A
Métis, Firth was the first Indigenous politician from the North to win a seat in the
House of Commons of Canada. He served as the
New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for the
Northwest Territories during the 1970s. He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the
1972 federal election and re-elected in
1974. He did not run for re-election in 1979, but attempted to return to the House of Commons in the
1980 election. He was defeated in the riding of
Western Arctic. In private life, Firth had various careers as an airplane pilot, flying instructor, broadcaster and fur trader. He was also active as a Native rights advocate. Firth made another attempt to return to the House of Commons in the
1997 federal election, this time running as an
Independent in Western Arctic, but was again unsuccessful. Firth subsequently returned to the New Democratic Party attempting to win the party's nomination in
Yukon for the
2004 election but was unsuccessful. He died in
Victoria, British Columbia, on March 2, 2024, at the age of 89. == Electoral history ==