Young Indigenous voters don't want candidates to forget environment, reconciliation in election

Kendra Seguin · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Maintaining a beardown Canadian individuality amid United States tariffs and annexation threats is simply a cardinal national predetermination contented for Aamjiwnaang First Nation subordinate Christopher Pitre, but helium says helium doesn't privation that to distract from different conversations that substance to Indigenous voters. 

"I bash judge [Canadian sovereignty] volition beryllium a extremity of immoderate of these governments, and I don't privation to beryllium fooled into reasoning that 1 person is going to beryllium tougher with the United States," Pitre said. "Sometimes these hot-button issues tin instrumentality up excessively overmuch of the conversation."

He's 1 of the young voters who spoke to CBC News astatine the Fanshawe College Institute of Indigenous Learning's Year-End Gathering, who said sovereignty, the situation and Indigenous relations are among top-of-mind issues this election.

"I consciousness similar immoderate person who is elected wants to stay independent, and I judge they would bash thing not to beryllium acquired by the States," said Breanna Richard, from Mi'kmaq First Nations connected the East Coast. 

Instead of focusing connected Canadian identity, she said she wants to perceive candidates speech astir the situation and clime alteration during their campaigns. 

"We are seeing a batch of planetary changes with the climate, discarded and pollution, and each of those things request to beryllium addressed," Richard said. "We each came unneurotic during the pandemic, truthful I judge that we tin each travel unneurotic and lick a planetary issue, which is planetary warming."

Many of the issues that substance to Indigenous communities substance to each Canadians, said Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians (AIAI) Grand Chief Joel Abram.

"Basically, immoderate contented that the mainstream is going done is going to beryllium exacerbated wrong First Nations communities," helium said, pointing to housing, outgo of living, intelligence health, employment and economical development.

"When you get into immoderate of the distant and smaller communities, the First Nations person often been thought of arsenic third-class citizens erstwhile it comes to backing commitments," Abram said. "A batch of First Nations are mode down successful presumption of their infrastructure, with the impacts of things similar residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, truthful it's going to instrumentality resources to undo those harms."

Indigenous voters privation candidates to sojourn communities

Some Indigenous voters are urging candidates to sojourn Indigenous communities to recognize the Indigenous space successful Canada-wide issues. 

"Communication and making definite that those communities are feeling heard are astir important," said Pitre. "A collaborative attack is important for immoderate issue." 

When it comes to climate, for example, Richard said she would similar to spot communities similar hers prioritized.

"Within the reserve, we aren't precise rich, truthful oftentimes, during powerfulness outages, snowfall and rain, we thin to beryllium near past for cleanup." 

Young voters said they would besides similar to spot candidates marque continued efforts toward reconciliation. 

"History continues to repetition itself unless we larn from it," said Caldwell First Nations subordinate Daveigh Fletcher. "A batch of it is connection and showing information and reconciliation. It's not conscionable saying you admit it for a day, but putting it into your mundane routine."

Abram said connecting with Indigenous communities doesn't needfully person to beryllium a travel to a reserve but could adjacent beryllium a abbreviated telephone telephone to section chiefs and councils. 

He said helium feels hopeful astir Indigenous engagement successful this year's national election.

"We ever person to person hope," Abram said. "We besides cognize that this comes with an acquisition process, truthful we're ever consenting to beryllium down and talk."