Jaime Battiste

Jaime Battiste MP (born 1979) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Sydney—Victoria in the House of Commons of Canada as a member of the Liberal Party in the 2019 Canadian federal election.[2] He is the first Mi'kmaw Member of Parliament in Canada.[3]

Jaime Battiste
MP
Member of Parliament
for Sydney—Victoria
Assumed office
October 21, 2019
Preceded byMark Eyking
Personal details
Born1979 (age 43–44)
Eskasoni First Nation, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political partyLiberal Party of Canada
ResidenceEskasoni, Nova Scotia[1]

Early life and education

Battiste is the son of Chickasaw legal scholar James (Sákéj) Youngblood Henderson and Miꞌkmaq scholar Marie Battiste.[4] Battiste is a graduate of Dalhousie Law School.

Battiste spent his formative years in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, graduating from Evan Hardy Collegiate in 1997.

Political career

In April 2019, Battiste announced he was seeking the Liberal nomination in Sydney—Victoria for the 2019 federal election.[5] He won the nomination on July 13, 2019.[6]

In early October 2019 Battiste created controversy when comments he previously made on social media were reported. In 2012, Battiste tweeted: "Why do I assume every skinny Aboriginal girl is on crystal meth or pills?" In another, he made light of sexual assault, tweeting "five minutes in Cheers and I would accidently [sic] sexually assault a cougar … twice."[7]

Battiste apologized for the comments. Liberal leader Justin Trudeau refused to remove him as the Liberal candidate.[8]

On October 21, 2019, Battiste was elected as the Member of Parliament in Sydney—Victoria becoming the first Mi'kmaq Member of Parliament.[9]

On December 3, 2021, Battiste was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.[10]

Electoral record
2021 Canadian federal election: Sydney—Victoria
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalJaime Battiste14,25039.2+8.3
ConservativeEddie Orrell13,16636.3+8.6
New DemocraticJeff Ward7,21719.9-0.2
People'sRonald Angus Barron1,1763.2N/A
GreenMark Embrett3761.0-4.5
Marxist–LeninistNikki Boisvert1270.3N/A
Total valid votes 36,31298.7±0.0
Total rejected ballots 4721.3±0.0
Turnout 36,78461.6-6.5
Registered voters 59,757
Liberal hold Swing -0.2
Source: Elections Canada[11][12]
2019 Canadian federal election: Sydney—Victoria
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalJaime Battiste12,53630.90−42.30$63,429.21
ConservativeEddie Orrell11,22727.68+17.04none listed
New DemocraticJodi McDavid8,14620.08+7.02none listed
IndependentArchie MacKinnon5,67914.00Newnone listed
GreenLois Foster2,2495.54+3.04$0.00
IndependentKenzie MacNeil4801.18Newnone listed
Veterans CoalitionRandy Joy2480.61New$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit 40,56598.72  $99,536.07
Total rejected ballots 5281.28+0.71
Turnout 41,09368.12−0.84
Eligible voters 60,322
Liberal hold Swing −29.67
Source: Elections Canada[13]

References
  1. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  2. "Battiste, Kelloway continue Liberal rule in Cape Breton". The Chronicle-Herald. October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  3. Fraser, Jeremy (October 21, 2019). "VIDEO: Jaime Battiste becomes first Mi'kmaw MP after winning riding of Sydney-Victoria". capebretonpost.com. Cape Breton Post. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  4. "July". CBU.ca. Cape Breton University.
  5. "Local Mi'kmaq leader to seek Liberal nomination in Sydney-Victoria". Cape Breton Post. April 24, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019 – via PressReader.
  6. "Battiste wins Liberal nomination for Sydney-Victoria". capebretonpost.com. Cape Breton Post. July 13, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  7. "'I take full responsibility': Cape Breton Liberal candidate apologizes for social media posts". October 7, 2019.
  8. "Trudeau won't remove Jaime Battiste from Liberal roster for racist, sexist social-media posts". National Post.
  9. MacDonald, Michael (October 22, 2019). "Meet Jaime Battiste: Nova Scotia's first Mi'kmaq member of Parliament". Global News - Canada. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  10. "Prime Minister welcomes new parliamentary secretaries". Prime Minister of Canada. December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  11. "Confirmed candidates — Sydney—Victoria". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  12. "September 20, 2021 General Election Election Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  13. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
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