Indigenous peoples celebrate the 55th anniversary of Indigenous voting rights
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Robert Falcon Ouellette campaign
Fifty-five years ago, Indigenous Peoples in Canada received the right to vote for the very first time. This was a right that had been denied them under the Indian Act. To mark the occasion, candidates running in Canada's upcoming federal election spoke to people in their riding. Candidates for Winnipeg Centre, Robert Falcon Ouellette and Rebecca Chartrand spoke to a group on the importance of carrying out their civic duty. Ouellette stated that in the last election, only 39 percent of eligible voters voted. He and Chartrand urged the crowd to change that the next time around.
WINNIPEG, MB-On March 31, 1960, then-governor general of Canada Georges Vanier gave royal assent to the bill that gave Inuit and First Nations peoples the right to vote for the first time. This was a right that had been denied to them on reserves under the Indian Act.
To mark the anniversary, a celebration was held in downtown Winnipeg, hosted by Robert-Falcon Ouellette and Rebecca Chartrand two federal candidates for the Liberal Party in the expected fall federal election. Indigenous and non-indigenous supporters of the candidates showed up for the noon-hour event.
Candidate Ouellette spoke to the gathering and said that "Thirty-nine percent-that's the percentage of people who came out to vote in the last election, and that's unfortunate."
Both he and Chartrand gave speeches and introduced other candidates.
Liberal Party of Canada
Rebecca Chartrand is the Liberal Party candidate running for Member of Parliament for the Manitoba North. Even though the population is rather sparse in many of those regions, the sheer size of the land mass makes for a real challenge when campaigning for office.
"There were 14 ridings won by less than 7,000 votes, and if we just had an extra percentage point come out across the country, we would have had a different government," Ouellette stated. "It doesn't matter if you are a billionaire or homeless living under a bridge. We all have a vote, and no one should be able to take it away," the federal candidate for Winnipeg Centre said.
According to Ms. Chartrand, as reported to the Winnipeg Free Press, "The Indian Act limited our participation in Canadian society." The newspaper stated that "...In an effort to galvanize the aboriginal vote, inner-city activists have rolled out a social-media campaign, modeled on the success of a similar campaign called Winnipeg Indigenous Rock the Vote in last year's civic election."
"Indigenous Rock the Vote is here to celebrate the right to vote. And it's about helping First Nations to be able to vote, because the new laws make it harder,"" stated Lisa Forbes, an organizer of the new "Rock the Vote" Facebook page.