Passion. Experience. Diligence.

Mr. Christmas is the Principal, of the Bernd Christmas Law Group.  His areas of practice include corporate and commercial law as well as Indigenous Peoples law.

Prior to that he was the Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel of Gitpo Storms Corporation as well as a Partner at the law firm of Cassels Brock LLP and Senior Counsel at JFK Law LLP.  

As an Aboriginal lawyer, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Membertou Band of Nova Scotia and the Membertou Corporate Division, CEO of Nch’kay Development Corporation, CEO of Fort McKay Oil Sands, legal counsel to the Ngabe Bugle Tribe of Panama and as a negotiator for several First Nations bands, Mr. Christmas brings a deep understanding of Aboriginal perspectives both national and international.

The first Mi'kmaw to become a lawyer in Canada, Mr. Christmas obtained his law degree in 1991 from Osgoode Hall at York University. In 1993, he accepted a position in corporate and commercial law with Lang Michener, where he also expanded the firm's Aboriginal practices. He was honoured by Toronto Metropolitan University with an Honorary Doctorate of Law in 2024. He has also received the I.C.D. designation from the Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto.

In 2003, he was appointed by Prime Minister Chrétien to the External Advisory Committee on Smart Regulation. From 2000 to 2002, he was one of three Canadian commissioners to the International Commission for the Conservation of Tuna. He is a former member of the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board and of the executive committee organizing the Governor General's Conference on Leadership and Diversity. He is a former member of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Board, CBC Pension Board, and Keltic Petrochemicals Board.  He was also on the Government of Nova Scotia’s $500 million Industrial Expansion Fund. He was on the boards of I.G Wealth Management, Canada Post Corporation, Nch’kay Development Corporation, Paskwayak Business Development Corporation, Canada -China Business Council, Atlantic Provinces Economic Council and AgriMarine Technologies.

For the Membertou, Mr. Christmas has negotiated contracts or agreements with Georgia Pacific, Sodexho Canada, Clearwater Fine Foods, Lockheed Martin Canada, Jacques Whitford Engineering, Dexter Construction, Grant Thornton, Boeing, and SNC Lavalin. He currently is a founding partner of Longhouse Capital Partners and sits on the board of Future Fuels Inc.

Mr. Christmas is a member of the Indigenous Bar Association, Nova Scotia Barristers' Society and of the Law Society of Ontario.