AFN chief rebukes Alberta separation talks in meeting with King Charles

OTTAWA — The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations rebuked the Alberta separation movement during a meeting with King Charles at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.

“The King was there with us in unison, that First Nations are foundational partners in the creation of Canada, and our relationship cannot be changed or moved just from politics,” Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told The Canadian Press in an interview.

“As long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the river flows, we’re all treaty people in Canada.”

The Alberta government is putting forward a referendum in October asking voters if they want to remain part of Canada or to pursue a second binding referendum on separating from Canada.

“We’ve got a beautiful country. If you don’t want to be part of it you’re free to leave. You won’t be taking any land with you,” Woodhouse Nepinak said.

She said there will be further conversations with King Charles about potential separation, and that they are working on a youth initiative together.

She is also pushing King Charles to commission treaty medals, as his mother and grandmother had done, to symbolize the continued relationship between First Nations and the Crown. She wore her own treaty medal to the meeting.

“I think we need to be united. We have to work together,” she said.

“It’s better for us to build up each other and build up the strongest and best country around the world, rather than trying to tear apart a relationship.”

Woodhouse Nepinak also said she invited the King to Canada, as several treaties are nearing milestone anniversaries.

She was joined by a delegation of First Nations leaders, including regional chiefs Bobby Cameron of Saskatchewan, Joanna Bernard of New Brunswick and Willie Moore of Manitoba.

Woodhouse Nepinak said the meeting was born in part due to the advocacy of former national chiefs who “could never get these doors open.”

“First Nations are the original landowners in Canada, and they shared openly and in a good way. But our ancestors never expected that our kids wouldn’t have access to proper schools or proper housing, or being left out of the banking system,” Woodhouse Nepinak said.

“How can we do better together?”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2026.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press