Federal Liberal candidate facing Indigenous heritage questions now applying to become Metis

OTTAWA — A federal Liberal candidate in B.C. who publicly identified as Indigenous for years says she now plans to apply for Metis citizenship after a local Metis society publicly questioned her heritage claims.

In a statement provided by a Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) spokesperson, Madison Fleischer, the party’s candidate in the Cloverdale—Langley City byelection, said she is in the process of putting together an application for Metis citizenship that will be submitted to Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC).

“I self-identify as Métis based on what I know about my great grandmother’s heritage,” reads Fleischer’s statement.

“I have always been vocal about not yet holding MNBC citizenship, and I removed Métis from my social media bios to ensure there was no confusion in my identification.”

Over the years, Fleischer has repeatedly self-identified on social media as either “Indigenous” or “Metis” but most references to Indigenous heritage appear to have been recently scrubbed from her online profiles, including those advertising her Liberal candidacy.

But on Tuesday evening, the Waceya Métis Society, which describes itself as a “Chartered Métis Community that proudly serves the Métis people in the Langley and White Rock regions”, published a statement calling into question Fleischer’s Métis heritage.

“After meeting with her on November 23 to discuss these claims, we were disappointed that she could not provide any evidence to support her Métis heritage. In this meeting, Madison was unable to substantiate her claims with any documentation or historical connections to Métis communities,” reads the society’s statement.

“Waceya Métis Society wishes to distance itself from Madison’s claims of Métis identity. We ask that Madison take the necessary steps to properly research and verify her Indigenous heritage before making any further public assertions,” it added.

Fleischer’s statement did not specify when she decided to remove any mention of Métis or Indigenous heritage from her social media pages, but archived versions of some pages indicate it was after she was announced as the Liberal candidate on Nov. 10.

A previous version of her X profile that was archived by Google reads “Liberal Party of Canada MP Candidate for Cloverdale-Langley City. Indigenous Advocate. Métis. Small Biz Owner. Community Leader.” The word “Métis” has since disappeared from that description.

An archived version of her LinkedIn page also shows she previously described herself as “Indigenous.” That has since been replaced with the letters “M.G.C.”

On Oct. 16, a press release by a community group announcing Fleischer had won a humanitarian award for a merchandise line raising funds for Ukraine identified her as “non-status Metis with Ukrainian ancestry.”

An archived 2022 version of the website for her merchandise line, “Slava Sweatshirts”, identified her alternatively as “Métis” and “of mixed European and Wahpeton Dakota descent.”

Last year, she noted her “mixed-Indigenous heritage” on a LinkedIn post which she celebrated receiving a “Top 25 under 25” award from the Surrey Board of Trade.

The party pointed to both of those awards in its biography of Fleischer, who was announced as the candidate for the upcoming by-election on Nov.10.

The LPC has not yet responded to questions about whether it has a vetting process to verify a potential candidate’s claims to Indigenous ancestry.

Questions about Fleischer’s Indigenous heritage come one week after Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault resigned from cabinet over his changing statements on Indigenous heritage over the years.

“We encourage all who seek to identify as Métis to engage in genuine research and consultation. This ensures that our voices are not diluted or misrepresented, especially during a time when Indigenous identity is being closely examined,” the Waceya Métis Society wrote in its statement.

Métis Nation British Columbia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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