Jaime Battiste

Jaime Battiste
MP
Member of Parliament
for Sydney—Victoria
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 21, 2019
Preceded byMark Eyking
Personal details
Born1979 (age 44–45)
Eskasoni First Nation, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political partyLiberal Party of Canada
ResidenceEskasoni, Nova Scotia[1]

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]

Early life and education

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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.

Battiste spent his formative years in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, graduating from Evan Hardy Collegiate in 1997.

Political career

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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]

On December 3, 2021, Battiste was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.[10]

Electoral record

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2021 Canadian federal election: Sydney—Victoria
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Jaime Battiste 14,250 39.2 +8.3 $68,768.55
Conservative Eddie Orrell 13,166 36.3 +8.6 none listed
New Democratic Jeff Ward 7,217 19.9 -0.2 $11,605.07
People's Ronald Angus Barron 1,176 3.2 N/A $1,145.74
Green Mark Embrett 376 1.0 -4.5 $0.00
Marxist–Leninist Nikki Boisvert 127 0.3 N/A $0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit 36,312 98.7 ±0.0 $102,433.21
Total rejected ballots 472 1.3 ±0.0
Turnout 36,784 61.6 -6.5
Registered voters 59,757
Liberal hold Swing -0.2
Source: Elections Canada[11][12]
2019 Canadian federal election: Sydney—Victoria
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Jaime Battiste 12,536 30.90 −42.30 $63,429.21
Conservative Eddie Orrell 11,227 27.68 +17.04 none listed
New Democratic Jodi McDavid 8,146 20.08 +7.02 none listed
Independent Archie MacKinnon 5,679 14.00 New none listed
Green Lois Foster 2,249 5.54 +3.04 $0.00
Independent Kenzie MacNeil 480 1.18 New none listed
Veterans Coalition Randy Joy 248 0.61 New $0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit 40,565 98.72   $99,536.07
Total rejected ballots 528 1.28 +0.71
Turnout 41,093 68.12 −0.84
Eligible voters 60,322
Liberal hold Swing −29.67
Source: Elections Canada[13]

References

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  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. Archived from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  5. ^ "Local Mi'kmaq leader to seek Liberal nomination in Sydney-Victoria". Cape Breton Post. April 24, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019 – via PressReader.
  6. ^ "Battiste wins Liberal nomination for Sydney-Victoria". capebretonpost.com. Cape Breton Post. July 13, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  7. ^ "'I take full responsibility': Cape Breton Liberal candidate apologizes for social media posts". October 7, 2019.
  8. ^ "Trudeau won't remove Jaime Battiste from Liberal roster for racist, sexist social-media posts". National Post.
  9. ^ MacDonald, Michael (October 22, 2019). "Meet Jaime Battiste: Nova Scotia's first Mi'kmaq member of Parliament". Global News - Canada. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  10. ^ "Prime Minister welcomes new parliamentary secretaries". Prime Minister of Canada. December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  11. ^ "Confirmed candidates — Sydney—Victoria". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  12. ^ "September 20, 2021 General Election Election Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  13. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
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