Gabrielle Moreau named 2026 Rhodes Scholar

“I couldn’t believe it when I got the call—I sat there in disbelief for a few minutes — I thought I might have imagined it,” says Gabrielle Moreau, a 2026 Rhodes Scholarship recipient.

Gabrielle is one of just eleven exceptional young Canadians selected as 2026 Rhodes Scholars-Elect—one of the world’s most prestigious academic awards. The scholarship provides fully funded postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford and connects recipients to a global community committed to making a positive difference in the world. Recipients were announced on November 17, 2025.

The 2026 Rhodes Scholars are selected for their world-class academic excellence, notable personal accomplishments, and meaningful community impact.

“Now that the dust has settled, I’m incredibly honoured and excited for the opportunity to be part of the Rhodes community and learn from an exceptional group of young people who are committed to making the world a better place.”

Gabrielle is studying at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University, where she is majoring in Geography and Environmental Science and Policy. Her academic work spans pressing environmental and governance issues: she has interned with the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance, researched community forestry while studying abroad in Cambodia, and is completing an honours thesis on energy governance and Indigenous sovereignty.

Her Métis heritage traces back to the Red River Métis family line. Since 2020, Gabrielle has served on the Métis Nation of Ontario’s (MNO) Youth Council, where she continues to learn from youth across the province and advocate for their priorities around self-governance.

Gabrielle’s path to becoming a Rhodes Scholar reflects years of focused study and community engagement. When she started at UNC Chapel Hill, she had a strong interest in studying social justice issues and, in particular, the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized communities.

“I fell in love with geography as a discipline because of the way geographers think about how power operates through space, and about how the relationships communities have with the land shape the governance systems they envision,” she says.

Throughout her undergraduate studies, she has travelled to and learned from Indigenous communities about their life ways and the challenges they face from both climate change and state policies. “Through these experiences, I’ve been struck by the resilience of communities and their assertion of sovereignty in the face of political and environmental pressures,” she says. “That has strengthened my commitment to my work with the MNO Youth Council.”

Growing up in Toronto, Gabrielle had only a limited understanding of her Métis heritage.

“I first began learning about my Métis heritage from my paternal grandmother, who lives in Winnipeg, when I was in elementary school,” she says.

As she became more involved with the MNO, Gabrielle found support among other Métis youth who were also navigating questions of identity, belonging, and connection. She recalls at times feeling unsure whether she had the right to call herself Métis.

After sharing these feelings with her grandmother, she received advice that would leave a lasting impact. “I’m not learning about my family tree and getting involved in Métis culture for myself,” her grandmother told her. “I’m doing this for my grandchildren.”

For Gabrielle, this moment was transformative. “It represents the essence of Métis political identity and our ongoing struggle for recognition,” she says. She hopes for a future where Métis people—often rendered unseen or unheard—can stand proudly and confidently as a nation.

As she prepares to begin her studies at Oxford, Gabrielle plans to pursue a Master of Philosophy in Political Theory, where she will explore different understandings of sovereignty and justice. An idea which has greatly informed her academic and personal approach is aanikoobijigan — an Anishinaabemowin word meaning both ‘great-grandparent’ and ‘great-grandchild’. Scholars and community leaders have interpreted the term as a teaching about being both a descendant and ancestor at the same time.

“I first read about this idea in an article by Kyle Whyte, and it really struck a chord with me,” she says. “I see myself as a product of the resilience of generations before me, and I carry a responsibility to think about how my decisions and commitments will shape the generations to come.”

As a Rhodes Scholar, Gabrielle Moreau carries that responsibility forward, bridging past, present, and future as she works toward more just and self-determined futures for Indigenous communities.