Clem Chartier was re-elected to his fourth term as President of the Metis National Council at the MNC General Assembly in Winnipeg over the weekend.
He narrowly defeated Metis Nation of Alberta President Audrey Poitras.
An MNC release says it was a campaign “focused on contrasting visions for moving the Metis Nation forward”.
According to Canadian Press reports, four of the five heads of provincial Metis organizations, including Metis Nation – Saskatchewan President Robert Doucette, are at odds with Chartier over financial and management issues.
Chartier’s term as MNC president officially expired at the end of last year. But he refused to call an election assembly until a recent court ruling that essentially reinstated a number of suspended MN-S officials, clearing the way for them to take part in this past weekend’s vote.
In an address to assembly delegates, Charter said that if the opportunities opened by recent landmark court decisions in favour of the Metis are to be seized, the Metis Nation has to get its political house in order.