As a very white passing Metis person I have some sympathy for people not taking you at your word on this, buuuuuuut....

Contacted by CBC News, Klein's brother, Christopher Rout, said he does not consider himself, his brother or his mother Métis.

"I remember learning about Métis in school. I think I would have learned something then and been told something, but no. No, we're not Métis," Rout said in an interview with CBC News. He would seek Métis citizenship if he were eligible, he said.

Klein says he belongs to the Painted Feather Woodland Métis. The entity is not recognized by the Manitoba Métis Federation or the Métis Nation of Ontario. It's a for-profit company based out of a single-family residence near Bancroft, Ont., just over 250 kilometres northeast of Toronto.