During her acceptance speech, Kyra Wilson told the chiefs in attendance she was aware of all the issues currently facing First Nations people in Manitoba and confidently told those gathered that “we will tackle every single one.”

Wilson was elected in the first round of voting for grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) on Jan. 29.

The AMC held an election after the sudden death of Cathy Merrick in September 2024.

Wilson said that straightforwardness is pretty much how she’s been for much of her life thanks in part to how her mother raised her.