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Diom Roméo Saganash (born October 28, 1961) is a Cree lawyer and former politician from Canada. Saganash served as the
member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou in
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
from 2011 to 2019. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), he was first elected to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
in the 2011 federal election and was re-elected in the 2015 federal election. He did not run in 2019.


Early life and education

Saganash was born on October 28, 1961 in
Waswanipi Waswanipi may refer to: *Waswanipi, Quebec, a Cree village in Eeyou Istchee, Quebec, Canada *Waswanipi (Cree village municipality), a Cree Reserved Land located in Eeyou Istchee, Quebec, Canada *Waswanipi River, a tributary of Matagami Lake in Que ...
, a native community in
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. At the age of seven, he was among 27 Cree children taken from their homes to attend a French-language residential school in
La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 ...
, where he lived with an English-speaking Anglican family. The program was cancelled the following year, but he remained there for ten years, completing his schooling in French. After that, he attended a meeting on the negotiations between the Cree and government officials on constitutional and resource rights, which sparked his interest in pursuing a law degree. He attended law school at the
Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qué ...
and in 1989 he became the first Cree to receive a law degree in Quebec. Saganash is fluent in Cree, French and English.


Political career

In 1985, Saganash founded the Cree Nation Youth Council. He was the Deputy Grand Chief to The Grand Council of the Crees of James Bay from 1990 to 1993, and he later became director of Quebec relations and international affairs for over ten years. From 1997 to 2000, Saganash chaired the James Bay Advisory Committee on the Environment. As a prominent Cree figure in a riding with many
Indigenous peoples 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 ...
, Saganash received personal support from NDP
Quebec lieutenant In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a Quebec politician who is selected by the party leader to be his or her main advisor and/or spokesperson on issues specific to Quebec. This is particularly the case when the leader is an anglophone, t ...
Tom Mulcair Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...
, who referred to Saganash as a "very important candidate". He was elected in the 2011 federal election to represent Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou. He was one of 59 NDP MPs elected for Quebec ridings (all newcomers except Mulcair), and the party overall achieved its best showing in a federal election to date by becoming Official Opposition to the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
government, which rose from minority to majority standing. On September 16, 2011, Saganash announced that he was running for the leadership of the NDP, to succeed
Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on To ...
, who had died the previous month. He is believed to be the first Indigenous person to run for the leadership of a major Canadian party. He withdrew on February 9, 2012, however, citing illness in his family and a lack of confidence in his campaign. On March 7, 2012, Saganash announced that he would support Mulcair for NDP leader. After an incident where he was removed from an
Air Canada Jazz The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
flight from
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
to
Val-d'Or Val-d'Or (, , ; "Golden Valley" or "Valley of Gold") is a city in Quebec, Canada with a population of 32,752 inhabitants according to the Canada 2021 Census. The city is located in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region near La Vérendrye Wildlife ...
for intoxication, Saganash took sick leave in October 2012 for the treatment of
alcohol dependency Alcohol dependence is a previous (DSM-IV and ICD-10) psychiatric diagnosis in which an individual is physically or psychologically dependent upon alcohol (also chemically known as ethanol). In 2013, it was reclassified as alcohol use disorder ...
. Saganash cited the death of his "friend and mentor" Jack Layton, as well as the "profound scars" he received while in the residential school system, as the reasons for his dependency. He completed his treatment in November 2012, and returned for the start of the House's first session of 2013. In the
2015 Canadian federal election The 2015 Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015, saw the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, win 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister. The election was held to elect ...
, Saganash was re-elected to a second term. The NDP fell from second to third in the seat count nationally, behind the new
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 ...
majority government and the Conservatives. In the 2017 NDP leadership election, Saganash supported
Niki Ashton Niki Christina Ashton (born September 9, 1982) is a Canadian politician. She is the New Democratic Member of Parliament for the federal electoral district of Churchill—Keewatinook Aski in Manitoba, Canada. She was first elected in the 2008 fe ...
. By July 2018, Saganash had decided not to run in the 43rd Canadian federal election, which took place in
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
.


Electoral record

, align="left" colspan=2, New Democratic Party gain from Bloc Québécois , align="right", Swing , align="right", +29.11 , align="right",


See also

* 2012 New Democratic Party leadership election


References


External links

* *
Leadership campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saganash, Romeo 1961 births First Nations activists First Nations politicians Lawyers in Quebec Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec New Democratic Party MPs People from Eeyou Istchee (territory) Université du Québec à Montréal alumni Indigenous Members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century First Nations people 21st-century First Nations people Cree people 21st-century Canadian politicians