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, wh ...

. Each chief of a

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

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 wa ...

1970

Winner:

George Manuel George Manuel, OC (February 21, 1921 – November 15, 1989, Secwépemc) was an Aboriginal 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 c ...

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 (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

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 Delbert Riley is a Canadian First Nations leader of Chippewa background. He was chief of the National Indian Brotherhood (known today as the Assembly of First Nations) from 1980 to 1982. He is originally from the Chippewas of the Thames near ...

1982

Held in

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its population was 33,761, while its census agglomeration The ce ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

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

1985

Held in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

on July 30, 1985.

First ballot

Second ballot

1988

Held in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. Winner:

Georges Erasmus Georges Henry Erasmus, OC (born August 8, 1948 in Behchoko, Northwest Territories) is a Canadian politician. He was the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations from 1985 to 1991. Erasmus was born in a Dene community of the Northwest ...

1991

Held in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

on June 11, 1991.

First ballot

1994

Held in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

on July 6, 1994.

First ballot

Second ballot

Third ballot

1997

Held in

on July 30, 1997.

First ballot

Second ballot

Third ballot

Fourth ballot

2000

Held in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

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 the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

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 an 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 Ahousaht ...

, 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 honouri ...

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 Eu ...

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, 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 ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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 is ...

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; 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 ( cr, ᐸᓂᑇᓂᐱᐩ, panipwânipiy), 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 ...

; economist and former President of the

Council of the Haida Nation The Council of the Haida Nation ("CHN") (''X̱aaydaG̱a Waadlux̱an Naay'') is the elected government of the Haida Nation. The council consists of a president and vice-president elected by popular vote, twelve regional representatives from four ele ...

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 is the current National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) since July 8, 2021 . She is the first female National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Archibal ...

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 * 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