Career and Public Service

Chalifoux moved to Edmonton in the 1960s and started working as a fieldworker for the Métis Association of Alberta. During this time, she advocated for affordable shelter, food and higher welfare grants for Métis families. She also served with Company of Young Canadians, working on Indigenous housing. Her job would take her across Alberta, and she settled in Slake Lake for 12 years.

She was also one of the first Indigenous women to broadcast on private radio, CKYL from Peace River.

In the early 1980s, Chalifoux began interacting with the federal government, becoming an influential figure in getting Inuit, First Nations and Métis people to be recognized as distinct nations.

In 1997, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed Chalifoux to the senate, becoming the first Métis woman senator. Serving as a senator, Chalifoux was member of numerous committees, including those on human rights. Her range of concerns included Métis housing and the environment. Chalifoux retired from the senate in 2004 at the age of 75. Chalifoux commented that part of her experience in the senate was to bring issues to light, especially for the Métis people who were “truly the forgotten people”.

Image credit:  Courtesy of Sharon Morin