Mandy Gull-Masty ready for 'huge undertaking' as 1st Cree woman elected MP in northern Quebec

Vanna Blacksmith · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 29, 2025 8:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: April 30

Mandy Gull-Masty has been elected successful Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou, making her the archetypal Cree pistillate to service arsenic a Member of Parliament for the region.

Gull-Masty secured 41.2 per cent of the ballot connected Monday, unseating two-term Bloc Québécois MP Sylvie Bérubé who finished with 34 per cent of the vote.

Gull-Masty is from Waswanipi, Que., and is the erstwhile expansive main of Eeyou Istchee. She enters Parliament representing 1 of the largest and astir culturally divers ridings successful Canada.

"This is going to beryllium a caller endeavour due to the fact that I'm moving not lone for the Cree Nation, but besides for the Inuit, the Anishinaabe, the Jamesie population, the Abitibi population," said Gull-Masty.

"Trying to find the equilibrium amongst the needs of each of these precise divers groups is going to beryllium a immense undertaking. That's truly important to me."

Her predetermination brings a caller dependable to Ottawa — 1 that she says is grounded successful lived acquisition and leadership. She acknowledgment her Cree federation for giving her enactment skills. 

"They've truly shaped maine and helped hole maine arsenic a leader," said Gull-Masty.

"You larn however to listen, determination making, trying to recognize wherever radical are coming from erstwhile they're asking you something, and trying to enactment done challenges."

Now Gull-Masty is looking guardant to bringing those skills to Ottawa. 

She believes that Indigenous voices are important successful argumentation making, determination making, and implementing programs that service distant and Indigenous communities. 

"If you privation your authorities to evolve, to know, to understand, and respect you arsenic an Indigenous idiosyncratic present successful Canada, we person to person our dependable astatine the table," she said. 

"So it is going to beryllium my honour and pleasance to undertake that enactment for them." 

Gull-Masty is 1 of 12 First Nations, Inuit oregon Métis radical elected to Parliament arsenic the ballot number continues Tuesday.

For her, being heavy progressive successful Indigenous communities is simply a must. She feels that Bérubé did not bash capable arsenic MP to link with and recognize Indigenous communities.  

"I americium 1 of the lone candidates that lived not lone successful Eeyou Istchee but besides successful Nunavik," said Gull-Masty, whose hubby is from Great Whale. 

Issues with voting successful Indigenous communities

Some polls successful Nunavik closed arsenic aboriginal arsenic 3:30 p.m. on predetermination day, and some residents did not adjacent get the accidental to ballot successful the beforehand polls owed to staffing and question restrictions owed to weather. 

Gull-Masty said that made her tense astir the result of the vote.

"I was keeping my oculus connected Nunavik; determination were a fig of communities that did not person the accidental to vote. That is simply a batch of mislaid votes," she said.

"But I was truly pleased to spot the results. Yes, my federation came done and a batch of the votes that were formed really besides came from the different parts of the riding." 

The Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou riding is location to much than 65,000 registered electors, according to Elections Canada. Spanning implicit 800,000 quadrate kilometres of land, it is 1 of the largest ridings successful Canada, by area. 

Gull-Masty said gathering relationships with nations is crucial, so she tin advocator for backing toward various programs that service those communities.

"I privation to beryllium capable to truly radiance a airy connected what's happening successful these distant communities and connection them a amended prime of service," she said. 

Gull-Masty said she'll instrumentality a abbreviated interruption with her household earlier Parliament resumes. She is acceptable to conscionable with the other new MPs to larn much astir her caller role.

She says she'll advocator for each who unrecorded wrong the Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou riding.

"Their dependable should not beryllium ignored and they volition beryllium heard now," she said.