Terry Paul re-elected as Membertou First Nation chief
Paul has served 36 years as the Cape Breton band's chief
Terry Paul will add another four years to his 36 as chief of Membertou First Nation.
"It feels amazing, it's just like it's a brand new world, and the people of Membertou, I'm so glad that they support me all these times," he said.
Paul said he wants to continue improving the community in areas such as housing and infrastructure.
He said he sees communication between council and community as lacking and he wants to see that improve.
Ten of the 12 council members were re-elected Thursday alongside the chief. Storm Christmas and Ike Paul will be the additions to the new council.
David Marshall, Johanna Laporte, Dean Christmas, Paul MacDonald, Gail Christmas, Graham Marshall, Craig Christmas, Lawrence (Quism) Paul, Lee Gould and Allister (Buster) Matthews are the returning council members, according to a press release.
Chief excited for new councillors
Terry Paul said the council rarely has changes and when that happens it is usually because of an opening, so there is usually only one or two additions to council most elections. He said he believes this makes them stronger as a council.
"It gives, I feel, stability to the council and that we know that we have the people's support with the people that they voted in," he said.
He said the two newly elected councillors will be a great addition. He said Ike Paul, who was on council for a long time and stepped away for a few years, always puts a lot of thought into his decisions.
Terry Paul said Storm Christmas wants to "learn and contribute to the well-being of the community." He is in 20s and will serve for his first time.
The election was supposed to take place in June but was postponed until October due to the pandemic. Ballots were counted Thursday night into Friday morning.
Membertou's new council will hold its first meeting in the coming weeks.
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