First Nations, minister and premiers set to gather for day of ceremony

OTTAWA — First Nations leaders are gathering in Ottawa on Sunday for ceremonies ahead of a historic meeting on Monday with some premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Monday’s meeting will the first such gathering since the Kelowna Accord talks of 2005, which brought premiers and then-prime minister Paul Martin together with Indigenous leaders to discuss ways to close the socioeconomic gaps in their communities.

First Nations will be represented in the closed-door meeting on Monday largely by regional chiefs from the Assembly of First Nations.

The Privy Council Office has not said which premiers will be attending the meeting, although Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have both said they will be absent.