In 1917, Prime Minister Robert Borden passed the Military Voters Act, which allowed any current member of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces the right to vote, including Indigenous soldiers. The stipulation existed that if Indigenous soldiers were unable to make it to a polling station, then a representative would be sent to their reserve to allow them to vote. The instances of this happen are not adequately recorded, which begs the question: did it happen?
For Vancouver Island, the Indigenous soldiers’ vote never came. The Indigenous peoples of Vancouver Island, with the exception of those who signed the Douglas Treaties between 1850-1854, were not included in Canada’s treaty making process like much of British Columbia. As a result, they were not entitled to the right to vote under the Military Voters Act. However, Indigenous peoples in British Columbia were the first, nationally, to get the vote in 1949. Indigenous peoples in general did not get the right to vote nationally until 1960.
Excerpt from the Department of Indian Affairs annual report on voting: “Public interest has recently been attracted to this matter, owing to the large number of Indians who have enlisted in the Canadian Expeditonary Force, and it has been contended, and justly so, that men who render service of such a nature to their country should be entitled to the fullest rights of citizenship. There is a popular misconception, however, to the effect that the enfranchisement of Indians merely involves the extension of the suffrage to them. This feature of the question, although important; is a very simple one when compared with the more complex and involved problem of the division of Indian landholdings and financial assets.”[1]
[1] Department Of Indian Affairs. Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs for the Year Ended March 31 1917. 1 George V Sessional Paper No. 27 ed. Printed by Order of Parliament Ottawa, J. De Labroquerie Tache Printer to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, 1918. Page 26.