Atleo faces competition from seven candidates for top First Nations post

OTTAWA – Eight people are officially in the running for the top First Nations position in Canada, and half of them are women.

Candidates for national chief of the Assembly of First Nations include Toronto-based pundit and professor Pam Palmater, Manitoba lawyer Joan Jack, western Quebec activist Ellen Gabriel and Diane Kelly, a grand chief from Northern Ontario.

Current national chief Sean Atleo, a B.C. leader who has held the position for the past three years, wants a second term.

He is also being challenged by Terry Nelson, a Manitoba chief, as well as Dene chief Bill Erasmus, the son of a former AFN leader, and George Stanley from Alberta.

The deadline to register was Tuesday night, and the chief electoral officer spent Wednesday morning making sure all the candidates met the assembly’s requirements.

The election is July 18 in Toronto, and the race will set the tone of First Nations politics for the next three years.