Meet President Victoria Pruden

Victoria Pruden is a proud michif iskwew (Métis woman), mother, kokum, and nationally recognized Métis leader with deep ancestral Michif roots from across the Métis Nation homeland, most notably from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Inspired by her family’s strength, grit, and perseverance as Michif people, Victoria has dedicated her career to advancing Métis rights, governance, women’s and gender equality and community wellness across the Métis homeland. She has had a diverse career both within the Métis Nation, and within Government, the Private Sector, and in Education and Non-Profit Leadership. Victoria worked with the BC Government in Economic Development and Trade, in the private sector as a Commercial Lender and Retail Banking Manager, in the Nonprofit sector as Executive Director of a Trauma Informed Women’s Services charity, and instructor at Camosun College’s Eyēʔ Sqȃ’lewen – The Centre for Indigenous Education & Community Connections in Victoria, BC.

President Pruden has been involved in Métis politics and advocacy for over 28 years, having served as an elected local President and Vice-President, provincially elected representative on the Métis Provincial Council of British Columbia as MNBC’s Minister for Women, and Elected Provincial Women’s Representative for the Métis Women of British Columbia. Victoria has held a variety of National roles including Vice-President of Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak and now, President of the Métis National Council.  She worked for several years as a Director at Métis Nation British Columbia leading portfolios focused on Women, Elders, Veterans, Employment, Post-secondary education and Child and Family services. She is proud to have drafted the Women’s Act and Veterans Act which are now fundamental aspects of MNBC’s constitution.

Victoria joined the Métis National Council in 2024, serving as Senior Director of Strategic Policy and Interim Chief Executive Officer prior to her election as President of The Métis National Council in December 2024. Known for her commitment to focusing on the needs of our most vulnerable Métis citizens, ethical leadership, trauma-informed practices, and uplifting the voices of Métis women and knowledge holders, Victoria continues to advocate for strong Métis governance, reconciliation, recognition of Métis Governments, and the advancement of Métis self-determination and implementation of Métis treaties across Canada.

Victoria’s lineage directly connects her to influential Métis leaders including Cuthbert Grant and Pierre Falcon (the Michif Rhymester and “bard of the prairies”), leaders associated with the historic Battle of Seven Oaks, as well as many ancestors and relatives involved in the Batoche Resistance of 1885, including ancestors from the Montour, Delorme, Landry, and Falcon families. She is particularly proud of her family matriarchs who supported at Batoche, including the formidable michif iskwew warrior, Isabelle Falcon, and her two great grandmothers born at Batoche during the days of the resistance, Sarah Jane Delorme (Pruden) and Mary Louise Falcon (Landry). 

Born in amiskwacîwâskahikan, also known as Edmonton, Alberta, Victoria comes from a long line of Métis leaders, Knowledge Keepers, and veterans. She is a seventh-generation descendant of patasagawis (nêhiyaw iskwew) or Nancy Pruden, and John Peter Pruden, a Hudson’s Bay Company Chief Factor and member of the Council of Assiniboia in Red River Settlement. Her family’s legacy also includes service during the Second World War, with her grandfather Charles Pruden and his brothers serving as Métis soldiers from Cochin, Saskatchewan who employed their fluency in their mother tongues, Northern Michif and Cree (nêhiyawêwin), serving as code talkers during the war.