Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to choose new leader in byelection

First Nations leaders are to choose a new head for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs after the sudden death of Cathy Merrick last year.

The advocacy group representing 63 communities is hosting a byelection in Winnipeg to fill the role of grand chief.

The four candidates in the running are Kyra Wilson, Glenn Hudson, Leroy Constant and Bava Dhillon.

Wilson, the former chief of Long Plain First Nation in southern Manitoba, played a central role in calls to search a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two slain First Nations women.

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Hudson is the former chief of the province’s largest First Nation, Peguis First Nation, and was in charge when the community became the first in Manitoba to assume control of child welfare in 2023.

The other two candidates hail from northern Manitoba: Constant is the former chief of York Factory First Nation and Dhillon is a councillor in Sapotaweyak Cree Nation.

2:05 ‘She inspired us’: How Manitoba is remembering Grand Chief Cathy Merrick