Ervin Bighetty, Leaf Rapids’ New Indigenous Mayor, Has Big Plans For His Manitoba Town – HuffPost Canada

It used to be a bustling rural centre. Its new mayor wants to bring back the bustle.

Leaf Rapids, Man., used to be a bustling mining town, decades ahead of its time. Founded in the 1970s, it was developed as an experimental model that other northern communities could replicate: urban amenities in a rural environment.

The town is an 11-hour drive north of Winnipeg, and, in its heyday, boasted a population of 2,356. But since the closure of the copper mine in 2002, the population has dwindled to a mere 582.

Leaf Rapids recently had an election this past fall, and Ervin Bighetty became the town’s second Indigenous mayor — and the youngest at 27 years old.

Read More: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/12/13/ervin-bighetty-leaf-rapids-mayor-manitoba_a_23608508/