Jaime Battiste first Indigenous candidate to join Liberal leadership race

OTTAWA — Jaime Battiste says that if he can’t be the most powerful and wealthy candidate in the race for the Liberal party leadership, he hopes to be the most interesting.

On Monday, the MP for Sydney-Victoria, champion powwow dancer and award-winning musician became the only First Nations candidate so far to state his intention to join the leadership race.

“In the 1960s, Indigenous people got the right to vote in Canada,” Battiste said.

“Less than 65 years later, (those same people) have an opportunity to elect, for the first time, an Indigenous prime minister or Indigenous Liberal party leader.”

Battiste, who serves as chair of the Liberal party’s Indigenous caucus, said reforming the First Nations child welfare system and ensuring adequate funding for First Nations police services would be his top priorities as a leadership candidate.

But the Mi’kmaw MP, who grew up in Eskasoni First Nation, said his focus wouldn’t be squarely on Indigenous issues, adding he also thinks Canadians want to see a marked change in environmental policy and in how the country responds to emergencies like wildfires.

He said he would also convene a first ministers meeting to discuss the price on pollution if he were to win the party vote on March 9.

Battiste — a lawyer, former professor and Assembly of First Nations regional chief — said he knows he’s considered a long-shot against high-profile candidates like former central banker Mark Carney and former finance minister Chrystia Freeland.

But he said someone has to be the first First Nations person to throw their hat in the ring, and that if nothing else he hopes he can inspire people and get them excited about Indigenous candidates.

“This is showing resilience, it’s showing what we’ve had to overcome,” he said, adding Indigenous youth don’t always participate in politics outside their communities.

“We don’t know our power because we haven’t really mobilized politically … (Indigenous youth) need to be heard, because only by signing up and being part of this movement can they determine the direction of this country.”

Battiste still has to secure the $350,000 entry fee. He said he has about $60,000 in commitments so far and Indigenous leaders across the country are working their sources to help him reach that target.

To hit that target, he’ll need to raise about $1,000 per hour until the deadline to enter the race on Jan. 23.

“I was a boxer — you fight until the bell rings,” he said.

“That’s what I’m going to continue to do, fight until the end for not only this race, but for our future.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2025.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press