Community activist.
Born at Duck Bay on 1 September 1952 to Martha Chartrand (1930-2013) and Joseph Delaronde (1907-1985), he attended school at Frontier Collegiate at Cranberry Portage. He went on to earn a place of honour and respect in the Metis Nation, beginning his political career as the Mayor of Duck Bay in the late 1970s. After that, he became a dedicated supporter of at the Swan River Friendship Centre, serving as its Executive Director for 29 years. The Centre grew into a valuable resource that offers a wide variety of essential programming and services to families and seniors in the Swan River Valley region. It also actively partners with many governments and organizations in the region that work collectively to advance the needs of Indigenous families.
In 1984, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) and served as its Finance Minister. He was also a board member of the Northwest Region for 11 years, and was in his fourth term as Vice-President at the time of his death. While representing regional interests through both the MMF and the Friendship Centres movement, he lobbied on their behalf at the provincial and national levels, together with his brother, long-time President of the MMF, David Chartrand. Always quick with a joke or a story, he formed friendships easily in various walks of life, and was also appreciated for his wisdom and insight about Metis lives and culture. He was regarded as a hero and mentor to other community leaders, as well as to his friends and family.
With his wife Bernice Chartrand he had seven children. He enjoyed good food, good music, hunting, fishing, and just being out in the bush with family and friends. It was from these experiences that the story-telling he was known for arose.
He died at Winnipeg on 24 September 2012 and was buried in the Birchwood Cemetery at Swan River. To honour him, the Swan Valley Friendship Centre was renamed the Elbert Chartrand Friendship Centre.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 29 September 2012.
“Elbert ‘Chim’ Chartrand,” Quewezance Family Tree, Ancestry.
“Elbert Chartrand,” Canada Selected Yearbooks, 1969.
Elbert Chartrand Friendship Centre, Swan River, Manitoba Association of Friendship Centres.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 31 January 2026
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