Wab Kinew is slated to become Canada’s first First Nations provincial premier as the NDP wins the province of Manitoba.

Following his party’s landslide victory in Tuesday’s election, Wab Kinew, the leader of Manitoba’s New Democratic Party, is poised to become the country’s first First Nations provincial premier.

Mr. Kinew, 41, a former rapper, broadcaster, novelist, and administrator at a university, was raised in part on the Onigaming First Nation in Ontario. Six years ago, he assumed leadership of Manitoba’s opposition NDP. After a fierce campaign in which he fought off attacks from the incumbent Progressive Conservatives over a criminal record and a troubled past, which he freely acknowledged as having played a significant role in his life-changing experience while discussing unfavorable stereotypes about Indigenous people, he ultimately won.

Heather Stefanson, the Progressive Conservative leader who led the party to prominence and became the first female premier of the province