Leroux, an associate professor in political studies at the University of Ottawa, researches the phenomenon of false claims to Indigenous identity and runs the website Raceshifting. (Submitted by Darryl Leroux)Leroux also referred to Coupal as "pretending to be Indigenous" in a different Twitter conversation. Michelle Coupal is an associate professor at the University of Regina, holding a Canada Research Chair in Truth, Reconciliation and Indigenous Literatures. Harasen said that in 2021-2022, Coupal "had every basis to reasonably rely" on AOO decisions that she was Indigenous. "The public discourse around the appropriation of Indigenous identity by non-Indigenous people in Canada is a fundamentally important one," he said.

Source: CBC News March 19, 2026 21:40 UTC