Standing Strong

Audrey Poitras is one of the most influential and accomplished Métis leaders in Canada. She led the Métis Nation of Alberta for twenty-seven years, from 1996 to 2023, becoming the longest-serving leader in the organization’s history. Not only was Audrey the first female President of the Métis Nation of Alberta, she was also the first female leader of the Métis National Council. During Audrey’s tenure at the helm of Canada’s oldest continuous Métis government, where she was re-elected an unprecedented seven consecutive times, she battled misogyny, dismantled stereotypes, and overturned entrenched practices to rebuild the credibility of the Métis, not only in Alberta but across Canada. Among her many landmark achievements, she negotiated the first-ever self-government agreement between the Government of Canada and a Métis government, advanced major initiatives to give Métis more control over their education and welfare, and championed the adoption of the MNA's Constitution, culminating in the largest ratification vote ever held by an Indigenous nation in Canada.