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OTTAWA — More than 40 per cent of registered electors living in Indigenous communities voted in the federal election last year, a new Elections Canada report shows.
The highest level of voter participation in Indigenous communities was recorded in the Yukon at 61.9 per cent, while the lowest level was recorded in Quebec at 21.1 per cent.
Across Canada, nearly 70 per cent of registered electors cast ballots in the 2025 election.
Indigenous people in Canada tend to be less likely than others to vote in federal elections — a legacy of decades of mistrust and tensions between their communities and Ottawa.
Before 1960, First Nations people generally had to forfeit their Indian status in order to vote in an election.
Memories of those days linger, making some Indigenous people wary of casting a ballot. Others see voting in federal elections as a breach of the unique treaties their communities hold with the Crown.
Elections Canada says it has been working with communities to ensure those who want to vote are able to, while Indigenous candidates in the last federal election looked for their own ways to boost voter turnout.
Despite those efforts, challenges persisted during the 2025 election. Some voters in Nunavik were unable to cast their ballots when a shortage of Elections Canada staff led to some polls closing well ahead of schedule.
In its new report on turnout in Indigenous communities, Elections Canada identified polling divisions that closely corresponded to the boundaries of Indigenous communities. It said this approach can help identify groups of Indigenous voters but could miss people who live in urban centres.
Elections Canada said the data does not show the identity of the voters and some non-Indigenous people living in the polling divisions could be included in the data.
The report found 30.2 per cent of voters in all Inuit communities cast ballots in the 2025 election, compared with 42.1 per cent of voters in First Nations communities and 50.9 per cent of voters in Métis communities.
The data can’t be compared directly to previous years because Elections Canada changed its methodology.
Jennifer Laewetz is the CEO of Paskwâw Strategies, a consultancy that works with Indigenous organizations engaging with Ottawa and private businesses.
Laewetz said while the Elections Canada data didn’t track any big change in voter turnout in Indigenous communities, the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations is something Ottawa needs to take seriously.
She said one of the biggest factors undermining Indigenous turnout is voters feeling disconnected from outside political processes — partly due to a lack of outreach from prospective MPs before and during election campaigns.
She said prospective candidates should do more to build connections with Indigenous communities. Laewetz said that means making contact beyond major community events like powwows that tend to attract campaigning non-Indigenous politicians.
“If we’re not being included by the people who are trying to represent us, then why would we turn up to the polls?” she said.
Laewetz said that while the presence of Indigenous MPs in the House of Commons offers representation, “it just doesn’t seem like it’s connecting to the grassroots people.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2026.
Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press
