Membertou was burdened by a $1-million deficit on a $4-million budget and on the verge of a federal takeover when Chief Terry Paul took control of the Mi’kmaq First Nation in Nova Scotia 42 years ago.

Today, the community is an ISO-certified economic engine with annual revenues exceeding $100 million and the person who transformed its fortunes will be inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in May. His formula was simple, but rigorous: challenge the stereotypes of Indigenous mismanagement by prioritizing strong governance before chasing economic growth.

That disciplined governance and economic strategy has also now positioned him as an adviser to both Ottawa and industry, helping

Indigenous communities move from stakeholders to full participants in major projects across Canada. Paul sits on the Indigenous Advisory Council for the Major Projects Office (MPO), which was appointed by Prime Minister

Mark Carney in September as part of a broader push to advance nation-building infrastructure and resource development.

It came amid criticism that First Nation rights were being bypassed in a push to build projects quickly. The 11-member body serves as a bridge between investors’ need for certainty and Indigenous requirements for sovereignty.

His seat on the council places him at the centre of this debate, as the MPO faces legal challenges from groups such as the Chiefs of Ontario and Treaty 9 Nations, which say that once a project is designated as being in the national interest, its approval becomes a foregone conclusion, effectively reducing the Crown’s duty to consult to a check-a-box exercise.

For example, the Chiefs of Ontario have condemned the Building Canada Act as an undemocratic “betrayal” because First Nations only had seven days to review the bill before it was tabled. By the time a project is designated, it said, the most important decisions — on land use, environmental risk and sovereignty — have often already been made without Indigenous input.

Even within the advisory council, tensions have surfaced. Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi of Treaty 8 in Alberta said a federal–Alberta memorandum of understanding on a potential pipeline to British Columbia’s coast — signed by Carney and Alberta Premier

Danielle Smith — was “news” to him and other council members. He said First Nations are rightsholders, not spectators, in decisions affecting their lands and that he and other council members would “probably leave the table” if they feel their recommendations are being ignored.

Amid these challenges, Paul said meaningful Indigenous participation must start at the very beginning of every project.

“I want to make sure the rights of Indigenous people are respected and that they are included in the benefits that come from these projects,” he said.

Governments speak of nation-building and regulatory streamlining, while Indigenous leaders speak of consent, equity and ownership. But meaningful First Nations participation, Paul said, is about shared decision-making, equity and accountability, ensuring that projects benefit communities, protect the environment and are effectively managed.

“Consultation after decisions are made is not partnership,” he said. “That needs to stop. Indigenous participation is foundational, not optional.’”

Long before taking the helm at Membertou, Paul gained experience in the United States at the Boston Indian Council, a non-profit serving Indigenous communities with health, employment and social programs. By his mid-20s, he had risen to director of finance and eventually served as the organization’s president.

“I guess the vision has always been to move the whole community out of poverty,” he said. “Coming from where there was one road in and no way out, I learned a lot in the United States, and I brought that back home. There’s a lot of opportunity if you organize yourself to take advantage of it.”

He put those lessons to use at Membertou. Once mired in chronic deficits, the community had annual surpluses of $17-million in 2024 and $13-million in 2025. Employment has grown to 600 staff, representing an 80 per cent community employment rate, up from 37 workers and less than four per cent of residents employed. About 75 per cent of revenue now comes from Membertou’s businesses rather than government funding.

The growth was fuelled by a disciplined diversification strategy that moved Membertou from passive land-leasing to active ownership.

By exploiting its position on the edge of Sydney, N.S., the community transformed its land into a commercial retail hub that attracted national tenants. It also built a $7-million trade and convention centre and an $18-million sport and wellness centre. More recently, Membertou was instrumental in a Mi’kmaq‑led partnership that secured a 50 per cent stake in Newdock (St. John’s Dockyard Ltd.), a historic Newfoundland yard.

Membertou also moved into the green economy, investing in large renewable energy projects. Those partnerships have created steady, long-term income for the community.

Paul’s most visible corporate play came in 2021, when he led a coalition of Mi’kmaq First Nations in acquiring a 50 per cent stake in Clearwater Seafoods Inc. for $1 billion. The transaction, one of the largest Indigenous investments in Canadian corporate history, moved Mi’kmaq communities from quota holders to equity owners in the offshore fishery.

Despite the Indigenous Advisory Council’s high-profile members, it is not a decision-making body that approves or rejects projects, nor does it discharge the federal government’s duty to consult. Its role, Paul said, is advisory, to ensure Indigenous rights and economic participation are considered at the earliest stages of project design.

“The duty to consult is carried out by government,” he said. “But Indigenous involvement has to begin at the concept and feasibility stage, in design, in environmental mitigation, in ownership.”

Several of Canada’s nation-building projects announced so far illustrate the complexity of Indigenous participation.

For example, the Ksi Lisims LNG project in B.C. includes the Nisg̱a’a Nation as an equity partner, yet it faces hurdles as the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs raise environmental concerns.

The Crawford nickel project in Ontario involves four First Nations navigating separate equity and service agreements while addressing water-quality concerns. In Iqaluit, the Nukkiksautiit hydro project features Inuit-led energy sovereignty, yet still faces local pushback over potential impacts on traditional char fisheries.

These cases show that aligning environmental protection with economic goals remains a delicate, time-consuming process even with Indigenous leadership.

In many cases, Paul said, the delays stem less from opposition than from governments and companies approaching communities too late or offering consultation without meaningful benefit.

“Indigenous participation reduces risk,” he said. “Projects develop with fewer delays and much greater investor confidence when we are included properly.”

Not everyone is convinced since reactions were divided when the advisory council was announced. Critics worried it could sidestep broader consultation or create a small group of approved Indigenous voices. Supporters countered that its members — many of whom have negotiated major deals themselves — bring practical experience that Ottawa has often lacked.

Ken Coates, a distinguished fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and familiar with Indigenous economic development, said he sees the council less as a political instrument than a pragmatic one.

These are people who know what it takes,” he said. “They’ve done the work. They’re not there to sign off on projects. They’re there to make sure communities understand the risks, the rights and the opportunities.”

Coates highlights the range of expertise on the council, from Chief Darcy Bear in Saskatchewan, who revitalized the Whitecap Dakota First Nation’s economy, to former Haisla Nation Chief Councillor Crystal Smith in B.C., whose community holds a majority stake in the US$4-billion Cedar LNG project.

“This would have been a very strange group to put together without Chief Paul on it because he’s been there, done that and is one of the most deeply honoured people in the country in this regard,” he said.

Coates said the advisory council’s work must start with clarity.

“It has to be done in such a way that the Indigenous communities at large see this as being valuable,” he said. “If the government sends a bunch of bureaucrats and Ottawa comes up with things and says, ‘Here’s what the advisory council will do,’ that will not work. You’re just being spokespeople for the government and that will not work.”

Paul said the council is finalizing the terms of reference that will guide the relationship between the advisory council and the MPO, and those terms will be made public.

“The bottom line is economic, for sure,” he said. “Economic reconciliation isn’t just about money; it’s a buzzword across the country. But, simply put, it’s the right thing to do.”

  • Atlantic Canada’s energy isolation is getting worse as East-West pipeline divide persists
  • Seafood billionaire John Risley’s firm faces huge debt, legal battles amid ownership shakeup