Assembly of First Nations (National Indian Brotherhood before 1982) leadership elections are held every three years to elect the national chief of the

Assembly of First Nations The Assembly of First Nations (, AFN) is an assembly of Canadian First Nations ( Indian bands) represented by their chiefs. Established in 1982 and modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, it emerged from the National Indian Brotherhood ...

. Each chief of a First Nation in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

is eligible to cast a vote. Currently there are 634 eligible voters. AFN rules state that a candidate needs 60% of the votes to win the election. If multiple candidates are on the ballot, the candidate with the fewest votes on each ballot is dropped until one candidate has reached the required percentage of votes. Additionally, any candidate who receives less than 15 per cent of the vote on a ballot is automatically dropped. If only two candidates remain, however, the candidate with fewer votes is not dropped from the ballot automatically, but rather the race continues to another ballot until the leading candidate reaches 60 per cent or the trailing candidate voluntarily concedes.

1968

Winner:

Walter Dieter Walter Perry Deiter (31 May 1916 – 7 September 1988) was a Canadian First Nations leader. He was the founding chief of the National Indian Brotherhood in 1968, which is today known as the Assembly of First Nations. Early years Deiter was bo ...

1970

Winner:

George Manuel George Manuel, OC (February 21, 1921 – November 15, 1989) was an Indigenous leader in Canada. Born and raised in British Columbia, he became politically active there and in Alberta. In 1970 he was elected and served until 1976 as chief of the ...

1972

Winner:

1974

Winner:

1976

Held in

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

on September 16, 1976. Winner:

Noel Starblanket Noel Victor Starblanket (September 26, 1946 – April 15, 2019) was a Canadian politician. For two terms from 1976 to 1980 he was chief of the National Indian Brotherhood (today known as the Assembly of First Nations). Early years and education ...

(acclaimed)

1978

Winner:

1980

Winner: Delbert Riley

1982

Held in

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley of the British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan Lake, Okanagan and Skaha Lake, Skaha lakes. In the 2021 Canadian Census, its population was 36,885, while its Census geographic un ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

on April 21, 1982.

First ballot

For this election the two candidates with the fewest votes on the first ballot were dropped. This applied to Linklater and Powderface. Riley then announced he would withdraw.

Second ballot

Third ballot

Fourth ballot

2000

Held in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

on July 12, 2000.

First ballot

Second ballot

2003

Held in

on July 16, 2003.

First ballot

Second ballot

2006

Held in

on July 12, 2006.

2009

The 2009 convention was held in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

on July 22."Atleo aims for top job in Canada"
canada.com, June 4, 2009. At the close of nominations on June 16, the declared candidates were AFN's British Columbia regional chief

Shawn Atleo Shawn A-in-chut Atleo (Ahousaht First Nation, born 1967), is a Canadian activist and politician, a former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations in Canada (serving 2009 to 2014). He also has served since 1999 as a Hereditary Chief of the ...

, Roseau River First Nation chief Terry Nelson,

Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), formerly known as the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, is a Saskatchewan-based First Nations organization. It represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan and is committed to honouring ...

chief

Perry Bellegarde Perry Bellegarde (born August 29, 1962; Little Black Bear First Nation) is a Canadian First Nations advocate and politician who served as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations from December 10, 2014, to July 8, 2021.

, British Columbia land claims negotiator Bill Wilson and former

Union of Ontario Indians The Anishinabek Nation, also known as the Union of Ontario Indians, is a First Nations political organization representing 39 member Anishinabek Nation First Nations in Canada in the province of Ontario, Canada. The organization's roots predate ...

chief John Beaucage. Beginning with the second ballot, the convention went into an unprecedented deadlock, with six successive ballots in which the final two candidates effectively tied at roughly 50 per cent of the vote. Under AFN rules, a candidate requires 60 per cent of the vote to win unless their opponent voluntarily concedes the race. Bellegarde conceded after the eighth ballot, on which Atleo had surged ahead to a 58 per cent finish.

