Ritchie re-elected Saugeen First Nation Chief

Saugeen First Nation chief Conrad Ritchie, pictured near Southampton in December 2022 (Source: Scott Miller/CTV News London)

A local Indigenous group will have consistency in the Chief position as it readies for important votes on national energy projects.

Conrad Ritchie was re-elected as the Chief of the Saugeen First Nation last week.

Ritchie will lead Saugeen through important votes on massive energy projects that are pending in the region.

First, band members will vote on whether they’ll allow Canada’s first permanent nuclear waste facility to built in their territory, near Teeswater. That vote is expected early next year.

Members of the Saugeen First Nation will also decide if Bruce Power builds as many as five new nuclear reactors along the shores of Lake Huron, near Kincardine. That project also lies within the Saugeen territory.

Ritchie says these are both “forever projects,” and not be easy decisions for band members.