Manitoba could make history by electing first First Nations premier to lead province
CTV
A First Nations premier would head a province for the first time in Canadian history if the New Democrats win the Oct. 3 Manitoba election, and the significance is not lost on party leader Wab Kinew.
A First Nations premier would head a province for the first time in Canadian history if the New Democrats win the Oct. 3 Manitoba election, and the significance is not lost on party leader Wab Kinew.
"My dad was not allowed to vote when he was a young man, and I have a shot at potentially leading the province," he said in an interview with The Canadian Press last month.
"That's a big change that speaks to progress in our country and in our province within one generation."
Kinew was born in Ontario and lived on the Onigaming First Nation as a young boy. His late father was a residential school survivor who endured horrific abuse and passed on to Kinew the importance of Anishinaabe culture and language.
The former CBC host was elected in the Winnipeg riding of Fort Rouge in 2016. The following year, he launched a successful bid for NDP leader, putting him on the path to potentially becoming the province's first First Nations premier and second Indigenous premier.
John Norquay was the first Indigenous person to serve as Manitoba's premier. Norquay, who was Metis, was the province's fifth premier until 1887.
And, while other Metis citizens have served at the highest level of politics in the province, Manitoba's history with First Nations leaders in provincial politics only goes back a few decades.
