65 years ago, Canada passed Bill C-3, amending the Canada Elections Act to finally give First Nations Peoples the unrestricted right to vote in federal elections—without having to give up their status under the Indian Act.
Happy birthday, Indian Act amendment.
You arrived fashionably late. Nearly a century late.
Before the 1880s, many First Nations people—especially those living east of Manitoba—could vote in federal elections. But then, in classic colonial fashion, the right was quietly taken away. For the next 80 years, voting came with conditions: you could enlist in war, pay taxes, even die for your country—but unless you renounced your Indianness, you couldn’t vote in it.
That all changed on a spring day in 1960. The Prime Minister, John Diefenbaker, believed it was time to make good on a promise of full citizenship. Minister Ellen Fairclough introduced Bill C-3. “We believe that the time has come to give all Indians in Canada the right to vote in federal elections without being required to abandon their treaty rights or Indian status.”
Finally, the right to vote without assimilation.
But here’s the twist: First Nations were never actually invited to help plan the party. No consultation. No committee of Elders or community voices. Just a well-meaning government and a handful of MPs making decisions on behalf of over 200 diverse nations.
MP Caron from Hull said it plainly “I agree that [Senator Gladstone’s] presence there is a good thing. However, I do not agree that, in itself, it automatically gives recognition to all the Indians, because the first right of the Indian is to speak for himself, personally and in his own behalf….Most of the Indians… do not seem to be in favour of this bill—not because they do not want to vote, but because they fear the white man.” Caron further added “They are afraid that, in exchange for a favour, the white man will take something away from them.”
Can you blame them?
In my own family, there are Elders still alive today who came of age in Canada and couldn’t vote. Some served in the military—uniform on, medals earned, still denied the ballot. They’ve now been voting for 65 years. That’s a whole retirement’s worth of democracy.
CCF MP Howard from Skeena said it well during the 1960 debates “When we extend the franchise to Indians we are not doing them a favour. We are merely restoring to them a right that should never have been taken away.”
Yes, we had cake and candles. But many First Nations brought caution and memory instead of celebration. After all, what is given without being asked for can always be taken without notice.
That’s the legacy of the Two Row Wampum, an agreement made long before Confederation. Two vessels—one Indigenous, one settler—traveling side by side, never interfering in the other’s path. The spirit of the treaty was mutual respect and coexistence. Not absorption. Not silence.
And yet, for decades, Canada decided what "rights" First Nations could exercise. Even the right to choose their leaders.
Still, some chose to step into the colonial halls and speak their truths.
In 1968—just eight years after Bill C-3 became law—Len Marchand became the first Status First Nations person elected to Parliament. He was followed by many others: Métis, Inuit, First Nations. Today, Indigenous MPs sit on both sides of the House, sometimes raising hard truths, sometimes being told they “say too much.”
That, too, is democracy. Today, we mark 65 years since that vote passed. A small step on the long road of recognition. A moment of both pride and pain.
So here’s a toast:
To the aunties and uncles who voted in their first election at 30, 40, 50 years old.
To the grandfathers who signed up to fight overseas, but weren’t allowed to vote back home.
To the youth who are voting today, often for the first time in their families.
To the MPs who listen.
To the ones who still feel that what is for Canada is for Canada—and what is for First Nations is for First Nations.
Happy birthday, Bill C-3. You’re not perfect, but you opened a door. And we haven’t stopped walking through it since.