Jaime Battiste

Jaime Youngmedicine Battiste (born October 18, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has been a member of the House of Commons of Canada as a member of the Liberal Party since 2019. A member of the Eskasoni First Nation, he is the first Mi'kmaw member of Parliament (MP) in Canada.

Background Battiste is the son of Chickasaw legal scholar James (Sákéj) Youngblood Henderson and Miꞌkmaq scholar Marie Battiste, both recipients of Indspire Awards. He is a member of the Eskasoni First Nation.

Battiste spent his formative years in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, graduating from Evan Hardy Collegiate in 1997. He holds a degree in Mi’kmaq studies from Cape Breton University and a Juris Doctor from the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University.

From 2005 to 2006, Battiste served as co-chair of the Assembly of First Nations National Youth Council. He is also a former AFN regional chief.

Political career

In April 2019, Battiste announced he was seeking the Liberal nomination in Sydney—Victoria for the 2019 federal election. He won the nomination on July 13, 2019. He faced calls for his removal as a candidate after controversial social media posts came to light.

On October 21, 2019, Battiste was elected as the member of Parliament (MP) in Sydney—Victoria becoming the first Mi'kmaq MP.

Battiste was elected as chair of Liberal Indigenous Caucus in 2019 and has focused on increasing investment in Indigenous communities, in addition to the continued advancement of reconciliation.

Battiste has focused on environmental advocacy, with the passage of a private member's motion, M-35.

On December 3, 2021, Battiste was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.

During his second term, Battiste has advocated for the elimination of the Second Generation Cut-Off under the Indian Act.

In a press conference in September 2024, Battiste described Atlantic Canadians as "progressive ... kind of meat and potatoes, fisheries, EI kind of folks" after he was asked about the declining poll numbers for the Liberal Party. He later apologized for his remarks in a post on social media.

Battiste won re-election in the 2025 Canadian federal election in the riding of Cape Breton—Canso—Antigonish, defeating former deputy premier Allan MacMaster.

Battiste entered the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, becoming the first Indigenous person to run for leader of the party. He announced his intention to run on January 13 and his registration was approved by the party's leadership vote committee. On January 30, he withdrew and endorsed former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney.

Awards and recognition

In 2017, Battiste was awarded the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers.

As a musician, his band, 2nd Generation, has been nominated for multiple awards and won an East Coast Music Award in 2024.

Electoral record