Métis Nation of Ontario Election 2024
MAY 6, 2024 is election day for the Provisional Council of the Métis Nation of Ontario (PCMNO), MNO Youth Council (MNOYC), and the MNO Veterans Council (MNOVC).
Citizens of the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) 16 years of age or older, are entitled to vote for the candidates of their choice for the PCMNO.
In addition, MNO citizens who are between the ages of sixteen (16) and twenty-nine (29) years of age may vote for the youth representative of the PCMNO, for the regional youth representatives of the MNOYC, and for the Chair Person of the MNOYC.
Further, MNO Citizens who are veterans as defined by the MNO Veterans Council may also vote for MNOVC representatives.
Below are a few important links to information and documentation pertaining to the upcoming election:
Click here for the list of Candidates and Acclamations
CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER
As per the requirements in MNO Electoral Code, the Provisional Council of the Métis Nation of Ontario’s (PCMNO) has appointed Paul DeVillers as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) responsible for operating these elections. This will be the fourth time Paul DeVillers has served as CEO for MNO’s provincial elections: he also held the role of CEO for the 2023 MNO plebiscite, and has been serving as CEO supporting Community Council elections.
The CEO is an independent, nonpartisan entity charged with operating Elections for the MNO in accordance with the MNO’s Electoral Codes and related policies. While independent to the MNO Secretariat and to PCMNO and any of MNO’s elected officials, he is supported to accomplish the administrative elements of his work – such as posting informaiton to the MNO webpage – by MNO staff as necessary.
The Chief Electoral officer can answer questions about the election. He can be reached by email at election@metisnation.org, or toll free at 1-800-263-4889, extension 344.
DATES AND DEADLINES
There are a number of important dates and deadlines related to the May 2024 elections can be found here.
NOTE: Some of the dates set for the May 2024 election may be different than those outlined in MNO’s Electoral Code and Policy documents. It is the dates found at the link above that will be enforced in the May 2024 elections, set based on the authority of the CEO provided to him by PCMNO.
Any questions or concerns about the dates and deadlines related to the May 2024 elections can be directed to Chief Electoral Officer DeVillers.
VOTING ADMINISTRATION
The Chief Electoral Officer has chosen independent, Indigenous-owned, third-party election services company called OneFeather to execute the voting for MNO Election 2024. This is the same organization that was used for the 2020 PCMNO election, the 2023 MNO plebiscite, and that has been used for most Community Council elections since 2020.
A leader in Indigenous election administration, OneFeather has more than 25 years of experience managing secure elections , and is a pioneer of electoral technology and best practices.
OneFeather’s founder and CEO is Lawrence Lewis, a member of the We Wai Kai Nation (Cape Mudge) from central Vancouver Island. CEO DeVillers has appointed Lawrence Lewis as the Electronic and Telephone Voting Officer as per the Métis Nation of Ontario Policy #2019-003 Policy on Electronic and Telephone Voting.
Any questions about voting can be directed to OneFeather by emailing voterhelp@onefeather.ca or calling 1-855-923-3006.
VOTING INFORMATION
All MNO citizens eligible to vote will be provided with the option to vote electronically, by telephone, or by requesting a mail in ballot.
Electronic and telephone voting will be open from Monday April 8, 2024 (8:30am Eastern Time) to May 6, 2024 (6:00pm Eastern Time).
Electronic Voting: https://onefeather.ca/nations/mno
To vote electronically, eligible electors can visit the website https://onefeather.ca/nations/mno and click the red button to “Activate Profile”.
Citizens will require their MNO citizenship number, date of birth and personal email address to complete this process.
IMPORTANT: citizens are encouraged to please read and follow all the instructions provided. If assistance is needed, voters can use the red “Help” button located near the bottom of the webpage.
Telephone Voting: 1-855-923-3006
To vote by telephone, eligible electors, can call the toll-free number 1-833-976-0616 (when the polls are open from 8:30 am ET Monday, April 8, 2024 to 6:00pm ET Monday, May 6, 2024.
Voters will require their MNO citizenship number and date of birth to vote.
IMPORTANT: It could take 15-20 minutes to complete voting by telephone. If, for any reason the connection is terminated, it will be necessary to start the process over again.
Voting by mail
To vote by mail, voters will first need to request to be sent the ballots.
Ballots can be requested until April 15, 2024 by emailing voterhelp@onefeather.ca or by calling OneFeather at 1-855-923-3006.
To be counted in the election, all mailed ballots need to arrive at OneFeather by Monday, May 6, 2024, 3:00pm Pacific Time.
Questions about voting
Any questions about voting can be directed to OneFeather by emailing voterhelp@onefeather.ca or calling 1-855-923-3006.
ENSURE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION IS UP TO DATE
To ensure that electors get to vote for candidates in the MNO Region in which they live, and to ensure that they receive information about how to vote, citizens are encouraged to verify that the MNO Registry has their current mailing and email addresses.
Citizen contact information can be updated online at www.metisnation.org/registry/update-your-information, by calling the MNO Registry at 1-855-798-1006, or by emailing info@mnoregistry.ca.
NOMINATION INFORMATION
Any citizen of the MNO is eligible to be nominated as a Candidate if they satisfy Article 6.3 of the MNO Electoral Code Part A, and meet any further specific requirements of the position detailed in the Code.
Nominations will be accepted by the Chief Electoral Officer, either in person, by mail or by courier up the closing of nominations at 5:00pm in the time zone of the candidate on March 11, 2024.
Nominations packages can be delivered to:
Paul DeVillers
55 Cargrove Pvt.
Ottawa, ON K1K 4Y7
More information about nominations will be posted in the coming days.
PCMNO COMPENSATION AND ROLE DESCRIPTIONS
Positions on the PCMNO are compensated. Information about PCMNO’s compensation framework can be found in the September 2, 2020 communique posted on MNO’s website.
For your information, the PCMNO recently passed a resolution to split the positions of PCMNO President and CEO. If and when this split will go into effect, the salary of the PCMNO President could be subject to change.
If any changes are made to PCMNO compensation before the election, the Chief Electoral Officer will share the update on the election page of MNO’s website here: www.metisnation.org/governance/election/
Role descriptions for members of PCMNO can be found here.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF CANDIDATES
Candidates and acclamations will be announced on March 18, 2024 on the election page of MNO’s website at www.metisnation.org/Election.
Citizens are encouraged to visit this website regularly to the latest information about the 2024 elections.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF ELECTION RESULTS
Please note that as per Article 35 of the Election Code, the Chief Electoral Officer shall publicly announce the results of MNO Election 2024 and declare elected the Candidates who received the largest number of votes.
The intention is to post this announcement at www.metisnation.org/election as soon as the results of the counts of all valid Ballots are confirmed the evening of May 6, 2024.
QUESTIONS
For any questions related to voting, please contact OneFeather by emailing voterhelp@onefeather.ca or calling 1-855-923-3006.
For other questions related to the election, its rules, dates and deadlines, nomination requirements etc., please contact Chief Electoral Officer DeVillers by email at election@metisnation.org, or toll free at 1-800-263-4889, extension 344.
Any questions related to PCMNO compensation can be directed to your PCMNO elected officials.