By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Canada (AA) - Manitobans woke up Wednesday to find they had elected the first First Nations premier in Canadian history.
Wab Kinew, the son of an Indian Residential School survivor, former rapper and journalist, led the New Democrat Party (NDP) to a majority victory.
“Last night, Manitobans elected their first First Nations premier – a historic win for Indigenous Peoples and for Canadians,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday in a congratulatory statement. “I look forward to working with Premier-designate Kinew.”
The results were not official until early Wednesday, but Kinew knew he and the NDP were well ahead and had clinched victory when he took to the stage late Tuesday.
“This is a great victory for us!“ he said. “My dear, sweet Manitoba, look at what we have done here tonight!“
It was a remarkable turn-around for Kinew, who, more than a decade ago, had two convictions and stayed charges for assaulting a former partner as well as impaired driving. A stayed charge is when a judge decides the state acted unfairly or the case does not come to trial in a timely fashion. Guilt or innocence is never determined.
“I was given a second chance in life and I'd like to think that I've made good on that opportunity,“ he said.
Kinew and NPD defeated the Progressive Conservative government. He ran on a platform of rejuvenating health care, a plan to address crime and providing aid to Manitobans struggling with rising living costs.
While he is the first First Nations premier, John Norquay, a Metis – a person of mixed Indigenous and Euro-American descent – served as the province’s fifth premier until 1887, CTV News reported.