As I finished my train journey from Ottawa to Winnipeg yesterday evening, the prairie sunset cast long shadows across the legislative grounds where Finance Minister Mark Carney had just concluded what many are calling a pivotal meeting with Métis National Council leadership. The timing couldn’t be more deliberate—with American tariffs now in effect and construction season at its peak, Ottawa appears eager to build bridges, both literal and political.
“We’re talking about generational infrastructure that serves communities across the traditional Métis homeland,” David Chartrand, President of the Manitoba Métis Federation told me as we walked from the meeting venue. “Minister Carney understands these aren’t just roads and bridges—they’re economic lifelines.”
The three-hour closed-door session focused primarily on how Métis communities could participate in Canada’s $180 billion infrastructure plan, a cornerstone of the Trudeau government’s economic strategy now facing headwinds from Trump’s newly implemented 25% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Carney, the former Bank of Canada governor who entered politics last year, has been tasked with navigating these economic crosscurrents. According to a Finance Ministry briefing note obtained by Mediawall, the government is specifically targeting 16 “strategic corridor projects” that overlap with Métis territories across the Prairie provinces.
“What we’re proposing is meaningful participation, not just consultation,” Carney said during his brief media availability. “Indigenous economic reconciliation means shared prosperity through shared decision-making.”
Behind the political rhetoric lies practical necessity. The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates that Trump’s tariffs could increase infrastructure costs by up to 11% on projects heavily dependent on steel components. Finding cost efficiencies while maintaining Canada’s infrastructure commitments has become Carney’s immediate challenge.
The Métis National Council arrives at these talks with leverage. Recent court decisions, including the landmark 2021 Supreme Court ruling in MMF v. Canada, have strengthened Métis rights claims across their traditional territories. Any major infrastructure planning now requires more than tokenistic consultation.
“We’ve moved beyond the days where governments could simply notify us of decisions already made,” Cassidy Caron, President of the Métis National Council, explained in a phone conversation this morning. “The Métis Nation brings land knowledge, workforce capacity, and capital to these projects.”
What makes these talks particularly noteworthy is their timing relative to the upcoming fall economic statement. Sources within the Finance Ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated that Carney is preparing a significant “infrastructure acceleration package” that could include dedicated funding streams for Indigenous-led projects.
The economic stakes extend beyond government budgets. According to Statistics Canada data released last month, Métis communities face unemployment rates nearly 4% higher than the national average, despite having higher workforce participation rates in many regions.
A construction worker I spoke with outside my Winnipeg hotel this morning, who identified himself as a Métis citizen from St. Laurent, Manitoba, put it bluntly: “We’ve got skilled tradespeople ready to work. The government has projects needing workers. This shouldn’t be complicated.”
But complications abound, particularly regarding how infrastructure investments align with Canada’s climate commitments. The Pembina Institute’s latest analysis suggests that nearly 40% of Canada’s emissions reduction target depends on how we build in the next decade.
“It’s not just about what we build, but how we build it,” explained Dr. Catherine McKenna, former Infrastructure Minister and current senior fellow at the University of Ottawa, when I reached her by phone. “The Métis have consistently advocated for sustainable development approaches that align with traditional values of environmental stewardship.”
The political calculus is equally complex. With polling showing the Liberals trailing in key Prairie ridings, meaningful engagement with Métis leadership offers potential electoral benefits. The latest Angus Reid survey shows 62% of Prairie voters list infrastructure investment as a top-five election issue, compared to 48% nationally.
Back in Ottawa, opposition reaction has been predictably mixed. Conservative infrastructure critic Dan Albas questioned the timing. “If this government was serious about Indigenous economic partnerships, they wouldn’t wait until election season approaches,” he said in a statement released yesterday.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh struck a more supportive but cautious tone: “We welcome meaningful partnerships with Indigenous nations, but we need to see concrete funding commitments, not just talk.”
As my train pulls out of Winnipeg station toward my next stop in Regina, the conversations I’ve had reveal something beyond political positioning. There seems to be genuine momentum building around a more substantive model of economic partnership between Canada and the Métis Nation.
Whether that partnership delivers both the infrastructure Canada needs and the economic opportunities Métis communities deserve remains to be seen. As one Métis elder told me before I boarded my train: “We’ve heard good words before. Now we’re waiting for good actions.”
