Canada elects first contemporary Indigenous provincial leader

MONTREAL: Canada´s prime minister on Wednesday hailed the “historic” election of Man itoba First Nations politician Wab Kinew as the first con temporary Indigenous person to head a provincial govern ment. Kinew, of the leftist New Democratic Party, will take power with a majority govern ment, after beating on Tues day the incumbent Tories who ruled over the past seven years. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the ballot result was “a historic win for Indig enous peoples and for Cana dians.” Late Tuesday, after the ballots had been counted, Kinew told a crowd of cheer ing supporters in the provin cial capital Winnipeg: “This is a great victory for all of us in Manitoba.” “I know a lot of people in the big cities (who) looked down on us here in Manitoba. But look what little old Mani toba did tonight. Manitoba did something more progressive than any of those big cities ever did.” Kinew, originally from the Ojibways of Oniga ming First Nation in northern Ontario, is a former journalist and author. “He´s a great communica tor and knows how to navi gate the media universe,” Uni versity of Winnipeg professor Felix Mathieu told AFP, add ing that Kinew had “stood out for his political ease” in a tele vised debate, where he had “unquestionably” emerged victorious. Canada recognizes three groups of Indigenous peoples: First Nations, Inuit and Metis -- the latter being of mixed Indigenous and European heritage.