Cathy Merrick re-elected for second term as leader of Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs

AMC Grand Chief Cathy Merrick is shown during an interview on April 13, 2024.

WAYWAYSEECAPPO FIRST NATION — First Nations chiefs in Manitoba have voted to keep Cathy Merrick as the leader of the organization that represents the majority of First Nations in the province.

Merrick, who was first elected grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs in 2022, secured another term in a landslide win during the advocacy group's annual general assembly.

She won on the first ballot with 35 of the 54 votes submitted.

Merrick was being challenged by George Kemp, a lawyer and the former chief of Berens River First Nation, and Darrell N. Shorting, who is from Little Saskatchewan First Nation.

Merrick made history two years ago by becoming the first woman to lead the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs in its 35-year history.

Since taking office, she has stood by the families of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, two victims of a convicted serial killer, to demand a search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for the women's remains.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2024.