Tories, NDP won't say how they're vetting Indigenous candidates

Randy Boissonnault takes part in a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — The federal Conservatives and NDP won’t say how or if they’re vetting the their candidates' claims to Indigenous identity — even though both parties went after a Liberal MP last year over his shifting statements about his background.

MP Randy Boissonnault — who served as employment minister in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet — quit the post late last year after weeks of questions about his claims of Indigenous identity and his business dealings.

Both Conservative and NDP MPs called for his resignation and raised concerns about the Liberal party’s statements about his identity over the years — although Boissonnault has since said his adoptive great-grandmother was Métis.

In an email, Conservative party director of communications Sarah Fisher says the party does not comment on its vetting practices and is “proud to have Indigenous leaders running for our party.”

While the NDP says the party’s “vetting process is thorough and ensuing accuracy is something we take seriously,” neither it nor the Conservative party explicitly said that their vetting processes include claims to Indigeneity.

The Liberal party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Veldon Coburn, an associate professor with the Indigenous Relations Initiative at McGill University, says parties should be verifying candidates' claims to Indigenous identity because they speak to the candidates' “honesty and integrity.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2025.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press