# Assembly of First Nations leadership elections

Assembly of First Nations (National Indian Brotherhood before 1982) leadership elections are held every three years to elect the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Each chief of a First Nation in Canada is eligible to cast a vote. Currently there are 634 eligible voters.
AFN rules state that a candidate needs 60% of the votes to win the election. If multiple candidates are on the ballot, the candidate with the fewest votes on each ballot is dropped until one candidate has reached the required percentage of votes. Additionally, any candidate who receives less than 15 per cent of the vote on a ballot is automatically dropped.
If only two candidates remain, however, the candidate with fewer votes is not dropped from the ballot automatically, but rather the race continues to another ballot until the leading candidate reaches 60 per cent or the trailing candidate voluntarily concedes.

## 1968

Winner: Walter Dieter

## 1970

Winner: George Manuel

## 1972

Winner: George Manuel

## 1974

Winner: George Manuel

## 1976

Held in Whitehorse, Yukon on September 16, 1976.
Winner: Noel Starblanket (acclaimed)

## 1978

Winner: Noel Starblanket

## 1980

Winner: Delbert Riley

## 1982

Held in Penticton, British Columbia on April 21, 1982.

### First ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| David Ahenakew | 190 | 55.72 |
| Delbert Riley | 67 | 19.65 |
| Arthur Manuel | 48 | 14.08 |
| Sykes Powderface | 26 | 7.62 |
| Clive Linklater | 10 | 2.93 |
| Total | 341 | 100% |
For this election the two candidates with the fewest votes on the first ballot were dropped. This applied to Linklater and Powderface. Riley then announced he would withdraw.

### Second ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| David Ahenakew | 259 | 83.82 |
| Arthur Manuel | 50 | 16.18 |
| Total | 309 | 100% |

## 1985

Held in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 30, 1985.

### First ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Georges Erasmus | | |
| David Ahenakew | | |
| Simon Lucas | 69 | |
| Graydon Nicholas | 44 | |
| Ernie Daniels | 10 | |
| Total | | 100% |

### Second ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Georges Erasmus | 274 | 54.26 |
| David Ahenakew | 231 | 45.74 |
| Total | 505 | 100% |

## 1988

Held in Edmonton, Alberta.
Winner: Georges Erasmus

## 1991

Held in Winnipeg, Manitoba on June 11, 1991.

### First ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Ovide Mercredi | | |
| Bill Wilson | | |
| Phil Fontaine | 164 | |
| Neil Sterritt | 13 | |
| Mike Mitchell | | |
| Total | | 100% |

## 1994

Held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on July 6, 1994.

### First ballot

| Candidate | Percentage |
| Ovide Mercredi | 54.0% |
| Wallace McKay | |
| Mike Kanentakeron Mitchell | |
| Delia Opekokew | |
| Konrad Sioui | |
| Total | 100% |

### Third ballot

| Candidate | Percentage |
| Ovide Mercredi | 60.8% |
| Wallace McKay | |
| Total | 100% |

## 1997

Held in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 30, 1997.

### First ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Ovide Mercredi | 127 | |
| Phil Fontaine | 126 | |
| Wendy Grant-John | 123 | |
| Joe Dion | | |
| Larry Sault | | |
| Bob Manuel | | |
| Total | | 100% |

### Second ballot

| Candidate | Percentage |
| Phil Fontaine | |
| Wendy Grant-John | |
| Ovide Mercredi | |
| Joe Dion | |
| Larry Sault | |
| Total | 100% |

### Third ballot

| Candidate | Percentage |
| Phil Fontaine | |
| Wendy Grant-John | |
| Ovide Mercredi | |
| Total | 100% |

### Fourth ballot

| Candidate | Percentage |
| Phil Fontaine | |
| Wendy Grant-John | |
| Total | 100% |

## 2000

Held in Ottawa, Ontario on July 12, 2000.

### First ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Matthew Coon Come | 244 | 50.31 |
| Phil Fontaine | 202 | 41.65 |
| Lawrence Martin | 26 | 5.36 |
| Marilyn Buffalo | 13 | 2.68 |
| Total | 485 | 100% |

### Second ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Matthew Coon Come | 287 | 58 |
| Phil Fontaine | 207 | 42 |
| Total | 494 | 100% |

## 2003

Held in Edmonton, Alberta on July 16, 2003.

### First ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Phil Fontaine | 292 | 51.59 |
| Roberta Jamieson | 167 | 29.50 |
| Matthew Coon Come | 105 | 18.55 |
| Rejected ballots | 2 | 0.35 |
| Total | 566 | 100% |

### Second ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Phil Fontaine | 338 | 60.90 |
| Roberta Jamieson | 217 | 39.09 |
| Total | 555 | 100% |

## 2006

Held in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 12, 2006.
| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Phil Fontaine | 373 | 76.12 |
| Bill Wilson | 117 | 23.88 |
| Total | 490 | 100% |

## 2009

The 2009 convention was held in Calgary, Alberta on July 22.
At the close of nominations on June 16, the declared candidates were AFN's British Columbia regional chief Shawn Atleo, Roseau River First Nation chief Terry Nelson, Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations chief Perry Bellegarde, British Columbia land claims negotiator Bill Wilson and former Union of Ontario Indians chief John Beaucage.
Beginning with the second ballot, the convention went into an unprecedented deadlock, with six successive ballots in which the final two candidates effectively tied at roughly 50 per cent of the vote. Under AFN rules, a candidate requires 60 per cent of the vote to win unless their opponent voluntarily concedes the race. Bellegarde conceded after the eighth ballot, on which Atleo had surged ahead to a 58 per cent finish.

