Assembly of First Nations approves five candidates for national chief
Election to be held July 22 in Calgary
First Nations chiefs will gather in Calgary on July 22 to select a new national chief from a list of five candidates announced Wednesday.
The names of people who qualified to be on the ballot were released by Loretta Pete Lambert, the chief electoral officer for the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), which represents the more than 630 First Nations communities in Canada.
The candidates (and their home regions) are:
- Shawn Atleo (British Columbia)
- John Beaucage (Ontario)
- Perry Bellegarde (Saskatchewan)
- Terrance Nelson (Manitoba)
- Bill Wilson (British Columbia)
Phil Fontaine, the outgoing national chief, announced last week that he would not be seeking another three year term.
Voting will take place over three hours during the AFN's annual general assembly in Calgary.
Each chief has one vote and must register in person or by proxy. The winner needs 60 per cent of ballots cast.
In the past, 500 to 600 of the estimated 630 chiefs eligible to attend the assembly have participated in the leadership vote.
As there is no incumbent and a full field of candidates, the vote is expected to attract considerable interest.