Outgoing Métis National Council president says she faced 'misogyny and ageism' in the role

In three days, Cassidy Caron will leave her role as president of the Métis National Council on the eve of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Caron told CBC News the decision to step away was a difficult one. The job has taken her on journeys she never imagined. In 2022, Caron led a delegation of Métis residential school survivors to the Vatican to press for a papal apology. She represented the Métis Nation at the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II and attended the coronation of King Charles.

But the role also came with many challenges, she said, including internal political turmoil and leadership obstacles stemming from her youth and gender.

«I absolutely have faced misogyny and ageism throughout the three years that I served in this term,» she said. «From both the Métis community, the Métis Nation itself … but also within the federal system as well.

»There is a sense that as a young woman, I don't have the experience to do this work."

Caron said she brought a new generational perspective to the table and built a strong team around her that launched reforms at the Métis National Council (MNC).

In the fall of 2021, at age 29, Caron became the youngest person ever elected to lead the MNC.

Now 32, with a baby on the way, Caron said she needs to spend more time with her family.

Even though she is leaving the MNC, she said she believes a united national Métis voice is needed more than ever.

«We're stronger when we can add more voices to the table, more diverse voices to the table and shape the future based on what our citizens want,» Caron said.

Caron, who chose not to seek another term, said the Métis Nation needs the MNC as a national voice, now that the reconciliation project appears to be slipping off the federal