Kinew Tells Carney to Abolish the Indian Act in Ottawa

A Manitoba premier just said out loud what many politicians have avoided for generations: it is time to abolish the Indian Act. Wab Kinew made the call on Monday in Ottawa, during a rare meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney, most of the country's premiers and First Nations chiefs, according to APTN News, which carried the Canadian Press report.

The moment came during a midday break. Kinew held up his own status card for reporters, saying it identifies him as an "Indian within the meaning of the Indian Act." He argued that Canada should no longer have a "race-based form of identification" and that the law has run its course and needs a more modern approach.

What Kinew actually said

For Gen Z readers who never had to study it, the Indian Act is the federal law that has governed status, reserves and band councils for well over a century. It decides who counts as a status First Nations person, and it still shapes everyday life for hundreds of communities. Kinew's pitch is that the paperwork itself, the card in his wallet, is a leftover from a colonial system.

Kinew also told reporters that the idea got an "open-minded reception" from colleagues at the table, and he described abolition as "long overdue," according to a CBC News report and video clip from the meeting. Open-minded is not the same as agreed, though. No timeline, bill or replacement framework was announced.

A meeting two decades in the making

The gathering matters on its own. Carney said it is the first time in two decades that first ministers have met in person with First Nations leaders, per the Canadian Press. The Hub reports it is the first such meeting since the Kelowna talks and, by the Assembly of First Nations' account, the first devoted solely to First Nations.

National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak pushed hard for it. "We see geopolitical unrest around the world for many people including Canada," she told reporters on Sunday. "And we want to work toward prosperity for First Nations, and make sure that this meeting isn't a one-and-done." The AFN is pitching the talks as a chance to make First Nations full economic partners.

Not everyone showed up. The premiers of Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec skipped the meeting. Quebec's Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said he prefers a different approach, Alberta's Danielle Smith pointed to a scheduling clash with the return of question period, and B.C.'s outgoing David Eby is stepping down after losing Saturday's provincial election, according to The Hub.

Why chiefs are wary of the fast track

The friendly photo ops hide real tension. Carney is racing to speed up approvals for big projects, and some chiefs say that push threatens their rights. Parliament passed the Building Canada Act in June of last year, which lets cabinet designate projects as being in the national interest, and Ottawa then set up a Major Projects Office aiming for decisions in two years instead of five.

First Nations leaders warned at the time that faster approvals would cut into consultation and end up in court. Grassroots organizers were planning a counter-meeting and protest in the capital, using the Idle No More movement as a model. Mohawk policy analyst Russ Diabo told the Canadian Press he fears the talks will centre on money and sidestep harder questions about rights.

That is where Kinew's comment lands differently depending on who is listening. For some, ending the Indian Act sounds like freedom from a paternalistic law. For others, it raises a fear that treaty and rights protections tied to the current system could be weakened if the replacement is vague or driven by economics alone.

The courts are weighing in too

Legal ground is shifting under the whole conversation. On October sixteenth, the Federal Court of Appeal unanimously overturned a lower-court ruling in the Kebaowek case, finding that the federal UNDRIP law "does not implement the articles of UNDRIP immediately but rather provides for a process to eventually implement the articles," as quoted by The Hub.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed in May to hear British Columbia's appeal in the Gitxaala case, which asks how far that province's own UNDRIP law reaches. The Hub notes that whatever first ministers agree to on Monday, the lasting answers on consultation may come from the Supreme Court.

What to watch next

Expect the next few days to be about follow-through. Chiefs have said they want "tangible results," not a photo op, and the AFN has already released position papers on economic development, policing and public safety, employment and health. Whether Carney embraces the call to abolish the Indian Act, or quietly lets it sit, will say a lot about how serious this new relationship is.

For young Canadians, the debate is bigger than one premier's status card. It is about who gets to define Indigenous identity, how big resource projects get approved, and whether reconciliation shows up in laws or just in speeches. Follow more coverage in our Canada and politics sections as the story develops.