Manitoba PC candidate Kevin Klein tells voter she has 'no right' to question his Indigenous heritage

Kevin Klein, the Manitoba Progressive Conservative candidate running for re-election in Kirkfield Park, told a voter she has no right to question his Indigenous heritage during a telephone town hall held at the beginning of August.

The caller voiced frustration over the PC government's refusal to search the landfill where police believe the remains of two First Nations women — Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran — are located, and asked Klein why he feels he can "appropriate Indigenous identity but not actually do anything for Indigenous people in Manitoba."

"I understand your frustration and you're upset, and you have a right to that," Klein said in a recording of the public event that was provided to CBC News by the Manitoba NDP.

"But you don't have a right to question my Indigenous heritage. You have no right to do that."

CBC heard that portion of the call and spoke to several people who were on the line. They verified it took place and what was said.

LISTEN | Audio from Kevin Klein town hall:

Klein stressed he hasn't used his ancestry for personal gain, telling the caller it is simply a connection to his family. 

"So for you to say that I am trying to diminish the identity of Métis, I'm sorry, you are absolutely wrong, and just because you say it doesn't mean it's true," said Klein, a former Winnipeg city councillor who became the Kirkfield Park MLA in a December 2022 byelection and was appointed environment minister the following month.

Klein is representing the Progressive Conservatives, who are seeking their third consecutive term, in the Winnipeg riding of Kirkfield Park in the upcoming Oct. 3 election.

The town hall took place on Aug. 1 — prior to the official start of the campaign period and one day after CBC published an investigation in which both Klein's younger brother and the Manitoba Métis Federation disputed his claim to be Métis.

CBC's investigation into Klein's cultural identity found no evidence to support his claims to Métis ancestry on his mother's side, including in genealogical evidence, some going back five generations.

Klein told the August town hall that CBC's reporting contained incorrect family tree information and that he had "DNA and the actual familial research."

CBC asked David Elmaleh, a lawyer representing Klein, what the DNA evidence would prove, but he refused to answer that question or provide documentation.

WATCH | Kevin Klein defends his claim that he's Métis on July 31: