OTTAWA — The Manitoba Métis Federation is turning down Prime Minister Mark Carney's invitation to discuss his government's controversial major projects legislation, saying it won't attend the meeting alongside another Métis group it claims has no reason to exist.
The federation, which represents Red River Métis, said Wednesday Carney's decision to invite the Métis Nation of Ontario to Thursday's meeting undermines the integrity of the gathering and puts the government's plans for major projects at risk.
"Respect my government as you're asking me to respect yours. Trust my government as you're asking me to trust yours," Federation president David Chartrand said to reporters in front of his cabinet ministers in Ottawa on Wednesday.
"To the prime minister, the door is open. If you want to come and sit down with my cabinet in a government-to-government relationship, we will meet. But if you want to insult us, then we'll see each other in a different political realm in the future."
Other Métis groups and First Nations say the communities represented by the Métis Nation of Ontario have no claim to Métis heritage and Ottawa and Ontario have no right to recognize them.
The MNO has defended itself from those claims, saying Métis do not exist only in the Red River region.
Chartrand also said Ottawa is propping up the Métis National Council by including it in the meeting, despite the fact that it has only two provincial members left due to conflicts related to the MNO.
He said Carney's political advisers do not know enough about Métis politics, adding the prime minister never would have met with "fake banks" in his previous role as Bank of Canada governor.
"You're prime minister of Canada. Don't have a meeting with a fake group of people, because it's not right. You wouldn't do it as a businessman. Don't do it as prime minister," Chartrand said.
Carney promised meetings with First Nations, Inuit and Métis after Indigenous leaders said they were not consulted adequately on the major projects legislation and they fear projects will move forward without their input.
While the Manitoba Métis Federation has been generally supportive of the legislation, Chartrand said Ottawa's push to approve major projects is at risk if Ottawa negotiates with "illegitimate bodies."
MNO co-secretary for rights, intergovernmental relations and communications Mitch Case said the Manitoba Métis Federation is free to make decisions about its own participation, but has no right to dictate who sits around the table.
"(Chartrand) can go and argue with his past self. He can argue with me. They can post whatever they want on Facebook. We're here to talk about how do we work with Canada to respond to the economic threat, the geopolitical situation that the globe finds itself in right now," Case said.
Métis leaders have few details about Thursday's meeting and told The Canadian Press the government has not yet given them a formal agenda.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2025.
Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press
