First Nation files lawsuit demanding Aboriginal title over lands in western Quebec

Chief Jean-Guy Whiteduck of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation in Quebec is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation (Mandatory Credit)

An Algonquin First Nation has filed a title claim in Quebec Superior Court over large swaths of territory across the west of the province in an effort to address what it described as historic injustices against its peoples.

Jean-Guy Whiteduck, chief of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, says his people need to have a say in the way water, wildlife and forestry are managed in their traditional territory. He said that meaningful reconciliation can’t exist until that happens.

“Quebec refuses to recognize that Aboriginal people, traditional people, have any rights outside of reserve territory, except for basically subsistence fishing and hunting,” Whiteduck said in an interview, speaking from the First Nation located on the shores of the Gatineau River, near Maniwaki, Que. “When we talk about title and land ownership, and having a say in the management of the resources, there is no say.”

Whiteduck says the lawsuit only covers areas that are owned or managed by governments, and there’s no intention to dislodge private landowners.

The Aboriginal title claim covers eight areas, including islands in the Ottawa River; Gatineau park and adjoining lands in the city of Gatineau; two harvesting zones in the Gatineau regional county; the Papineau-Labelle wildlife reserve; as well as the Baskatong Reservoir and other nearby areas flooded during the construction of the Mercier hydroelectric dam in 1927.

In total, that represents just over 8,000 square kilometres of land, lawyers for the First Nation told The Canadian Press.

The First Nation says the area covered by the legal action represents only a fraction of its ancestral territory.

“Billions of dollars have been taken out of our lands with limited return to our community,” Whiteduck said. “All of the dams that were built on our territory were done without approval from our people… We were never compensated.”

He said Hydro-Québec, among the defendants in the lawsuit, has offered to compensate the First Nation for the harm hydroelectric dam flooding has had on their people. But he added that the utility company hasn’t offered enough to pay for the damage already done.

The $5 billion lawsuit also targets the Canadian and Quebec governments, as well as the National Capital Commission, which is a Crown corporation responsible for the Ottawa-Gatineau region. The lawsuit calls for compensation for past harms each of the parties allegedly committed against the community and its ancestors, in particular through the loss of their land, profits, opportunity, and culture.

Hydro-Québec told The Canadian Press it couldn’t comment as the case was before the courts.

Representatives from the provincial and federal departments responsible for Indigenous relations acknowledged requests for comment about the case but did not immediately provide responses. The National Capital Commission said it was reviewing documentation and working with other federal partners and the Justice Department on a response.

Jullian Riddel, one of the lawyers for the First Nation, said the case has the potential to set a major precedent. It could make Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg the first Indigenous community in the province to see its title over its traditional territories recognized by the court, he explained.

“That would be groundbreaking,” he said. “There have been several of these cases in the province of British Columbia, but to date that has not occurred in either Ontario or Quebec.”

He said so far only four First Nations, all in British Columbia, have reached that milestone.

In August, for instance, the B.C. Supreme Court declared the Cowichan Tribes title over about 750 acres on the Fraser River, in Richmond. The province has since announced it intends to appeal the decision.

Lawyers for the First Nation said they will also ask the court to determine how much punitive damages the community should be owed.

Riddel said their case is also unique because it calls on the court to recognize pre-Confederation agreements like the Treaty of Swegatchy of 1760, also often referred to as the Treaty of Oswegatchie.

“This is a very different type of treaty, one that recognized the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation’s and Kitigan Zibi’s territory and possession of their lands,” Riddel said, adding their challenge makes mention of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which reaffirmed those commitments.

Since 2016, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg has also has a title claim over lands in Ontario, one that covers Parliament Hill, LeBreton Flats, as well as the Chaudiere, Albert and Victoria Islands. That legal challenge targets Canada and the National Capital Commission, but not the province of Ontario.

Riddel noted that Ontario Superior Court is expected to hear this other case by 2028, after unsuccessful attempts to settle it out of court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2025.