Boissonnault apologizes for indigenous identity claims

Canadian Labor Minister Randy Boissonnault is apologizing after shifting claims about Indigenous identity come under scrutiny.

The Edmonton Liberal member of Parliament said he was upset because he wasn’t clear about who he was and his family’s history and was still learning about his heritage.

Boissonnault has previously referred to herself as a “non-status Cree adoptee from Alberta” and said her great-grandmother was a “full-blooded Cree woman.”

The apology follows reports that a company co-owned by Boissonnault unsuccessfully bid for two federal contracts while identifying itself as Indigenous and Aboriginal-owned.

Boissonnault says he never claimed Indigenous status to his business partner and that the Liberal party corrected the situation as soon as it became aware of his public claim that he was Indigenous.

The conservative party called on Boissonnault to testify before the ethics committee and respond to what it called serious allegations of fraud.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.