Born and raised in the Dene village of Lishamie until the age of 7, when he was taken away to the Sacred Heart Residential School in Zhahti Kue (Fort Providence), where he would live 10 months a year for the next seven years. After, he attended boarding schools in Fort Resolution and Fort Smith, then high school in Yellowknife. At the age of 14, he joined other Yellowknife students at the Akaitcho Hall hostel where he played in a band called the Arctic Ramblers, playing dances at Akaitcho Hall and nearby schools. During this time he also worked at Yellowknife's CBC affiliate radio station, CFYK, including as host on the popular request program "Gather Round".

In autumn of 1964, Canadien moved to Edmonton, where he first saw The Chieftones rehearsing. In short order he was invited to join the group, and by November they were on the road across North America as a touring band. Leaving the band in 1969, he lived and worked in many places over the next few years, including a return to CFYK and a stint with the CBC in Montréal before returning home, eventually becoming Director of Official Languages in Yellowknife.