The Assembly of First Nations will elect a new National Chief on July 25th.

Chiefs from the over 600 First Nations represented by the Assembly will cast their vote for one of five candidates from across the country. The candidates include current National Chief Perry Bellegarde of Saskatchewan, Russ Diabo of Quebec, Miles Richardson of British Columbia, Sheila North from Manitoba and Katherine Whitecloud, also from Manitoba.

Long Plain First Nation Councillor Liz Merrick is voting in proxy for Long Plain Chief Dennis Meeches. She shares what's important for them in a candidate.

"We want to support a candidate who is for our education and language and culture, which is part of the Truth and Reconciliation that the government is undertaking right now. They should be pursuing that for all of us because it's important for all First Nations across the country," says Merrick. "So that's part of it. Housing as well. Also, there's some new funding arrangements coming up. We want this candidate to be knowledgeable and speak for us at the national level."

She adds something else they'd like to see in a candidate is someone who is available to meet with the First Nations communities that they represent.

Merrick notes choosing a candidate to support will likely be a difficult choice as they all have a wide range of abilities and experience.