Voters in Duplessis elect 1st Innu to sit in Quebec National Assembly

Kateri Champagne Jourdain has become the first Innu and the first Indigenous woman to be elected to the National Assembly. The Coalition Avenir Qubec candidate wrested the riding ofDuplessisfrom the Parti Qubcoisafter40 years of PQ rule.

Originally from the community of Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam, next to Sept-leson the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, Champagne Jourdainwon handilywith 45 per cent of the vote a 3,300-vote margin over the PQ's Marilou Vanier.

"Here in Duplessis, we made history in the riding, but we also made history in Quebec," Champagne Jourdain said. "I am very proud."

The only other Indigenous person to hold provincial office in Quebec since 1969 wasAlexis Wawanoloath, an Abenakilawyer elected PQ MNA in the riding of Abitibi-Est in 2007.

Champagne Jourdain saidshe plans to rely on her culture to help her work with Indigenouscommunities in the development of "major projects."

"I carry the Innu culture within me, and I am bringing it with me to Quebec City. It will follow me throughout my term," she said in an interview after her victory.

Ghislain Picard, the regional chiefof the Assembly of First Nations for Quebec and Labrador,reached out to her on Twitter soon after her victory was declared.

"I would like to send my congratulations to Kateri Champagne Jourdain, elected Innu in Duplessis," Picard tweeted.

Champagne Jourdain succeeds the PQ's Lorraine Richard. Richard, first elected in 2003, retiredfrom political life for health reasons.

Aside from the PQ's Vanier, Champagne Jourdain ran against the Liberals' Chamroeun Khuon, Qubec Solidaire's Uapukun Mestokosho and the Conservative Party of Quebec's Roberto Sta.

In 2018, the voter turnout in the riding stood at 55.81 per cent.