Achievements

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"Marg and I worked for over five years and during these years, she mentored and coached me to be successful in my role as the MNS director of health. Her leadership goes beyond leading a huge portfolio such as health. Marg is a great visionary leader who built complex portfolios, and strong and efficient teams. During my time in MNS, she had a clear vision for the health and wellbeing of the Nation. Marg developed her vision by getting guidance from the elders and engaging Métis communities. She made sure that I and my team in health department understood the vision and worked together to achieve the goals that supported her vision. With this vision in mind, Marg brought so many professionals from the academic world, federal and provincial governments and agencies to build and operate MNS health department and health programs and services for Métis citizens. Programs such as medical transportation and accommodation, mental health, health navigator. 

With her extremely busy schedule, Marg led her team to publish academic papers and influenced Métis health literature. 

Marg has always gone above and beyond to support the health of the Nation and I believe she still has some goals to accomplish such as non-insured health benefits for Métis citizens, Métis health authority, and community health centres."

Adel Panahi 

Former Director of Health in Métis Nation Saskatchewa

" I am honoured to endorse Marg Friesen, a truly exceptional leader who played a profound role in my professional and personal growth during my three years at Métis Nation–Saskatchewan. Serving as both the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Health, she led with strength, compassion, and unwavering integrity.

Minister Friesen is someone I hold very close to my heart. Her leadership is both kind and courageous—an inspiring combination that left a lasting impact on me and so many others. We worked closely together at the Métis Addiction Council of Saskatchewan Inc. (MACSI), where I witnessed her deep, genuine commitment to the well-being of the Métis people.

One of the most meaningful experiences we shared was presenting the 2024–2025 budget of $260 million for Métis Nation–Saskatchewan. Her leadership throughout that process was nothing short of phenomenal—she brought clarity, foresight, and care to every decision, ensuring that the budget reflected the priorities and hopes of the Nation.

Her guidance extended far beyond her impressive portfolio. She is wise, intelligent, humble, and deeply principled. She always led with heart and made decisions grounded in what was right—for the people, for our team, and for the future of Métis Nation–Saskatchewan.

As the former Regional Director of ER3, she consistently demonstrated transparency and accountability—her books were always in order, aligned with the highest standards of financial responsibility.

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have worked alongside Minister Friesen. She is more than a mentor—she is a beacon of strength, vision, and compassion. I support and endorse her with all my heart and soul, and I am proudly rooting for her continued success in serving the Métis people of Saskatchewan."

Zareen Jawaid
Former Director of Budgeting and Reporting
Métis Nation–Saskatchewan

I have had the privilege of working with Marg for 10 years now on several cancer related projects that ranged from understanding the unique support needs of Métis citizens including patient navigation to developing a cancer journey for Métis Citizens with cancer to promoting culture as a social determinant of health. Under her leadership Métis specific knowledge is being captured and translated both for community and academic audiences alike, sometimes for the first time. She has taken MN-S to the forefront of Métis specific cancer research. Her interests and influence have reached beyond cancer to include Long Covid where she has provided leadership to understand the Métis experience with this post-pandemic problem (ongoing) that will help MN-S create services for those citizens suffering with this new disease. She has responded to a request from MN-NWT for support do conduct a similar study in their Nation demonstrating the caring nature of this truly amazing leader.
Gary Groot MD, PhD
Professor,
College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan

I would like to express my support for Marg Friesen for Regional Representative for Eastern Region III in the upcoming Metis Nation Saskatchewan election this May 24, 2025. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Marg for most of my life and in the last 8 years as a mentor and community leader. I can confidently say that Marg possesses the leadership and community builder qualities needed for the job, as already proven by her track record!
I’ve always looked to Marg to guide the region in a transparent and accountable way. She has always displayed an interest and value on the opinions of youth in our region. She has supported us with her mentorship, she has supported us to reach our goals and celebrated youth in the region for their achievements. She has committed Many, Many, Many long hours to the Metis Nation Saskatchewan and ERIII and I believe she will work just a tirelessly in the next term to make our community thrive.
I strongly urge you to vote for Marg Friesen in the upcoming election. I am confident that she will make a positive impact and work towards the betterment of our citizens. Please join me in supporting Marg Friesen.

Jack LaCroix
Youth representative MN-S ERIII