Boissonnault said the family he was adopted into as a baby has Indigenous heritage
OTTAWA — Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault apologized on Friday for not having been “clear” about his family’s links to Indigenous ancestry as he now says he should have been.
Indigenous academics and other critics raised concerns about the minster’s remarks amid a growing awareness about high-profile Canadians falsely claiming Indigenous identity.
On Friday, Boissonnault defended his actions as him not having been clear enough about his adopted family’s history, not him trying to present himself as Indigenous.
“I’ve been reflecting on this a lot over the past days,” he told reporters at an unrelated housing announcement in Edmonton.
“I was adopted into an Indigenous family, and I have never claimed Indigenous status.”
“I sought out advice to know how to talk about my family when I was running, and I want to say unequivocally that I apologize for not being as clear about my family history as I could have been with everything that I know now,” the minister said.
Boissonnault repeated on Friday that his adoptive family has Indigenous heritage. He say both his mother and brother have Metis Nation of Alberta citizenship. They obtained their citizenship within the past year, according to his office.
The 54-year-old Edmonton MP was first elected in 2015. He served until 2019 when he lost his seat in an election that fall, but was re-elected in 2021. Boissonnault is one of two Liberal MPs from Alberta, which bleeds conservative blue, and is the sole representative for the province in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took to X to call on Boissonnault to resign.
Shortly after his election to Parliament, Boissonnault began referring to a great-grandmother named Lucy Brenneis, whom he sometimes called “Lucy Brown Eyes” as being a “full-blood Cree woman.”
Asked Friday if that was the case, the minister wouldn’t confirm it, saying instead that that had been his understanding of her growing up until “well into my 40s and 50s.”
“I am learning about my family’s heritage in real time,” Boissonnault said.
“And so I apologize if I haven’t been clear. And I, you know, I could have been clearer about my family’s heritage, but I’m learning a lot more about that heritage, and so I’ll be very clear about how I refer to my family and myself moving forward.”
He said he would need to check whether his great-grandmother has Metis heritage, given that he has said both his adopted mother and brother have their citizenship.
The Metis Nation of Alberta previously told the National Post it has a “rigorous” citizenship process and requires applicants have a biological connection to Metis ancestry. It does not have a policy on adoption. That contradicted an earlier statement from Boissonnault’s office, which said adopted individuals could be eligible.
“It was a constant back and forth with the party. I did ask them to change it. I did see them change it,” he said.
“I have never put Indigenous claim to any contract or any application in my entire life.”
The Liberal party had advertised Boissonnault as being an Indigenous MP from 2016 until 2019. A statement from the party has not yet been released.
The minister has said his former business partner was the one to have made those bids. Boissonnault said he never consented to have anyone make mention of his heritage.
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here.