AFN regional chiefs to represent First Nations at meeting with Carney, premiers

Ottawa — Premiers, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Assembly of First Nations regional chiefs will convene for a rare gathering in late October, marking the first such meeting between chiefs and first ministers in decades. The event, set for October 26, comes amid escalating tensions over federal and provincial governments' ambitious infrastructure projects.

National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has extended an invitation to premiers and Carney, urging them to participate in a day-long ceremony honoring cultural practices. Woodhouse Nepinak, along with her predecessors, has long advocated for First Nations representation at these meetings, which gained momentum when discussions about accelerating major infrastructure projects emerged.

The meeting, first promised by Carney this year, will bring together 28 seats for premiers, one for the prime minister, and 13 for provincial and territorial leaders, with 13 seats allocated for First Nations representatives, primarily regional chiefs from the Assembly of First Nations. Additional 44 First Nations leaders, including a youth representative and representatives from Treaties 6, 7 and 8, are also invited.

The AFN is seeking interchangeable entry passes to accommodate this larger group. While the meeting will be livestreamed, the accessibility for public viewing remains uncertain, as the AFN has requested. The meeting location in Ottawa remains undisclosed. The Assembly of First Nations, representing approximately 630 First Nations chiefs, is an advocacy body, not a rights-holding institution, but it does represent these rights-holding chiefs.

Carney and his cabinet met with First Nations chiefs in July in Gatineau, Quebec, during a tightly controlled session where chiefs were asked to submit questions in advance. Media were barred from the location, leading to protests from Woodhouse Nepinak who requested a public press conference outside the meeting site. The Privy Council Office has been collaborating with the AFN, modern treaty groups, and self-governing First Nations to plan the meeting, aiming to strengthen nation-to-nation and government-to-government relations and address shared interests.