NDP responds to the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs’ 2025 First Nations priorities
Press Release
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) wants to acknowledge that the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Canada was the first party to submit a formal response to the AMC’s Manitoba First Nations Priorities: 2025 Federal Election. This document outlines a critical vision for the health, safety, sovereignty, and prosperity of First Nations in Manitoba.
The AMC appreciates the NDP’s expressed commitment to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, and advancing the Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The NDP’s willingness to criminalize residential school denialism and expand the Red Dress Alert system signals a strong stand against colonial violence and genocide targeting Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.
Grand Chief Kyra Wilson states, “The AMC recognizes the importance of political parties engaging meaningfully with First Nations priorities. The NDP’s commitments, particularly to water infrastructure, gender equality in status registration, First Nations-led health care, and housing, reflect the urgency and interconnectedness of the challenges our Nations face.”
The AMC further notes the NDP’s support for infrastructure development in First Nations, such as all-weather roads, community centres, hospitals, and airports – critical investments that support mobility, safety, and long-term well-being, especially in the North.
AMC welcomes the NDP’s call to replace consultation with free, prior, and informed consent as the standard in decisions impacting constitutionally protected lands and Treaty rights. Inclusion of First Nations in trade negotiations is another key element of respecting inherent jurisdiction and governance.
We acknowledge that the response from the NDP reflects alignment on many shared goals. The AMC will continue to call for clear timelines, legislative commitments, and sustained, equitable federal investments across all jurisdictions and sectors. First Nations in Manitoba have always been clear that action affirming Treaty rights and advancing First Nations-led governance and solutions is true reconciliation.
As the federal election approaches, the AMC encourages the Liberal Party of Canada and the Federal Conservative Party to follow suit and submit their plans on how they wish to demonstrate accountability to First Nations and work in genuine partnership with Leadership across Manitoba to support a future where First Nations sovereignty is realized in full.
For more information, please contact:
Communications Team
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
Email: media@manitobachiefs.com
About the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs:
The AMC was formed in 1988 by the Chiefs in Manitoba to advocate on issues that commonly affect First Nations in Manitoba. AMC is an authorized representative of all 63 First Nations in Manitoba with a total of more than 172,000 First Nations citizens in the province, accounting for approximately 12 percent of the provincial population. AMC represents a diversity of Anishinaabe, Nehetho / Ininew, Anisininew, Denesuline, and Dakota Oyate peoples.
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