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AFN invites premiers, Carney to day of ceremony ahead of October meeting

  • Alessia Passafiume

  • Canadian Press

  • September 18, 2026

National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak delivers an address at the AFN 2026 Annual General Assembly, in Ottawa, on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA -- The Assembly of First Nations has invited premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney to a day-long ceremony ahead of their October meeting.

The premiers, Carney and First Nations representatives are set to meet in Ottawa on Oct. 26 -- the first such gathering in decades.

National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says First Nations leaders want to bring their own cultural practices to that meeting and she's hoping they can start from a place of mutual respect.

The AFN is still working with elders across the country to decide what the ceremony day will look like.

Woodhouse Nepinak says she hopes all premiers accept the invitation.

The First Nations-First Ministers meeting was promised by Carney after First Nations chiefs pushed back publicly on his government's major projects agenda.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2026.