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 the Canadian Parliament
for Sydney—Victoria
Assumed office
October 21, 2019
Preceded byMark Eyking
Personal details
Born1979 (age 41–42)
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.

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]

Electoral record
2019 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalJaime Battiste12,53630.90−42.30
ConservativeEddie Orrell11,22727.68+17.04
New DemocraticJodi McDavid8,14620.08+7.02
IndependentArchie MacKinnon5,67914.00New
GreenLois Foster2,2495.54+3.04
IndependentKenzie MacNeil4801.18New
Veterans CoalitionRandy Joy2480.61New
Total valid votes/Expense limit 40,565100.0   $97,836.59
Total rejected ballots 5281.28+0.71
Turnout 41,09368.44−0.52
Eligible voters 60,042
Liberal hold Swing −29.67
Source: Elections Canada[10]

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". pressreader.com. Cape Breton Post. April 24, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  6. "Battiste wins Liberal nomination for Sydney-Victoria". capebretonpost.com. Cape Breton Post. July 13, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  7. https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/i-take-full-responsibility-cape-breton-liberal-candidate-apologizes-for-social-media-posts-1.4628525
  8. https://nationalpost.com/news/trudeau-wont-remove-liberal-candidate-for-racist-sexist-social-media-posts
  9. MacDonald, Michael (Oct 22, 2019). "Meet Jaime Battiste: Nova Scotia's first Mi'kmaq member of Parliament". Global News - Canada. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  10. "Results Validated by the Returning Officer". Elections Canada. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
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