Conservatives increase pressure on Boissonnault to resign

The Employment Minister, Randy Boissonnault, is facing mounting calls for resignation from Conservative MPs following allegations surrounding his past business connections and claims about his family’s Indigenous heritage.

A recent report revealed that in 2020, Boissonnault's former company, Global Health Imports Corporation (GHI), shared a rented mailbox in Edmonton with Francheska Leblond, who was later detained in a cocaine bust in the Dominican Republic in 2022. Boissonnault owned half of GHI during this time.

Minister denies links to Leblond

During a heated question period in the House of Commons, Boissonnault repeatedly denied any connection to Leblond. "I never met that person. I've had no dealings with her whatsoever. Those are the facts," he stated.

The Minister is also under scrutiny for conflicting statements regarding his family’s Indigenous identity and allegations that his company misrepresented itself as "Indigenous-owned" while bidding for federal contracts in 2020.

Ethics and business controversies

Conservative MP Michael Barrett introduced a motion in October urging the House to find Stephen Anderson, Boissonnault's former business partner and GHI's chief operating officer, in contempt of Parliament. Anderson is currently the focus of an ethics committee investigation following the release of text messages that raised questions about his business interactions.

These texts referenced a person named "Randy," suggesting possible ongoing consultations with Boissonnault on business matters while he was a cabinet minister. Boissonnault denied any involvement, claiming Anderson acted without his consent to pursue personal interests.

Further complicating the matter, Anderson and Leblond registered a numbered company together in December 2021, after Boissonnault’s return to cabinet.

Indigenous identity claims

Although Boissonnault himself has not claimed Indigenous status, he has spoken publicly about his great-grandmother being Cree and identified as a "non-status adopted Cree" in Parliamentary proceedings. However, in a recent statement, he clarified that his "adopted mother and brother" are status Métis.

The controversy deepened when the Liberal Party’s Indigenous Peoples' Commission previously identified Boissonnault as one of ten Indigenous Liberal candidates elected to Parliament in 2015. The party later issued a correction, attributing the claim to a "staff error."

Boissonnault has since apologized for the confusion, stating, "I am unequivocally sorry for not being as clear as I could have been about my family history."

The situation continues to unfold, with both ethical and identity-related questions fueling criticism of the minister.