Suzanne Brunelle is Métis with Menominee, French, and Irish roots. She traces Her Menominee line to Red River Valley. Her Métis root ancestors are Françoise Clermont and François Dusome. One of her French ancestors landed on Turtle Island nine generations ago, in 1665, and married a fille du roi in 1671. Her Irish ancestors immigrated to Canada in the mid 1800’s. Suzanne was raised near the waters of Georgian Bay on a farm in Lafontaine where she developed a strong connection to Mother Earth and all her relations. Many decades ago, she adopted Tkaronto as her home and it is in this area of Turtle Island that she raised her family.
Suzanne earned her Bachelors’ degree at York University’s Glendon College, subsequently dedicating over forty years to federal public service. She serves as the Senator of the Toronto & York Region Métis Council and is an active member of the Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council, the City of Toronto Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee, the Centennial Aboriginal Education Council, the Wigwamen Incorporated Board of Directors and the addition of the TPS ACC. She is also the coordinator of the Community Ethics Network, a membership-funded collective of over 50 community health and support sector organizations.