Veterans

For years Métis from across the Homeland enlisted in the Canadian military in large numbers. Many Métis who volunteered during the First and Second World Wars were descendants of Métis who fought for Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont in 1885. Traditional Métis skills such as trapping, hunting, scouting, and guiding were in high demand by the military and made the Métis very successful soldiers.

Following the Second World War, Métis Veterans were often unable to obtain their veterans’ benefits after their military service.  Many Métis Veterans were turned away by Veteran Affairs Canada and did not receive the same supports, resources or benefits promised to them that were routinely given to other non-Métis Veterans.  As the Veterans aged and their immense contributions to Canada’s war effort continued to be ignored by Canada, the Métis Nation launched a campaign to right the wrongs of the past and ensure that our Métis heroes were accorded the honour and compensation they so justly deserved.