Métis and Non-Status Indians

In addition to status Indians and Inuit, Québec has a large population of non-status Indians and Métis. Non-status Indians are Indians who are not registered under the Indian Act, either because their ancestors were never registered or because they lost their Indian status under former provisions of the Indian Act. The term “Métis” generally refers to people of mixed Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal heritage. The situation of both groups is still poorly understood.

The question of Métis status is especially complex in terms of the Constitution. Since 1982, the Canadian Constitution has recognized Métis as one of the three Aboriginal peoples of Canada. What Métis are covered by the Constitution? In a 2003 ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada set out essential criteria for recognition of Métis identity and the related rights:

The term “Métis” in s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 does not encompass all individuals with mixed Indian and European heritage; rather, it refers to distinctive peoples who, in addition to their mixed ancestry, developed their own customs, and recognizable group identity separate from their Indian or Inuit and European forebears. A Métis community is a group of Métis with a distinctive collective identity, living together in the same geographical area and sharing a common way of life.

R.c Powley, [2003]

A recent landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Canada (Daniels v. Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development), [2016] 1 S.C.R. 99) clarified that the federal government had constitutional responsibility not only for status Indians, but for Métis and non-status Indians as well. However, the Court pointed out the restrictive definitional criteria for Métis under the 2003 Powley ruling.

Métis protesters outside the Supreme Court in Ottawa.

Photo credit:  Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick

As a result of the 2003 and 2016 Supreme Court rulings, the number of people in Québec who self-identify as Métis has increased, nearly doubling (+47%) between 2006 and 2011. (Statistics Canada 2016, 1) More than 20 organizations in Québec currently include the word “Métis” in their name. The number of such organizations poses a challenge to governments and testifies to the complexity of recognizing the legal status of Métis in Québec considering the restrictive definitional criteria set out in Powley.

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