Paul Chartrand was born in 1943 in the Métis community of St Laurent, Manitoba, where he went to St Laurent High School. He graduated from Manitoba Teachers' College, obtained a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Winnipeg and graduated from the Queensland University of Technology law school and the University of Saskatchewan College of Law. He taught school in St Laurent and Winnipeg before moving to Australia in 1974, where he studied and taught law, returning to Canada in 1982. Most recently, he has been Professor of Law at the University of Saskatchewan. He has been awarded the honourary title of Indigenous Peoples' Counsel (IPC) by the Canadian Indigenous Bar Association.

Chartrand's professional interests, and numerous publications, are mainly in the fields of law and policy pertaining to Indigenous peoples. His books include "Manitoba's Métis Settlement Scheme of 1870" (Saskatoon, U of Saskatchewan Native Law Centre, 1991). He has held teaching and other academic appointments at universities in Australia, Canada, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and the United States.

Among his administrative appointments, he was the first President and CEO of the Institute on Indigenous Government in B.C. in 1995-96 and head of the Department of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba from 1983-1991. He has served as a commissioner on the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1991-95), as a commissioner on Manitoba's Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission (1999-2001), and as a founding member of the board of directors of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (1998-99). He has given numerous keynote addresses and presentations at conferences in Canada and abroad. His community activities include assisting Indigenous organizations involved in international developments, particularly at the United Nations and the Organization of American States.

Paul Chartrand is currently a senior counsel at Boudreau Law in Winnipeg. He specializes in Indigenous Law.