Canoe Lake resident was ‘his mother’s keeper’

Members of the Canoe Lake Cree First Nation gathered on Monday evening to remember the two men who died in the community in an apparent murder-suicide.

Duncan Bouvier, 27, was found in a residence in the community on Saturday afternoon and had what appeared to RCMP investigators to be a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“He was the happiest, smiliest,” his aunt Kellie Bouvier said Monday. “He always had a smile on his face. He was kind and he was quiet.

“Duncan was known as his mother’s keeper. He was always busy around the house. He was always tinkering with something.”

When she found out Duncan had died, she says her first thought was about his mom. The incident came as a shock. “Everything seems a little bit surreal right now.”

Duncan Bouvier was a new father to a son who is only a few months old and was a firefighter during the summers, working in Jan’s Bay. His late father, Kellie’s brother, was a firefighter as well. Duncan’s father died before he could see him become a firefighter.

Duncan came from a small community — Jan’s Bay is situated within the Canoe Lake Cree First Nation. Canoe Lake’s population on reserve land is 982, according to the Meadow Lake Tribal Council’s website.

Kellie Bouvier said her nephew was well known by a lot of people in the community. She said the support from the community after Duncan’s death has helped the family.

“We cannot be more grateful for the support that we’ve been having from the community of Canoe Lake, Cole Bay, and all the surrounding northern communities have shown their love and … it’s incredible. It’s so heartwarming and endearing.”

The family is planning Duncan’s funeral and is awaiting the completion of an autopsy on his remains.

A second man who was known to Duncan was identified by the RCMP as the suspected shooter. The 30-year-old man has not been named. He was located in a treed area on the First Nation and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The families are grieving together, Kellie said.

“We’re asking everyone for positive prayers and positive thoughts and positive attitudes,” she said. “We don’t want anyone to hate. We’re not condoning hate. This is something that has happened to all of us and we’re going to work through it together.”