The goal of the MNC is to "secure a healthy space for the Métis Nation's on-going existence within the Canadian federation".

The National Council was formed in 1983 to support the recognition of the Métis as a distinct ethnicity who identify separately from other aboriginal groups, share Métis Nation ancestry (e.g. the Northwest and Red River, Manitoba settlements) and form recognized communities.

This Council was formed to advocate at the federal level in Canada, which became particularly important with Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

[6] During its annual general meeting in 2019, the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) adopted a resolution condemning the MNO for recognizing Métis communities outside of what it considered the traditional Métis homeland (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, parts of north-eastern British Columbia, the southern Northwest Territories, and northern halves of the U.S. states of Montana, North Dakota, and a portion of Minnesota), and advocating a withdrawal from the Council if it fails to uphold its citizenship requirements.

[17] Chartrand told CBC News that MN–S's withdrawal from the MNC effectively makes the organisation defunct, as its bylaws require that meetings be attended by representatives of two of the founding members (of which only Alberta is left).

The three provincial organizations formed a "tri-council" and asked that the federal government deal directly with them and not with the MNC[19] and met with Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennet in January 2020.

[21] However, Chartrand was never officially made interim president, and no board meeting was convened to sanction the change.

The separatist bodies then united in 2021 under a loose umbrella group called the Alberta Métis Federation.