Liberal candidate looks to take Manitoba's northernmost riding after giving NDP MP 'a good run' in 2015

Rebecca Chartrand says she gave NDP candidate Niki Ashton "a good run for her money" the last time she ran in Manitoba's northernmost riding, and the Liberal candidate says she's now looking to do it again.

Chartrand, the president and CEO of Indigenous Strategy, a management consulting company, is running for the federal Liberals in Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, the party confirmed late Tuesday.

She'll attempt to unseat the NDP's Niki Ashton, who has won five consecutive elections in the riding.

Ashton may have been considered a lock to win the seat again, but polls suggesting the NDP's popularity is sliding could point to an opening for the Liberals and Conservatives to seriously challenge the party's supremacy in a riding the NDP has won 12 times in the last 15 elections. 

"I see that I have a chance for sure. I think I gave Niki Ashton a good run for her money the last time I ran," Chartrand said, referring to the 2015 election, in which she won 42 per cent of the votes cast (12,575 votes) to Ashon's 45 per cent (13,487 votes).

Ashton won the two subsequent elections by at least 3,100 ballots.

'A seat at the table'

Chartrand, who is Anishinaabe, Inninew and Métis and from Treaty 4 territory, said Indigenous people "need to have a seat at the table" in a riding where 75 per cent of people identity as Indigenous, according to the 2021 census.

"Niki Ashton is not Indigenous. And all things being equal, I think it should be based on the person's skill and what they bring, but democracy also requires change," said Chartrand.

"And so I think it's important to bring in some fresh ideas and to bring somebody into a position that's actually going to be in a party that is going to govern this country."

Chartrand said the Liberals have wanted her to run in previous elections, but she was busy with her work and children. She felt compelled to run this time as Canadians have galvanized around a "common enemy" in U.S. President Donald Trump amid the ongoing trade war, she said.

"With the NDP and their [polling] numbers just plummeting, a vote for Niki Ashton would be a wasted vote and a very critical one at this time in history."

CBC requested comment Tuesday night from the NDP for this story.

The Conservatives have yet to announce a candidate for the riding. 

Ashton has been a consistent advocate on Parliament Hill around Indigenous issues and the cost of living.

She came under fire last summer when CBC News reported  she billed taxpayers for a trip she took to reportedly meet with "stakeholders" over the Christmas holidays in Quebec — travel that included bringing her husband and kids along. She has since paid back some of those expenses. 

In light of the current trade war, Chartrand said she considers northern Manitoba a "national trade lifeline" the country can no longer ignore.

She says if elected she'll advance economic development opportunities in the north, ranging from the railway to the Port of Churchill and the abundance of critical minerals.

"I don't think we can see infrastructure in the north as a cost. I think we need to see it as an investment for the rest of Canada."

The federal election is slated for April 28.