05/22/2025
Michelle LeClair copied Eagle Feather News (voteleclair.ca)
LeClair has been MN-S Vice-President since being elected 2021, where she also served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Lands and Environment. She is a lawyer, with education from the University of Saskatchewan and Cornell University, and has previously served the MN-S in various capacities, including area director for Northern Region 1, and speaker for the house at the MN-S legislative assembly.
Why are you running for re-election?
Because I still believe there’s really important work to be done. Over the last four years, we’ve made a great deal of progress on a number of things, one of which is negotiating our self-government treaty, which isn’t finished yet. I also worked with the Île-à-la-Crosse boarding school survivors to reach an agreement in principle with the federal government. But we still have an active lawsuit against the provincial government to settle that. There’s just a number of things we’ve been working on the last four years that I believe consistency and continued action needs to happen.
What are the most important issues currently for the MN-S?
In the last four years we’ve grown tremendously and I always say with growth comes challenges. We need to catch up with that growth. In terms of our local and regional governance, that’s a really importation part. Locals need to be empowered and we need to find a way to build more capacity in those communities. And that lends itself to other issues we’re working on. Child and family services – we’re in the pre-work to trigger Bill C-92.
Also, on Métis rights and self government – we’re negotiating a self-government treaty. Now that we know which government is in power in Ottawa, we can get back to the negotiating table and finish those negotiations. Métis rights is a big one, harvesting rights across the province. We have harvesting rights in the north, I was the lawyer on the Belhumeur case down in For Qu’Appelle, and so we need to have consistency throughout the province with respect to our harvesting rights.
We’ve won a battle with respect to the Île-à-la-Crosse residential school but we haven’t won the war, which includes with Saskatchewan. Other Residential schools as well, like Timber Bay, they still have not had any federal or provincial recognition and that needs to happen.
Why should voters have confidence re-electing you as Vice-President?
I think results matter. Since I was elected in 2021, we’ve got a number of things done. With respect to the Residential school, that court case had been filed 20 years ago, and for 17 years nothing was done. So the last three years we’ve been able to get that done. I think I’ve shown a great deal of leadership in the work that I’ve done. Defending our rights against Saskatchewan with respect to the Saskatchewan First Act. Even though it passed, we continued to question its constitutionality. And we will continue to do that.
The Supreme Court of Canada case, which came out on the duty to consult, even though it’s an administrative question, it’s a really importation case for Métis and First Nations in Saskatchewan. There’s been a lot of work, I believe my record speaks for itself. I work hard, and the heart of our citizens and our nation I carry with me in all the work I’ve done. I’ve overseen the expansion of Métis-led climate action and land stewardship, we had the return of the Batoche lands, which was huge for us as Métis people, for the federal government return our land back to Batoche.
And I’m really excited about Carney’s cabinet that was announced. It’s a really exciting time and I can’t wait to get back in and meet some of these misters and push for what needs to be made right in terms of Canada’s Reconciliation Action Plan, and that is to recognize the MN-S in the right way.
Four years ago, I ran for Vice President of Metis Nation - Saskatchewan with a simple but powerful message: Growing Our Nation – Together. I was honoured that Métis citizens placed their trust in me — and since then, I’ve worked every day to earn that trust and deliver on the promise of build...
