Former Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages Minister Randy Boissonnault rises during Question Period, Oct. 25, in Ottawa. Photo: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Embattled former federal cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault says he’s staying on as a member of Parliament despite being called a “Pretendian”.
Boissonnault resigned from the Trudeau cabinet on Nov. 20 amid the growing controversy and issued his first public statement Thursday.
“The last few weeks have been an incredibly difficult time for me and my family,” said the Alberta MP and former employment minister on X. “I would like to clarify any confusion about my heritage, and my previous business relationship.”
Boissonnault said he was adopted in 1970 by a family with Indigenous heritage. He says his adoptive mother and brother became Métis citizens earlier this year.
“I was told that my great grandmother, whom I knew as a child, was Cree. That was our family’s understanding.”
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That’s why he says he described himself as “non-status adopted Cree.”
However, he says he now realizes that term was confusing.
“It has been a difficult time to see our family’s history being challenged publicly and I recognize that the ways in which I have described my heritage have not always been as accurate as they could have been,” he said in the statement. “As I have said before, for this, I sincerely apologize.”
Boissonnault has always been touted as an Indigenous member of the Trudeau Liberal government by the party. He was also a member of the party’s committee of Indigenous MPs.
“To be clear, I never claimed Indigenous status for myself,” he noted. “As the MP for Edmonton Centre, I attended Indigenous Caucus as an ally. I welcomed the opportunity to represent the interests of Indigenous Edmontonians as an ally.”
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But the controversy appeared to be another case of a non-Indigenous person claiming Indigenous status – known as a “Pretendian” – for their own benefit. A number of high-profile Canadians have recently been outed as non-Indigenous.
Boissonnault said he “never attempted to leverage my adopted family’s history for personal or political gain”, or “identified as Indigenous on any application or form”, nor have his “businesses ever benefitted as a result.”
He blames his former business partner at Global Health Imports Corp. – a medical supply company he co-founded at the start of the pandemic – for using his name since 2021 without his consent.
The company has unsuccessfully bid on federal government contracts, The Canadian Press has reported.
“I did not operate any business while serving the public,” he said in the statement.
https://twitter.com/R_Boissonnault/status/1864671345256083578
Boissonnault said he has consulted a lawyer in an effort to clear his name.
“I remain focused on doing the job I was elected to do,” he added.
