Court dismisses lawsuit accusing Manitoba Métis leader of wrongdoing

OTTAWA – The Manitoba Métis Federation is celebrating an Ontario Superior Court decision that found its president did not breach his fiduciary duties while serving as finance minister for the Métis National Council.

In a decision on the lawsuit released Tuesday, Justice Loretta P. Merritt wrote that a series of transactions made under the leadership of former MNC president Clément Chartier and MMF president David Chartrand did not breach their fiduciary duties.

Merritt concluded they acted “honestly and with a view to the best interests of the MNC and the Métis Nation.”

“It’s clear that the plaintiffs were not straight with the court, and the court saw through it. The MMF remains focused on self-government implementation, the delivery of programs and services to our citizens, and defence of our identity as the Red River Métis,” Chartrand said in a media statement.

“We will not allow the integrity of our government — or the legacy of our veterans and our history — to be sacrificed to political agendas or personally motivated attacks. We will continue to stand up for truth and accountability, protect our democratic principles, defend our people, and uphold the best interests of the Red River Métis.”

The lawsuit, brought by the Métis National Council, alleged Chartrand, Chartier and former MNC executive director Wenda Watteyne conspired to intentionally harm the MNC through “secret, unauthorized and self-serving transactions” between 2019 and 2021. The lawsuit cited the administration of a veterans program, a database, an office lease and various consulting agreements.

The MNC alleged the actions of the former employees were meant to “destroy” the organization so that the MMF would serve as the national voice for Métis. Merritt concluded that was not true.

“Mr. Chartier and President Chartrand devoted their lives to the Métis Nation,” Merritt wrote.

“They did not set out to destroy the MNC and harm it financially to benefit themselves, the consultants or the employees.”

The Métis National Council said it is “disappointed with the outcome of the case” and that it remains committed to transparency, accountability and the protection of the interests of the Métis Nation.

“Court decisions may affect the pace, but they will never change our direction. The Métis Nation is stronger than any single dispute, and together we will keep telling our stories, defending our rights, and building our future,” MNC president Victoria Pruden wrote in a media statement.

Merritt found the evidence brought forward by the Métis National Council, the Métis Nation of Alberta and the Métis Nation of Ontario was not credible, and that the presidents of those organizations at times refused to admit they had provided incorrect information to the court.

“Overall, I found Mr. Chartier, President Chartrand and Ms. Watteyne’s evidence more credible and reliable,” Merritt wrote.

In the decision, Merritt wrote extensively about political infighting at the Métis National Council since 2017, when the Métis Nation of Ontario recognized six new communities it maintains are distinctly Métis.

The Manitoba Métis Federation has fiercely opposed that decision. It quit the Métis National Council in 2021 saying those communities do not represent legitimate Métis peoples and are situated well outside the recognized Métis homeland borders — one sits on the Quebec border.

Generally, Métis are understood to be a group born of intermarriages between European settlers and First Nations around the Red River in Manitoba who later settled the surrounding region.

The Métis Nation of Ontario has pushed back against criticism of its decision to recognize the communities and was briefly suspended from the Métis National Council by Chartier.

Since the Manitoba Métis Federation left the council, the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and the Métis Nation of British Columbia and have followed suit, citing similar concerns about who the Métis Nation of Ontario represents.

Only the Métis Nation of Ontario and the Métis Nation of Alberta remain as members of the Métis National Council.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2025.