Six members of Parliament form the Liberal Indigenous Caucus, including newly appointed chair, M.P. Battiste from Sydney-Victoria, the first-ever Mi’kmaw MP who is a member of the Eskasoni First Nation.

The Liberal Indigenous Caucus has announced the appointment of Jaime Battiste, Member of Parliament for Sydney-Victoria as their newly appointed chair of the Liberal Indigenous Caucus who replaces former co-chairs M.P. Marc Serré and Robert-Falcon Ouellette. Founded in 2016 by M.P. Don Rusnak, the Indigenous Liberal Caucus was created as a forum for Indigenous Members of Parliament to work together to advocate for the well-being of Indigenous Peoples across Canada.

“Our country cannot move forward when Indigenous peoples are held back. We know we have more work to do. When this Liberal government first took office in 2015, it committed to a new way of doing things with our Indigenous partners. My colleagues and I look forward to continuing where we left off by working in a spirit of respect, recognition of rights, collaboration, and partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples to advance meaningful reconciliation and build a future where Indigenous peoples can succeed and prosper.”

Jaime Battiste, M.P. for Sydney—Victoria

Other members of the caucus include Minister of Northern Affairs, Hon. Dan Vandal from St. Boniface-St. Vital, M.P. Vance Badawey from Niagara Centre, M.P. Yvonne Jones from Labrador-Newfoundland, M.P. Marc Serré from Nickel Belt, and M.P. Michael McLeod from Northwest Territories. They have been elected from coastal, northern, remote, and urban areas, and represent a broad cross section of who Indigenous people are.