This article examines issues of power related to the Congrès mondial acadien (CMA or World Acadian Congress), a large gathering that has been held every five years since 1994. The objective of the study is to examine the dynamics of empowerment within the Acadian community, while taking into account the diasporic aspect of the Acadian identity and experience. To this end, we first propose a theoretical reflection on the concept of empowerment. It is through this lens that we then study discourses surrounding a public consultation conducted in 2015 at the behest of the Société Nationale de l’Acadie. We conclude that there exists a contradiction between the desire to include groups from the diaspora in initiatives intended to strengthen the empowerment of the Acadian community in the Maritimes, on the one hand, and the low level of participation by those same groups in the consultation on the future of the CMA, on the other.