UPDATE: On June 17, 2023, the MNO Special Assembly passed resolution #SGA230617-01, approving amendments to the MNO Bylaws and MNO Registry Policy to allow for the removal of citizens from the MNO Registry whose files do not meet the current requirements for MNO citizenship. This process is subject to the removal and appeals process outlined in the MNO Citizen Removal Appeals Policy that was also adopted by the Special Assembly. Updated versions of these documents will be posted on the MNO’s Reference Documents webpage once available. Further information will also be communicated to affected citizens in their Removal Notices, consistent with the removal and appeals process. For more information, please see recent announcements by the MNO and Chief Electoral Officer on the Special Assembly results.
About the MNO Registry
The MNO maintains the only recognized provincial Registry for Métis people. The Registry was established in 1994 to identify and register Métis citizens and harvesters who are eligible rights holders in the province of Ontario. Citizenship applications are assessed by an independent Registrar who approves citizenship for those applicants who meet the criteria set out in the National Definition for Métis as voted on and accepted by the citizens of the Métis Nation of Ontario at the 2004 Annual General Assembly (AGA).
The Métis are a distinct Indigenous people with a unique history, culture, language and territory that includes the waterways of Ontario, surrounds the Great Lakes, and spans into what is known as the historic Northwest. The Métis Nation is comprised of descendants of people born of relations between First Nation women and European men. The initial offspring of these unions were of mixed ancestry, but, over time the ethnogenesis of a new Indigenous people, called the Métis, resulted from the subsequent intermarriages of these mixed ancestry individuals.
Distinct Métis settlements emerged as a result of the fur trade along freighting waterways and watersheds. In Ontario, these settlements were part of larger regional communities, interconnected by the highly mobile lifestyle of the Métis, the fur trade network, seasonal rounds, extensive kinship connections and a shared collective history and identity.
In May of 2019 the MNO restructured its Registry operations so that all registry functions including processing citizenship applications; harvester applications and renewals; and the issuing of cards will be provided by an independent third party organization called Know History Inc. Click here for more
Contact
To get in touch with someone from the Métis Nation of Ontario Registry Team please call us toll free at 1-855-798-1006 or our local number 613-798-1006. You can contact us by email at info@mnoregistry.ca.
Registry Forms
The Registry Forms can be completed in one of two ways. You can download the form and type your answers in and then submit the form electronically by email to info@mnoregistry.ca. Or you can print the form and write down your answers and then mail the hardcopy to us at:
Métis Nation of Ontario Registry
Suite 1100 – 66 Slater Street
Ottawa, ON, K1P 5H1
Citizenship Forms
To apply for MNO citizenship, please fill out and submit the following forms:
- Citizenship Application Form
- Citizenship Card Renewal Form
- Oath of Allegiance
- Registry Genealogical Chart
If you lose your Citizenship Card, or the card becomes damaged, you will need to request a new card. To request a replacement Citizenship Card, please fill out and submit the following form:
If you have recently moved please fill out and submit the following Change of Address Form in order to update the address that we have on file:
If you would like someone else besides yourself to have access to your Registry file a form is required. To allow someone else to speak to the MNO Registry about your file please fill out and submit the following form:
Harvesting Application
To apply for a Harvesters Card, or to renew your Harvester’s card please visit our Harvesting Registry Webpage
COVID-19 Registry Support Measures
- Application fees waived permanently — As part of the MNO’s COVID-19 Support Measures the MNO has waived application fees for citizenship and harvester applications. At an October 3-4, 2020 meeting of the Provisional Council of the Métis Nation of Ontario (PCMNO) a resolution was passed, at the recommendation of the Finance and Audit Committee, to direct the Métis Nation of Ontario to waive the collection of fees for applications and renewals for Citizenship and Harvesting Cards on a permanent basis.
- Digital signatures — During the COVID-19 pandemic, people may provide e-signatures, which are digital signatures followed by a typed name and date, for their harvesting and citizen applications and other MNO Registry forms. The Registry will accept these electronic signatures as evidence that the person has read and agreed with the required parts of the application (e.g., oath of allegiance, agreement to conditions listed on form) provided the e-signature is verified as follows:
- When the application is emailed, an MNO Registry team member will follow up to authenticate the identity of the applicant, and confirm that the e-signature is in fact theirs.
- If a parent or guardian applies on behalf of a child under the age of 16, the Registry will follow up with the parent or guardian.
- If a person sends an application on behalf of other adults, we will contact the other adult applicants and ask them to confirm that the e-signature is theirs.