St. Paul des Métis Better History: Policy over People

The ultimate success or failure of the Métis farmers never mattered. They were simply caught between a federal government executing their economy-building National Policy, and an Oblate Church committing to a French-Catholic settler parish. In Episode 8 of History Is Unreal, we advance to Step 3 of our 4-step framework: The History We Should Instead Tell. 

During the colony's peak era of the early 1900s, 93 Métis families built homes and farms as residents in St. Paul des Métis. But with resources and support faltering, some Metis residents saw the writing on the wall, and left on their own accord. And while those Metis farmers remaining succeeded, over 1500 Quebec French-Catholics acquired land on one day in April. Of the 63 remaining Métis families that submitted applications for land, 44 were allowed to stay (kind of). But still, the Metis cultural population went from 100% to 9% in just one day.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

• The 4-Step History Framework (Step 3): Moving past the comfortable ‘history we've been told’ to construct a ‘history we should instead tell’.
• The Irrelevance of Métis Success: The success of residents like the Laboucanes or Garneaus did not matter.
• The pre-1909 exodus (93 to 63): The cessation of government support to the colony around 1905 created a voluntary Metis exodus of 1/3rd of their population.
• The Math of April 10, 1909: 44 Métis families were approved land grants; relocated to s.west St. Paul (small 80 acre lots). Another 19 families were immediately evicted. 406 Quebecois land grants were approved (standard 160 acre lots). Metis residents now made up only 9% of the population from 100% a day earlier.
• AI Bias in 2026: A discussion on why AI platforms naturally default to protecting institutional logic due to systemic digital inequity, and how modern historians now need to disrupt the data pool.
• A Preview of Step 4: Looking ahead to our interview with Dr. Desjardins to explore the living heritage, language playground splits (Cree, French, and Michif), and surviving cultural soul of modern St. Paul, Alberta.

Sources & References

• Maber, Samuel: Report of the St. Paul des Métis Commission and Settlement Audits, Department of the Interior (1909).
• Fontaine, John: St. Paul des Métis, 1896 to 1909 - the Dual Roles of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. University of Alberta (2009).
• Fontaine, John: Presentation - The Dual Roles of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (2012).
• Iggers, George: Historiography in the Twentieth Century: From Scientific Objectivity to the Postmodern Challenge (1997).
• Statistics Canada: St. Paul, Town (T) Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001 (2022).
• Gabriel Dumont Institute: Archival Records and Pre-Colonization Files, St. Paul Half-Breed Reserve Collection (2026).
• Edmonton Historical Board: Neighbourhood Heritage: Garneau Historical Profile, City of Edmonton Heritage Program (2026).
• Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research: Oral History Collection: St. Paul des Métis Dossier, Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture (2026).

Connect with the Show

• Website: HistoryIsUnreal.ca
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Music Credits

Track: Violin Concerto in F minor, RV 297 'Winter' ; Composer: Antonio Vivaldi; Performed by: The Modena Chamber Orchestra; Source: Musopen.org; License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Track: "Drum Roll with Rimshot Sound Effect"; Voice Artist: Original Audio Concept inspired by "The Cha-Cha Slide" (DJ Casper); Source: Orange Free Sounds;License: no copyright

Track: "suspenseful-dum-dum-dum-drum-hit-sound-effect”; Source:Orange Free Sounds ; License: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

The Production Team

• Dr. John Fontaine: Podcast Host & Executive Producer
• Dr. Marcia Kim: Podcast & Script Editor
• Kaviya Govindaraj: Marketing & Digital Visual Design

Final Quote

"History is based on the interpretations of the writer. It is not factual. Keep questioning the teller."