Sara Mainville

Sara Mainville is a lawyer with JFK Law LLP in Toronto, Ontario. She was called to the Ontario bar in 2005 and the British Columbia bar in 2022, and has specific matter approvals to practise in Nunavut and Quebec. Her practice areas include Aboriginal Law / Indigenous Practice, Crown-Indigenous relations, Indigenous governance, treaty matters, and Indigenous economic development.

Sara holds a degree in Management and Public Administration from the University of Lethbridge and an LL.B. from Queen’s University. She also earned an LL.M. from the University of Toronto, completed an Advanced Negotiations certificate at Harvard University, and obtained a Certificate in Entertainment Law through Osgoode Professional Development. Sara has also completed a course at the International Institute for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Policy in Geneva.

Through her graduate studies and legal practice, Sara has developed a sustained interest in Indigenous peoples’ jurisdiction and its role in reconciliation in Canada. She works with First Nations and Inuit clients within both Indigenous legal orders and the Canadian constitutional framework commonly referred to as Aboriginal law.

In 2014, Sara was elected Chief of Couchiching First Nation following the sudden death of her friend and mentor, Chief Chuck McPherson. During her term, she worked on policy development, communications and community engagement, including initiatives to connect with members living off reserve. She also established the Wasaw group of companies.

Sara draws on her experience as a former Chief when advising First Nation leadership on complex governance issues, Indigenous dispute resolution processes and community-based approaches to long-standing concerns. Her work is informed by a commitment to self-determination and to developing policies, legal frameworks and decision-making processes that reflect Indigenous laws, knowledge systems and community priorities.

Sara participated in the negotiations that led to the creation of First Nation Sovereign Wealth LP (FNSWLP), a partnership involving 129 First Nations in Ontario. Working under the direction of a Chiefs’ Committee on Energy, she contributed to negotiations that resulted in a commercial transaction between the Province of Ontario and FNSWLP involving 14 million Hydro One shares and $29 million in seed capital. The negotiations began in October 2015 and concluded with the transaction closing in December 2017.

Sara’s practice includes work involving the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaty 3, Anishinaabe Inakonigewin, Indigenous governance and Crown-Indigenous relations. She approaches each matter as a lifelong learner, with a commitment to meeting with communities, studying Indigenous legal orders and listening carefully to the knowledge and priorities of First Nations and Inuit clients.