To many Manitobans, Louis Riel is regarded as the founder of the province as he brought it into the Confederation.

Winnipeg New Democrat Member of Parliament Pat Martin even introduced a private member's bill in November to overturn Riel's treason conviction. The bill also formally recognizes him as a Father of Confederation.

But not all Canadians cast him in a positive light.

Edmonton MP Peter Goldring reacted to Martin's bill by publicly blasting Riel as "a villain" who is responsible for all of the deaths during the Red River and North West rebellions.

His remarks were published in a newsletter on his website.

David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Metis Federation, says Goldring made the statements to gain notoriety.

"You attack Riel, the Metis will come and defend him," he says.

The comments have since been removed from Goldring's website.

"Clearly his facts are wrong," says Chartrand. "If you look at his document he's way off base with his history. In fact I've got grade six students in Manitoba who will teach him a history lesson in the Metis if he came here."

Conservative MP Shelly Glover says she is disappointed in her colleague's comments.

She adds Goldring has ‘obviously' only been taught one side of the story.

"I'd like to see him perhaps open his mind to the other side of it [the debate], to see that there were injustices during that time," she says. "Metis people still today continue to deal with injustices."

Some people are now calling on the Conservative government to issue an apology for Goldring's remarks. It is not clear yet if the government will do so.

Peter Goldring did not respond to CTV News' repeated attempts to contact him.