Assembly of First Nations fails to elect new chief after 6 ballots, 2nd day of voting required

The Assembly of First Nations national chief election is down to just two candidates following a grinding, six-ballot contest that adjourned late Wednesday evening, with a close battle to crown a winner set to conclude on Thursday.

Cindy Woodhouse, the AFN's regional chief for Manitoba, had 50.8 per cent support from 461 delegates registered to vote, while David Pratt, first vice-chief for the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan, trailed with 39.3 per cent support.

After round four, Woodhouse approached Pratt along with her supporters and urged him to concede. But Pratt refused, saying he needed to meet with his chiefs before making a decision, sending the contest into a fifth ballot.

"I'm still their first vice-chief, and I still work for them," Pratt said.

Additional rounds of voting continue until someone reaches 60 per cent support or the second place candidate concedes. Voting on the seventh ballot will start at 11 A.M. ET Thursay and chiefs will have one and a half hours to vote.

Woodhouse saw support creep slowly up every ballot and supporters linked arms in song inside downtown Ottawa's Shaw Centre, while Pratt conferred with his chiefs.

Pratt saw a slight dip in support after ballot five, but again refused to concede amid continued pressure.

There was little change on ballot six and voting was forced to an end as the convention centre was scheduled to close at midnight.

Pratt enjoyed a late boost after a strong endorsement from Sheila North, who was eliminated on the third ballot.

"I hope that the next national chief will make AFN work for chiefs, and not the chiefs work for AFN," North said in her concession speech.

Candidate Sheila North, centre, speaks during the All Candidates Forum on the first day of the annual Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly (SCA) in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby)

Six were vying to succeed RoseAnne Archibald atop the largest Indigenous advocacy organization in Canada, after the Cree leader who pressed for radical reform was ousted earlier this year, following harassment allegations and two regional chief-led revolts.

After round three, North, who is from Bunibonibee Cree Nation in Manitoba and a former grand chief of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, briefly spoke with her backers and gathered her thoughts before taking the stage to address the delegates.

She offered a thinly veiled parting shot at Woodhouse, when she thanked Chief Kurvis Anderson, of Pinaymootang First Nation, for his support. Woodhouse is from Pinaymootang First Nation.

"It's a very clear message to me when that happened," North said, adding that she chose to run because of the "disrespect" shown to Archibald during her ouster. Woodhouse was a member of the AFN's executive during its push to remove Archibald.

"She did not deserve that," North said of the former national chief. "It doesn't mean I agree with everything she did or how she did it. But she should have been given that respect to finish her term."

Assembly of First Nations candidates Sheila North and David Pratt confer after first-ballot results in the organization's 2023 election. (Brett Forester/CBC)

Reginald Bellerose, Craig Makinaw and Dean Sayers were also running.

Sayers was eliminated on the second ballot and endorsed North. Bellerose and Makinaw came fifth and sixth on ballot one and were eliminated, as per the AFN's charter.

Sayers said he believes the chiefs want change, telling CBC Indigenous he felt his candidacy was a success because it brought issues to the fore that wouldn't have been otherwise raised.

Makinaw focused his campaign on a need to reset relations with the federal government and return to a focus on substantive issues.

"It's going to be a good opportunity for AFN to move forward," Mackinaw told CBC Indigenous.

In a statement issued after the results, Bellerose said he was "in high spirits and good medicine."

Candidate David Pratt speaks during the All Candidates Forum on the first day of the annual Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly (SCA) in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby)

Delegates who spoke with CBC Indigenous stressed the need for unity and to return the organization to national prominence following years of political tumult, involving allegations of misogyny, corruption, bullying and harassment, culminating in Archibald's toppling through a vote of non-confidence this July.

The AFN is a national advocacy organization that represents more than 630 chiefs countrywide, not a government, and only chiefs or their designated proxy can vote in its elections.

Woodhouse and Pratt presented divergent visions for the assembly during the campaign, suggesting the election now leaves chiefs vying for change competing with chiefs promoting a results-oriented agenda that involves co-operating with government.

During a Tuesday all-candidates forum, Pratt earned applause for a fast-paced speech pitching a return to the formative vision First Nations leaders had for the assembly in 1968, when it was founded as the National Indian Brotherhood to oppose Pierre Trudeau's infamous White Paper policy.

In her speech on Tuesday, Woodhouse highlighted her work on a recent $23-billion settlement with Canada and her work with ex-national chiefs Perry Bellegarde and Shawn Atleo. Bellegarde in particular was often accused of being too cozy with the federal government.

North came second to Bellegarde in the AFN's 2018 election, promising to get away from negotiations with Ottawa and re-focus on community sovereignty. In her speech Tuesday, she campaigned "to make the AFN relevant again."

But after her elimination, North criticized the set-up for the candidates forum, which stretched until 9 p.m. following a full-day assembly Tuesday, leaving candidates with a near-empty room by the end.