First ballot

Nelson and Wilson were automatically dropped after the first ballot, as both failed to garner 15 per cent of the vote. Both candidates endorsed Bellegarde on the second ballot."First Nations chief vote down to 2 candidates"

cbc.ca CBC.ca is the English-language online service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It was introduced in 1996. Under its previous names, the CBC's online service first went live in 1993. The Web-based service of the CBC is one of Canada's m ...

, July 22, 2009. Beaucage, as the last-place finisher among the three remaining candidates, voluntarily dropped out shortly after the ballot results were announced, also endorsing Bellegarde.

Second ballot

Third ballot

Fourth ballot

Fifth ballot

Sixth ballot

Seventh ballot

Eighth ballot

2012

The 2012 convention was held in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

on July 18, 2012 At the close of nominations on June 12, the declared candidates were Shawn Atleo, Diane Kelly, Bill Erasmus, Terrance Nelson, Pamela Palmater, Ellen Gabriel, Joan Jack and George Stanley.

First ballot

Second ballot

Third ballot

2014

The 2014 leadership election took place on December 10. The candidates were

, the chief of the

and the runner-up to Atleo in 2009; Ghislain Picard, the AFN's regional chief for Quebec and Labrador and the organization's interim chief since Atleo's resignation; and Leon Jourdain, the former grand chief of the

Treaty 3 ''Treaty 3'' was an agreement entered into on October 3, 1873, by Chief Mikiseesis (Little Eagle) on behalf of the Ojibwe First Nations and Queen Victoria. The treaty involved a vast tract of Ojibwe territory, including large parts of what i ...

area in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.

2018

The 2018 leadership election took place on July 25, 2018, at the Annual General Assembly in

. Loretta Pete Lambert, of the Little Pine Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, was the chief electoral officer. The candidates were the incumbent,

, from the

Little Black Bear First Nation Little Black Bear First Nation ( ''kaskitêw-maskwa-maskosis'') is a Cree and Assiniboine First Nation in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Their reserves include: * Little Black Bear 84 * Little Black Bear 84SC * Treaty Four Reserve Grounds 77 ...

; policy analyst Russell Diabo, a member of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake; Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Sheila North, a member of the

Bunibonibee Cree Nation Bunibonibee Cree Nation (), formerly known as Oxford House First Nation and as Oxford House Band of Indians, is a First Nation located along the eastern shoreline of Oxford Lake at the headwaters of the Hayes River and is approximately northeas ...

; economist and former President of the

Council of the Haida Nation The Council of the Haida Nation (CHN; ) is the elected government of the Haida people, the Indigenous occupants of the Haida Gwaii archipelago in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The council consists of a president and vice-president el ...

Miles Richardson; and Katherine Whitecloud, former Manitoba regional chief for the AFN, and member of Wipazoka Wakpa Dakota Nation.

First ballot

Second ballot

2021

RoseAnne Archibald RoseAnne Archibald is a Canadian First Nations advocate and politician who served as the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) from July 2021 to June 2023. She made history as the first female National Chief of the Assembly of Firs ...

secured victory on July 8, 2021, after her rival, Reginald Bellerose, conceded. The election had stretched to a second day and went to a fifth round of voting after neither Archibald nor Bellerose received the necessary 60% of votes to win. That remained the case when the

announced the fifth-ballot results, but Bellerose announced he was withdrawing from the race before a sixth round of voting could begin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assembly Of First Nations Leadership Conventions First Nations history in Canada * Political party leadership elections in Canada Ethnic bodies and representatives elections

1968

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

First ballot

Second ballot

1985

First ballot

Second ballot

1988

1991

First ballot

1994

First ballot

Second ballot

Third ballot

1997

First ballot

Second ballot

Third ballot

Fourth ballot

2000

First ballot

Second ballot

2003

First ballot

Second ballot

2006

2009

First ballot

Second ballot

Third ballot

Fourth ballot

Fifth ballot

Sixth ballot

Seventh ballot

Eighth ballot

2012

First ballot

Second ballot

Third ballot

2014

2018

First ballot

Second ballot

2021

See also

References