First Nations, Carney, premiers to gather for ceremony ahead of historic meeting

First Nations leaders are gathering with Prime Minister Mark Carney and the country’s premiers in Ottawa today for a ceremony ahead of a historic meeting on Monday.

Monday’s meeting will the first such gathering since the Kelowna Accord talks of 2005, which brought premiers and then-prime minister Paul Martin together with Indigenous leaders to discuss ways to close the socioeconomic gaps in their communities.

First Nations will be represented in the closed-door meeting on Monday largely by regional chiefs from the Assembly of First Nations.

The Privy Council Office has not said which premiers will be attending the meeting, although Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have both said they will be absent.

The ceremonies will be held in Ottawa with knowledge keepers, elders, First Nations leaders and community members.

National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says it’s important to start the meeting with ceremony to ensure all participants are entering with the right frame of mind, grounded in First Nations spirituality.