Jaime Battiste (born 1979) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician who was elected to represent the riding of

Sydney—Victoria Sydney—Victoria is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. It was created in 1996 from parts of Cape Breton—The Sydneys, Cape ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

as a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in the

2019 Canadian federal election The 2019 Canadian federal election was held on October 21, 2019. Member of Parliament (Canada), Members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons were elected to the 43rd Canadian Parliament. In keeping with the Fixed election dates in ...

. He is the first Mi'kmaw Member of Parliament in Canada.

Early life and education

Battiste is the son of

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classified as ...

legal scholar James (Sákéj) Youngblood Henderson and

Miꞌkmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...

scholar

Marie Battiste Marie Ann Battiste (born 1949) is an author and educator working as a professor in Canada at the University of Saskatchewan in the Department of Educational Foundations. From the Potlotek First Nation in Nova Scotia, Battiste is the daughter of Mi ...

. Battiste is a graduate of

Dalhousie Law School , mottoeng = "Law is the source of light" , endowment = , staff = , faculty = 119 , dean = Camille Cameron , head_label = , head = , doctoral = , students = 500 , city ...

. Battiste spent his formative years in

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatoon () is the largest city in the 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 Yellowhead Highway, and has served as t ...

, graduating from

Evan Hardy Collegiate Evan Hardy Collegiate Institute is located on the East side of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, serving students from grades 9 through 12. It is also known as ''Evan Hardy'', ''Hardy'', or simply ''EHCI''. Evan Hardy Collegiate was named for no ...

in 1997.

Political career

In April 2019, Battiste announced he was seeking the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

nomination in

for the 2019 federal election. He won the nomination on July 13, 2019. In early October 2019 Battiste created controversy when comments he previously made on social media were reported. In 2012, Battiste tweeted: "Why do I assume every skinny Aboriginal girl is on crystal meth or pills?" In another, he made light of sexual assault, tweeting "five minutes in Cheers and I would accidently icsexually assault a cougar … twice." Battiste apologized for the comments. Liberal leader

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

refused to remove him as the Liberal candidate. On October 21, 2019, Battiste was elected as the Member of Parliament in Sydney—Victoria becoming the first Mi'kmaq Member of Parliament. On December 3, 2021, Battiste was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battiste, Jaime 1979 births Living people 21st-century First Nations people Chickasaw people Indigenous Members of the House of Commons of Canada Lawyers in Nova Scotia Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq people Schulich School of Law alumni