Jay Johnson is the Chief Negotiator and Senior Policy Advisor to the Chiefs’ Executive Council of the Syilx Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA).  Jay has worked to represent and advance indigenous title and rights interests in BC for over 18 years and has successfully led a variety of governance, natural resource and energy sector negotiations on behalf of the Okanagan Nation. 

Since 2008, Jay has served as the ONA’s Chiefs Executive technical representative and advisor as a Participant Observer in the  Canada-US Columbia River Treaty Negotiations. He is a founding member of the Chiefs Executive’s Legal Policy Advisory Team for the Syilx Nation.  He is also the Coordinator and Chief Negotiator for the BC First Nations Gaming Committee, completing their landmark Gaming Revenue-Sharing Agreement with the Province of BC. He pioneered the Syilx CRT Critical Path approach and continues to advocate for self-determination and broader Indigenous Title and Rights recognition.

In the past, he has been a special advisor to two BC cabinet ministers and has worked on international development projects in Jordan, Egypt, Mexico and the Caribbean.

He holds an MA in International Political Economy from Dalhousie and is a PhD Candidate at the University of Alberta. Jay was partly raised in the Columbia River Basin, in Nelson, BC.  He has taught International Political Economy and Indigenous Governance at the University of Alberta, Athabasca University and the University of Victoria where he and two sons currently live.