Métis Self-Government Legislation

On February 24, 2023, the MNA and Canada signed the Métis Nation within Alberta Self-Government Recognition and Implementation Agreement. This agreement built on the 2019 self-government agreement and committed the federal government to introduce self-government implementation legislation as soon as possible.

On June 21, 2023, the Government of Canada introduced Métis Self-Government Legislation in the House of Commons.

This will:

• legislatively anchor the MNA’s nation-to-nation, government-to-government relationship with Canada for generations to come
• advance the constitutional promise made to the Métis in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982
• implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in concrete and practical terms
• end generations of denial of Métis self-government, and ensure the many false starts the Métis have had in trying to have their governments recognized will not be repeated

With the recent ratification of our Otipemisiwak Métis Government Constitution and the formal recognition of our Métis government by Canada, this legislation is a vital next step to creating an enduring nation-to-nation, government-to-government relationship with the federal Crown. It will ensure that even as governments come and go, the recognition of our Métis government will not be subject to political change.

We call upon the House of Commons and the Senate to support this important legislation as reconciliation-in-action and work swiftly to receive Royal Assent as soon as possible.  

For almost a century, our Citizens and Métis communities in Alberta have come together, with the vision of Louis Riel in their hearts, to build the Métis Nation of Alberta as their Métis government.

Passing Métis Self-Government Legislation is the next vital step in our journey to self-government and would constitutionally protect the modern-day self-government treaty we are negotiating with Canada.