The Sechelt (shíshálh) Nation is “ecstatic” about the election of a Liberal majority government in Canada, Chief Calvin Craigan said this week.
It was no secret that the shíshálh Nation was encouraging its members to vote Liberal before the Oct. 19 election by way of advertisements and postings on the Nation’s website.
The push to vote strategically in order to oust the Conservatives drew many new voters in the shíshálh Nation to the polls, Craigan said, noting the Nation’s polling station ran out of ballots due to the increased interest.
“I don’t have the numbers, but I know that almost all the young people went out to vote and that was a real change. Normally they don’t even bother,” Craigan said.
The shíshálh Nation leader said he was confident the Liberals would win the federal election about a year ago when he had leader Justin Trudeau on his talk show.
“Justin Trudeau was on my TV show and we made a coup that once he won the election that he would come back to Sechelt to see me. I think that says it all,” Craigan said.
“It will be a while yet because he’s got to form his government, but I do expect him to come.”
Craigan said Trudeau has some work to do for the shíshálh Nation.
“In my discussion with the prime minister I made it known to him that in the ’70s when the Liberal Party was in power under [Trudeau’s] dad and Jean Chretien, they all came to Sechelt and had a huge meeting with us and what they said to us at that time was we should develop our people and develop our land and the rest will fall into place,” Craigan said.
“So I reminded Justin about 10 and a half months ago that we’ve done that, so I need him to return to finish the deal, and that was the agreement.”
Finishing the deal means resolving land claims for the shíshálh Nation.
“In forming our self-government one issue remains unresolved and that was the land question, and that would be the final deal. Then we’d be truly independent and still remain a federal municipality,” Craigan said.
“It would be great if Justin was here to celebrate with us.”
