One year ago, I stood before the people of Churchill–Keewatinook Aski and made a promise — to walk alongside communities in this
riding with care and accountability. To listen deeply, to be present in the places where life happens, and to represent those voices with
integrity in Ottawa.
This past year has been one of the most humbling, demanding, and meaningful experiences of my life. I have travelled across this vast riding, working alongside communities on priorities that matter including emergency management, wildfire preparedness, housing, mental health, safety, justice, community wellness, and improved connectivity through broadband and infrastructure investments. I have
had the honour of sitting in ceremony, learning from Elders, listening to youth, and working with Chiefs, councils, industry leaders, and researchers to better understand the opportunities and challenges across the North. Over the past year, we have worked to strengthen connections between communities and their federal government. We re-established regular communication through this mailer, opened a constituency office in Thompson, and expanded services including immigration casework. We have supported communities in accessing federal programs, advanced infrastructure and connectivity investments, and stood alongside leadership across the riding to move priorities
forward together.
This newsletter is a record of that first year. It is yours because it was built for you, and it was built by the communities that never stopped asking for more. I am honoured to serve you. And I am just getting started.
LOOKING INTO THE NEXT YEAR
Dear friends, neighbours, and community members, I want to close this first year by looking forward. Not because the work of this past year is finished — it is not — but because I believe the best of what we can build together is still ahead of us. The North is not waiting. And neither am I. In the year ahead, I am committing to something both simple and significant: I will keep showing up. Not just in Thompson. Not only in communities along the highway. But in fly-in communities, in gathering places, in healing spaces, and in school gymnasiums—where relationships are built and the most important conversations unfold. I will sit with your Elders and listen to what they remember.
I will hear from your young people about what they are building. I will be present in band offices and community halls, at Friendship Centres and local radio stations, at Artisan Markets, convocations, Treaty Days, and harvest feasts. Because this riding is not a map. It is a living, breathing community of communities — and I am committed to knowing it through the relationships that shape it.
On the advocacy front, the files we have opened in Year One will carry forward with urgency. The Norway House bridge has engineering, provincial commitment, and a community that has waited 44 years — we will not stop until that federal match is secured.
The Port of Churchill belongs to the North and its future will be shaped by the rights-holders and communities who have always cared for these lands. Peguis First Nation deserves permanent flood mitigation solutions, not another emergency response. These are not files I will put down.
And I want to hear from you. Directly. Honestly. Without the filter of a press release or a programme application form.
your community has a need — call our office. If there is a federal programme you cannot navigate we will navigate it with you. If there is a project your Band has been trying to advance for years without a federal partner, bring it to us. That is what this office is
here for. Consultation is not a checkbox. Engagement is not a photo opportunity. And empathy is not a communications strategy. These are the foundations of how I want to lead in Year Two, and every year after that.
This riding gave me the most profound honour of my life when it sent me to Ottawa. I will spend every day of my time in this role making sure that trust was worth giving. The North is strong. The North is resilient. And the North deserves everything.
With deep respect and commitment-
The Honourable Rebecca Chartrand, MP
Churchill–Keewatinook Aski | Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs
Miigwech · Kinana'skomitin · Pidamaya ye · Mahsi cho · Nakurmiik · Merci · Thank you