Two ridings strong possibilities for Aboriginal MPs

Seven Aboriginal candidates are vying for six seats in the upcoming federal election. There are 34 seats in Alberta.

“I think that’s really good. I think it’s an indication that more and more Indigenous people are interested in seeking that office as a Member of Parliament. It’s a place of change, a way to us,” said Chief Wilton Littlechild, who served as MP for Wetaskiwin from 1988 to 1993. He was the first Treaty Indian MP and the only Indigenous representative for Alberta to date.

With two Metis men running in the new northern riding of Lakeland, the chances are strong that Alberta will have its second Aboriginal representative in Ottawa. Duane Zaraska is the NDP candidate and Garry Parenteau represents the Liberals.
Lakeland has five First Nation reserves and four Metis settlements.

Neither Zaraska nor Parenteau are concerned about splitting the Aboriginal vote and allowing Conservative candidate Shannon Stubbs to win.

“There is no assurance from any candidate that left-leaning voters will be split between Liberals and NDP. I will lead the Liberal banner and platform and offer the Lakeland Liberals, and those that are undecided, a platform to vote for. We need change. The Liberals offer positive change,” said Parenteau.

Zaraska sees the situation in a slightly different manner.

“Because people want change … I’m thinking the other way around. I think the Conservatives and Liberals might split the vote and NDP will get in there,” he said.

The CBC has targeted the newly formed riding of Peace River-Westlock as one to watch with former Alberta Regional Chief for the Assembly of First Nations, Cameron Alexis, running under the NDP banner. This riding has a crowded ballot with six vying for MP. Alexis’ main party rivals are Liberal Chris Brown, who ran into some controversy over social media postings earlier this month, and Conservative Arnold Viersen, who is a member of a social conservative Christian organization that has spoken out against provincial legislation for gay-straight alliances in Alberta schools.

According to CBC polls analyst and ThreeHundredEight.com founder Eric Grenier, Aaron Paquette, NDP candidate in Edmonton-Manning, is running in one of three Edmonton ridings that is now classified as “marginal NDP gains.” Paquette said that people in his riding are telling him “they’re tired of Stephen Harper. They’re tired of his politics of division, especially when it comes to racial issues or cultural issues and they want a change. And they don’t feel that the Liberals are that change.”

Melody Lepine is another strong candidate, representing the NDP in the new riding of Cold Lake-Fort McMurray. However, Lepine faces an uphill battle. In 2014, a by-election in then-Fort McMurray-Athabasca saw Conservative David Yurdiga win with 46.7 per cent of the popular vote against Liberal Kyle Harrietha, who took 35.3 per cent of the popular vote.  Both men are running in Cold Lake-Fort McMurray. Harrietha, while not Aboriginal, is the general manager of the Fort McMurray Métis 1935. Lepine believes she has an advantage having grown up and lived in the riding, with a
little over 17 per cent of eligible voters being Aboriginal.

Katherine Swampy (Battle River-Crowfoot) and Fritz Bitz (Edmonton-Wetaskiwin) are both long shots for the NDP.

Swampy was acclaimed NPD candidate for Battle River-Crowfoot after losing the NDP nomination in Red Deer-Lacombe, a riding with a stronger support base as it
included Maskwacis and the four Cree Nations it serves.

In Edmonton, there had been high hopes for Lewis Cardinal.  In 2011, Cardinal had a strong showing in Edmonton Centre, earning more than 12,000 votes in a riding that was dominated traditionally by Liberals and Conservatives. However, Cardinal pulled out earlier this year for personal reasons. Now, he serves as advisor for Alexis’ campaign.

The Assembly of First Nations has identified 51 ridings across the country in which they believe Aboriginal voters could make a difference.

“Basically, based on the 2011 election results, there are enough Aboriginal people living in that riding that it could have changed the outcome of the vote had enough Aboriginal voters went and voted.  All the ridings on that list are ridings where the Aboriginal vote is enough to change the outcome,” said AFN spokesman Don Kelly.

In Alberta, only one riding was so identified. It is the new riding of Edmonton-Griesbach, which does not have an Aboriginal candidate but does have a high Aboriginal population as it encompasses Edmonton’s inner city.

In 2011, five Aboriginal candidates – three NDP, one Liberal and one Green - sought seats in five of Alberta’s 28 ridings.

“I think (the number of Aboriginal candidates) is better than historical situations have been so it’s an improvement. I think it could bear improvement. I think it’s a positive step forward,” said Bitz.

Swampy agrees.

“I think it’s still really early in the sense of people getting involved. But with those numbers I think it’s fantastic in comparison to what they used to be,” she said.

“That means that Indigenous people are getting involved in the system and I think they realize … if I want to have a voice in Canada, then I’m going to stand up and start speaking,” said Paquette.

Voters go to the polls on Oct. 19.