Marc Serré Officially Kicked Out of Algonquin

Serré still clinging to status, but indigenous leaders are not buying it.

I tried to tell you that simply having an indigenous ancestor somewhere down your family lineage does not make you Métis, nor does it make you indigenous, but you wouldn’t listen. - Nipissing First Nation Chief, Scott McLeod

In January I reported on the fact that Nickel-Belt MP, Marc Serré had mislead Canadians for years and wrongly claimed indigenous status. Serré was first exposed in 2019 by University of Ottawa professor Darryl Leroux who showed that Serré was mistakenly claiming an indigenous ancestor from 1631. Making him far from eligible to be Algonquin, let alone Métis.

In 2019, Serré defended his lineage and CBC reporters let him off the hook. But in the following years, the Algonquins of Ontario began the process of investigating Serré’s (and others) lineage.

It also appears that in the years after 2019, Serré knew he had been mistaken or knew he had been caught. As of 2020, Serré stopped publicly identifying as Indigenous and was no longer invited to any Indigenous announcements by the Liberal government.

His position as Chair of the Liberal Indigenous Caucus was quietly stripped but he appears to have maintained his seat in the caucus.

Algonquins of Ontario Make it Official

In 2021, the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) started the process of verifying questionable claims like Serré’s, and this week they appear to have made it official.

In an interview with the CBC, Chief Greg Sarazin said that the AOO was created in the mid-2000s, after Canada and Ontario insisted all people with a claim to Algonquin rights in the area should be included. He said that several of his members eventually came to suspect several AOO ancestors added in the process were, in fact, non-Algonquin.

In June 2021, Serré presented a petition in the House of Commons trying to prevent the AOO from reviewing his ancestry and revoking the membership of many.

Now, the AOO has finalized the process and Serré is among nearly 2,000 AOO members who are officially out.

The CBC reached out to Marc Serré this week over this announcement. He stated that: "I still identify as Indigenous and Métis, but I don't identify myself [as Algonquin] since I got the letter”.

He told CBC that he doesn’t intend to apply to join the Métis Nation of Ontario either. Serré added "I don't need to be a member of an association to identify, and so I have no intention at this point to apply.”

Serré Does Not Qualify as Métis

Professor Leroux was contacted by CBC this week and he stated that based on Serré’s claimed lineage, he wouldn't qualify for Métis status. In fact, Leroux says "There's no Indigenous organization that's recognized by any level of government that he can register for."

Indigenous Leaders Call Out Serré

After CBC published the story this morning, Nipissing First Nation Chief, Scott McLeod called out Serré.

Chief McLeod said ⁦:

Marc Serré, ⁩I tried to tell you that simply having an indigenous ancestor somewhere down your family lineage does not make you Métis, nor does it make you indigenous, but you wouldn’t listen.

Nipissing First Nation is partly located in Serré’s Nickel-Belt riding and many members are represented by him in Parliament.

Will Goudon, the head of Housing for the Manitoba Métis Federation called Serré a “fake”.

Veldon Coborn, an indigenous professor at McGill University accused Serré of “race-shifting”.

Prominent Indigenous leader and former candidate for the Assembly of First Nations of Canada, Russ Diabo didn’t hold back. He wants Serré kicked out of the Liberal Indigenous Caucus.

Future in the Liberal Indigenous Caucus

As I reported earlier this year, the Liberals and Serré have tried to avoid the subject of his indigenous status. Serré still appeared in communication for the caucus as late as in 2022 and the group met formally just last month.

I have reached out Serré once again to see if he had any intention of leaving the Liberal Indigenous Caucus officially. As the time of publishing, he had not responded.

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