Canada elects first contemporary Indigenous provincial leader

Canada's prime minister on Wednesday hailed the "historic" election of Manitoba First Nations politician Wab Kinew as the first contemporary Indigenous person to head a provincial government.

Kinew, of the leftist New Democratic Party, will take power with a majority government, after beating on Tuesday the incumbent Tories who ruled over the past seven years.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the ballot result was "a historic win for Indigenous peoples and for Canadians."

Late Tuesday, after the ballots had been counted, Kinew told a crowd of cheering supporters in the provincial 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 Manitoba did tonight. Manitoba did something more progressive than any of those big cities ever did."

Kinew, originally from the Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation in northern Ontario, is a former journalist and author.

"He's a great communicator and knows how to navigate the media universe," University of Winnipeg professor Felix Mathieu told AFP, adding that Kinew had "stood out for his political ease" in a televised 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.

About 18 percent of Manitoba's population is Indigenous, and the province was led by a Metis premier in the late 1800s.

The country's First Nations people gained the right to vote in federal elections only in 1960.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said Kinew's win was "a powerful affirmation of increased inclusivity and First Nations' participation and representation within Manitoba's political landscape."

In recent years, Canada's treatment of its Indigenous peoples has come under scrutiny. The discovery of the graves of Indigenous children in 2021 prompted rebukes of the Catholic Church and the government.

Between the late 19th century and the mid-1990s about 150,000 aboriginal children were forced into 139 residential schools across the country, where they were cut off from their families, language and culture.

A key issue in the Manitoba election was the Tories' reluctance to have a landfill searched for the remains of murdered Indigenous women, which their families have demanded.

Kinew has expressed an openness to go ahead with the search. He also made bolstering health care a top priority.