### First ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Shawn Atleo | 238 | 43.11 |
| Perry Bellegarde | 162 | 29.35 |
| John Beaucage | 84 | 15.21 |
| Terry Nelson | 57 | 10.32 |
| Bill Wilson | 11 | 1.99 |
| Total | 552 | 100% |
Nelson and Wilson were automatically dropped after the first ballot, as both failed to garner 15 per cent of the vote. Both candidates endorsed Bellegarde on the second ballot. Beaucage, as the last-place finisher among the three remaining candidates, voluntarily dropped out shortly after the ballot results were announced, also endorsing Bellegarde.

### Second ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Shawn Atleo | 276 | 50.36 |
| Perry Bellegarde | 272 | 49.64 |
| Total | 548 | 100% |

### Third ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Shawn Atleo | 266 | 50.09 |
| Perry Bellegarde | 265 | 49.90 |
| Total | 531 | 100% |

### Fourth ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Perry Bellegarde | 267 | 50.19 |
| Shawn Atleo | 264 | 49.62 |
| Rejected ballots | 1 | 0.19 |
| Total | 532 | 100% |

### Fifth ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Perry Bellegarde | 254 | 49.9 |
| Shawn Atleo | 254 | 49.9 |
| Rejected ballots | 1 | 0.2 |
| Total | 509 | 100% |

### Sixth ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Shawn Atleo | 256 | 51.4 |
| Perry Bellegarde | 242 | 48.6 |
| Total | 498 | 100% |

### Seventh ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Shawn Atleo | 259 | 53.5 |
| Perry Bellegarde | 225 | 46.5 |
| Total | 484 | 100% |

### Eighth ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Shawn Atleo | 265 | 58.11 |
| Perry Bellegarde | 189 | 41.45 |
| Rejected ballots | 2 | 0.44 |
| Total | 456 | 100% |

## 2012

The 2012 convention was held in Toronto, Ontario on July 18, 2012
At the close of nominations on June 12, the declared candidates were Shawn Atleo, Diane Kelly, Bill Erasmus, Terrance Nelson, Pamela Palmater, Ellen Gabriel, Joan Jack and George Stanley.

### First ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Shawn Atleo | 284 | 52.59 |
| Pamela Palmater | 95 | 17.59 |
| Diane Kelly | 39 | 7.22 |
| Terry Nelson | 35 | 6.48 |
| Ellen Gabriel | 33 | 6.11 |
| Bill Erasmus | 29 | 5.37 |
| Joan Jack | 20 | 3.70 |
| George Stanley | 5 | 0.93 |
| Total | 540 | 100% |

### Second ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Shawn Atleo | 318 | 59.44 |
| Pamela Palmater | 107 | 20.00 |
| Bill Erasmus | 34 | 6.36 |
| Diane Kelly | 31 | 5.79 |
| Terry Nelson | 25 | 4.67 |
| Ellen Gabriel | 17 | 3.18 |
| Total | 535 | 100% |

### Third ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Shawn Atleo | 341 | 66.60 |
| Pamela Palmater | 141 | 27.54 |
| Bill Erasmus | 30 | 5.86 |
| Total | 512 | 100% |

## 2014

The 2014 leadership election took place on December 10. The candidates were Perry Bellegarde, the chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and the runner-up to Atleo in 2009; Ghislain Picard, the AFN's regional chief for Quebec and Labrador and the organization's interim chief since Atleo's resignation; and Leon Jourdain, the former grand chief of the Treaty 3 area in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.
| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Perry Bellegarde | 291 | 62.98 |
| Ghislain Picard | 136 | 29.43 |
| Leon Jourdain | 35 | 7.57 |
| Total | 462 | 100% |

## 2018

The 2018 leadership election took place on July 25, 2018, at the Annual General Assembly in Vancouver, British Columbia. Loretta Pete Lambert, of the Little Pine Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, was the chief electoral officer. The candidates were the incumbent, Perry Bellegarde, from the Little Black Bear First Nation; policy analyst Russell Diabo, a member of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake; Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Sheila North, a member of the Bunibonibee Cree Nation; economist and former President of the Council of the Haida Nation Miles Richardson; and Katherine Whitecloud, former Manitoba regional chief for the AFN, and member of Wipazoka Wakpa Dakota Nation.

### First ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Perry Bellegarde | 286 | 53.1 |
| Sheila North | 106 | 19.7 |
| Miles Richardson | 87 | 16.2 |
| Russell Diabo | 40 | 7.4 |
| Katherine Whitecloud | 19 | 3.5 |
| Total | 538 | 100.0 |

### Second ballot

| Candidate | Delegate Support | Percentage |
| Perry Bellegarde | 328 | 62.8 |
| Sheila North | 125 | 23.9 |
| Miles Richardson | 59 | 11.3 |
| Russell Diabo | 10 | 1.9 |
| Total | 522 | 100.0 |

## 2021

RoseAnne Archibald secured victory on July 8, 2021, after her rival, Reginald Bellerose, conceded. The election had stretched to a second day and went to a fifth round of voting after neither Archibald nor Bellerose received the necessary 60% of votes to win. That remained the case when the Assembly of First Nations announced the fifth-ballot results, but Bellerose announced he was withdrawing from the race before a sixth round of voting could begin.