Canadian Jobs Minister Randy Boissonnault apologizes after shifting claims about his Indigenous identity come under scrutiny.

The Liberal MP said Friday during an unrelated announcement in Edmonton that he was sorry he wasn’t as clear as he could have been “with everything I know now.”

“I apologize for not being as clear as I could have been about who I am and my family history,” he said, adding that he continues to learn more about his family’s legacy “in real time.”

Boissonnault once called himself an “adopted Cree without status” and said his great-grandmother was a “full-blooded Cree woman.”

He said Friday he will have to confirm his great-grandmother’s status, but his mother and brother are citizens of the Métis Nation of Alberta.

“I apologize if that particular way of referring to me – I apologize if it was inaccurate.”

This comes after the National Post reported that a company co-owned by Boissonnault failed to bid on two federal contracts in 2020 despite identifying itself as Indigenous and Indigenous-owned.

The government has committed to awarding five per cent of its procurement contracts to Indigenous-owned businesses.

Since publishing this article last week, Boissonnault has said the family he was adopted into had Indigenous ancestry and that his adoptive mother and brother had Métis status.

Boissonnault said Friday that he never claimed Indigenous status to his business partner, Stephen Anderson.

“Mr. Anderson should never have claimed this in his particular contract request, and no contract was awarded,” he said.

Boissonnault previously served as a member of the Liberal Indigenous caucus, but he said he joined as an ally representing many Indigenous people in his community.

Asked about the Liberals’ past claims about his Indigenous identity, he said he corrected the party and asked for the descriptions to be changed as soon as he became aware of them.

“I have never asked the party to refer to me as an indigenous person. I have never checked any box, in any form, with the Liberal Party. I have never presented (an) indigenous claim on a contract or a request of my entire life,” he said. said.

The Conservative Party said it wants Boissonnault to testify before the ethics committee so he can “respond honestly to these serious allegations of fraud.”

“This is even more urgent given new allegations that his company fraudulently claimed to be Indigenous-owned when applying for government contracts,” said Conservative MP Michael Barrett.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 15, 2024.

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