (CBC)
Katherine Whitecloud, a former AFN regional chief from Manitoba, said the AFN needed to return to its traditional ways and focus its work on what’s best for the coming generations.
The AFN represents over 600 First Nations across the country. It was founded in 1982 and built on its predecessor, the National Indian Brotherhood.