All About Strong Alliances: First Nations Engagement in the Federal Election

[para. 1-2]: "For many members of First Nations communities, the basic rights of First Nations and the protection of their environment were at stake in the 2015 Canadian federal election. The thought of another Conservative majority was too much to bear for many of them. 

To prevent this Conservative majority from happening, First Nations and like-minded Canadians used the alliances they forged under the Idle No More movement to rally the vote against this possibility. Idle No More was the largest social movement Canada has ever seen. For over six months in 2013, it captured media headlines around the world. To members of this movement, Stephen Harper’s focus on security was based on a campaign of fear, not facts. The Conservative government’s Anti-Terrorism Act (Bill C-51) had the potential to make Canadians terrorists for merely expressing their dissent. The result was public outcry from many segments of society, including some former prime ministers, former Supreme Court of Canada justices, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) officials, lawyers, and academics. How Bill C-51 might be used to suppress another Idle No More movement was a source of concern."