Meaghan Conroy

• Successful representation of a Tribal Council and four First Nations in a judicial review against the provincial Crown in relation to a failure to consult and accommodate Treaty and Aboriginal rights
• Representation of a Tribal Council and four First Nations in an interlocutory injunction application in relation to a dispute about the Province’s duty to consult and accommodate Treaty and Aboriginal rights
• Representation of Indigenous communities in hearings before the Alberta Utilities Commission and the Alberta Energy Regulator
• Advice to Indigenous, municipal, and industry clients with respect to federal and provincial environmental and impact assessment processes.
• Advising a northern Indigenous community with respect to hearings and applications before the Canadian Energy Regulator and the MacKenzie Valley Review Board.
• Representation of  the Pigeon Lake Watershed Association in successfully resisting an application for a Confined Feeding Operation before the Natural Resources Conservation Board
• Knibb Developments Ltd. v. Siksika First Nation, 2021 FC 1214, successfully defended a contracting decision by a council of a First Nation
• Longneck v. Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, 2018 FC 868, successful representation of a First Nation in a judicial review concerning land code under the First Nations Land Management Act
• Grassy Narrows First Nation v. Ontario (Natural Resources), 2014 SCC 48, represented five intervener First Nations before the Supreme Court of Canada in this significant Treaty interpretation and constitutional law case
• Kikino Metis Settlement v Metis Settlements Appeal Tribunal, 2013 ABCA 151, successfully represented a Metis Settlement in an appeal concerning the degree of deference owed to decisions of an elected Metis Settlement Council
• Smith v. Alliance Pipeline Ltd., 2011 SCC 7, successfully represented a landowner before the Supreme Court of Canada regarding a dispute under the National Energy Board Act

Meaghan Conroy advises Indigenous governments, municipalities, other public entities and clients that interact with public decision-makers on a broad range of public law matters. She has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada and has experience with appeals, judicial reviews, injunctions and administrative tribunals.

Meaghan routinely assists Indigenous governments, municipalities and landowners with issues related to natural resource extraction, land development, flood management infrastructure and environmental matters. She has participated in proceedings before the Alberta Energy Regulator, the Federal Impact Assessment Agency, the Alberta Utilities Commission, the Natural Resources Conservation Board, the Métis Settlements Appeal Tribunal and other administrative tribunals.

She works with First Nation and Métis governments on constitutional issues including consultation matters and Specific Claims. She also advises Indigenous clients on governance and jurisdictional issues.

Candidates and decision-makers in municipal, provincial, federal and Indigenous elections turn to Meaghan to assist them in navigating applicable election and financing laws. She has acted as legal counsel to tribunals deciding First Nation election appeals and has participated in judicial recounts under the Canada Elections Act, among other engagements.

Meaghan articled with the Alberta Court of Appeal and Alberta Court of King’s Bench and was previously a political adviser to federal Cabinet Ministers. She also worked for the federal Department of Justice, where she gained experience in Treaty issues, constitutional law, Crown law and federal government processes related to Indigenous litigation and claims.

• Board Member, Homeward Trust Edmonton and its related entities (2017-present)
• Executive Committee Member, Aboriginal Subsection, Canadian Bar Association (North Alberta, 2009-2014)
• Organizing Committee Member, National Aboriginal Law Conference, Canadian Bar Association (Iqaluit, 2014)
• Active involvement with a federal political party

• Co-Chair and presenter, 16th Annual Western Indigenous Consultation & Engagement Conference, Canadian Institute (Edmonton, February 2024)
• Panellist, “From National Energy Board To Canadian Energy Regulator: Meeting the Practical Challenges Of Federal Energy Regulation” (Calgary, January 2020)
• Presenter, “The Duty to Consult: Best Practices,”  CERI 2018 Petrochemical Conference, The Petrochemical Trilemma: Economics, Environment and Society (Kananaskis, June 2018)
• Panellist, “Pipelines, Provinces and the Constitution,” Centre for Constitutional Studies, Faculty of Law (Alberta, April 2018)
• Panellist, “The Need for an Implementation Policy for the Numbered Treaties,”  The Way Forward:  Envisioning Treaty Rights in Modern Resource Management, Augustana Campus (Alberta, February 2016)
• “Métis Excluded from Consultation on Provincially Regulated Projects in Alberta,” Canadian Bar Association Newsletter (August 2015)
• “Métis Excluded from Consultation on Provincially Regulated Projects in Alberta,” Aboriginal Subsection (September 2015)
• “New Evidence on Judicial Review or on Appeal,” Administrative Law Subsection, Canadian Bar Association (January 2015)
• Presenter, “Aboriginal Involvement in Alberta’s Natural Resource Regulatory Regime,” Western Canada Aboriginal Law Forum (Vancouver 2012)
• Presenter, “First Nation and Métis Consultation in Alberta,” Environmental Law and Regulation in Alberta, The Canadian Institute (Calgary, 2012)
• “Costs in Administrative Matters: Smith v. Alliance Pipeline Ltd., 2011 SCC 7, and a Comparison of Cost Provisions in Other Expropriation and Natural Resource-Related Statutes,” Alberta Expropriation Association (2011)
• “Legal Developments in the Duty to Consult,” Canadian Bar Association Newsletter (2009)

• Recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada – Aboriginal Law/Indigenous Practice (2021-present)
• Lawyer of the Year, Aboriginal Law/Indigenous Practice, Best Lawyers in Canada (Edmonton, 2022-2024)
• Recognized as Leading Professional, Energy, Lexpert Special Edition: Energy (2020-present)
• Recognized as Leading Professional, Infrastructure, Lexpert Special Edition: Infrastructure (2021-present)
• A Leading Practitioner, Aboriginal Law, Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2017-present)