At 26 years of age, two-spirit, Anthony Owl-Ritchie, is the youngest to be elected in 2026 to Saugeen First Nation Band Council.
While the youngest Councillor at the table, he brings a wealth of experience. Having worked in youth and mental health wellness for four years, he has co-designed and co-facilitated workshops with the First Nations Youth Leadership and Governance National Initiative through the Further Education Society of Alberta (FESA), in addition to serving on its National Advisory Committee.
From Vancouver to Canmore and Banff, Ritchie has facilitated workshops. He also organized an on-line two-hour forum on activism where he brought analysts together to speak on Indigenous activism. In addition, he is working on youth exchange programs and attended Empowering Youth Voices in Ottawa moderating youth on public speaking.
Since 2023, he has served as a youth representative on the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Committee. “Every time I attend CAMH meetings, I try to bring knowledge and connections back to our community to further educate each other.”
He has also co-developed workshops for SFN youth in traditional drum-making and ribbon-wear apparel.
In addition, Ritchie has held engagement sessions with local high school youth and worked with various Indigenous organizations with a youth focus.
Ritchie says that he intends to work to ensure that youth have a real seat at the table and “not simply a mention in the minutes”.
“I feel I have the experience, commitment and heart for this work,” said Ritchie. “I feel I am a direct pipeline for youth in the community. I listen to them and I bring their voices forward. Too often, those voices are left out of the room where decisions are made. I just wanted to show youth that they can do or be anything. I want to chair several committees and want to continue my education … you have to stay involved.”
In his first year of running for Council, he had the fourth top election vote recognizing that he brings the enthusiasm of youth to the table along with experiences beyond youth.
“I am proud and excited to see what our new Chief, Sonya Roote, will bring and to work alongside her and also to sit beside former Chief Conrad Ritchie, now as Councillor, who has mentored me.”
