Indigenous Leaders and Officials Debate Reforming or Abolishing Canada's Indian Act

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew called on the federal government to abolish the 150-year-old Indian Act during a landmark meeting of First Nations leaders and Canada’s first ministers in Ottawa on Monday, arguing that the legislation represents a race-based form of identification that is long overdue for dismantling.

The call, delivered during a rare gathering between federal, provincial, and Indigenous leadership, immediately reignited a decades-long debate over the primary legal instrument through which Ottawa exercises jurisdiction over First Nations reserves, governance, and status registration. The discussion drew immediate reactions from across the country, highlighting deep divisions over whether the 1876 law should be systematically dismantled, radically reformed, or replaced entirely.

Abolish the Indian Act. We have nothing to lose but our chains.We will, of course, need new legislation that is an interface between the Federal government and First Nations. And this MUST be created alongside Chiefs and First Nation governments every step of the way. But it is… pic.twitter.com/gOnqErx0wt

— https://x.com/WabKinew/status/2114823711299944704

“I don’t know how many folks in Canada have seen one of these before, but this is a status card,” Kinew said during an Ottawa press scrum, holding up his identification. As CBC News reported, the Manitoba premier told reporters that First Nations people have “nothing to lose but your chains.”

Prime Minister Responds to Calls for Repeal

Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to the provincial and Indigenous appeals by acknowledging that the foundational statute contains numerous inequities and anachronisms, going so far as to describe the legislation as racist. According to reporting by The Globe and Mail, Carney stated that he is open to reforming or abolishing the act, though he emphasized that any substantive changes would only occur in concert with Indigenous communities.

Trust and success are built by what we accomplish together.Canada is building a stronger, more just, more prosperous future in partnership with First Nations. pic.twitter.com/2OD2jDXGvZ

— https://x.com/MarkJCarney/status/2115125423453470730

However, the federal timeline remains fluid. Carney clarified that Ottawa’s ongoing review process does not possess a fixed conclusion, meaning a formal termination of the law is not guaranteed. Instead, the federal government intends to work alongside First Nations and provincial counterparts to study possible legislative replacements.

Historical Context of Repeal and Resistance

Enacted in 1876, the Indian Act historically served as an instrument of federal control and assimilation, barring First Nations women from running for chief, stripping women of status if they married non-Indigenous men, and laying the groundwork for the residential school system and the reserve apparatus. Jason Bird, a lecturer at the First Nations University of Canada, told CTV News that the legislation essentially operates to separate the Canadian populace from First Nations people and divest Indigenous communities of their status, identity, and land.

Canada, the provinces and territories, and First Nations leaders are working in partnership to ensure that First Nations not only have the opportunity to build their community and country stronger, but to share in the wealth we create together. Today, we built on the progress…

— https://x.com/MarkJCarney/status/2114844415411790117

Efforts to alter or discard the legislation have a fraught history. In 1969, the federal government under Pierre Trudeau attempted to completely abolish the act through a proposed policy known as the White Paper.

Katherine Strongwind, founder of Sixties Scoop Legacy of Canada, told CTV News that the reserve system is a form of apartheid and really changed the dynamics of communities in terms of hunting, fishing and housing.

Indigenous Leaders and Officials Debate Reforming or Abolishing Canada's Indian Act — Photo: CityNews Montreal

Divergent Views Among First Nations Leadership

While leaders agree that the current framework is obsolete, consensus on its elimination remains elusive. Jerry Daniels, grand chief of the Southern Chiefs’ Organization in Manitoba, told CBC News that hearing a premier publicly call for the abolishment of the act was refreshing after decades of advocacy from Indigenous communities. Conversely, other leaders voiced concern over the lack of coordination.

Chief Francis Verreault-Paul of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL) pointed out to CityNews Montreal that any push to dissolve the statute must be accompanied by rigorous planning regarding what replaces it. “Doesn’t mean that if we do abolish the Indian Act that we’re going to get on the other end with nothing,” Verreault-Paul said. “Our role as leadership is to make sure that if we do abolish the Indian Act, what will be replaced by that Act?”

It’s a good day to be Anishinaabe. It’s a good day to be a Canadian. 🪶 🍁 Miigwech to Prime Minister Carney, Grand Chief Cindy Woodhouse, Chiefs, Leaders, and all the First Ministers, who listened to the shared wisdom and vision for Canada. As our National Chief said, this… pic.twitter.com/UQhCqCVhMw

— https://x.com/WabKinew/status/2115232529758535750

Meanwhile, regional political dynamics also shaped the gathering. As CityNews Montreal reported, Quebec’s new premier, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, skipped the Ottawa summit entirely, citing a preference for direct, nation-to-nation engagement within Quebec territory.

With the Assembly of First Nations hosting a special chiefs assembly in Ottawa this coming December, Indigenous leadership, survivors, and federal officials face mounting pressure to determine whether the centuries-old statute will finally be dismantled or merely rewritten.