Appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAN) - Budget 2025 - The Honourable Mandy Gull-Masty (November 17, 2025)

Relevant Budget 2025 announcements

• Budget 2025 prioritizes essential programming for Indigenous peoples. In recognition of the importance of Indigenous Services Canada programs and services to Indigenous communities, these programs will be protected from the 15 per cent savings applied to other departments, and the department will instead be asked to identify savings of two per cent that will contribute to more streamlined and efficient delivery.
• Budget 2025 proposes substantial investments in key indigenous infrastructure priorities, including housing and water:
  • $2.3 billion over three years (starting in 2026–27) to renew the First Nations Water and Wastewater Enhancement Program, supporting about 800 projects to eliminate water advisories and upgrade vulnerable infrastructure.
  • In order to address important housing issues in Indigenous communities, Budget 2025 requires Indigenous Services Canada to coordinate a cross-government Indigenous Housing Strategy following engagement with First Nations on reserve, Inuit Treaty Organisations, Métis governments, and Modern Treaty holders and Self-Governing Indigenous Governments.
  • The Canada Infrastructure Bank's target for Indigenous infrastructure investments will increase from at least $1 billion to at least $3 billion.
• Budget 2025 announced the intention to undertake a comprehensive assessment of health care and health infrastructure needs in the North, with the goal of identifying innovative ways to increase access to health care in northern communities and reduce medical travel costs through engagement with Northern and Arctic Indigenous.
• Additionally, legislation will make the National School Food Program permanent, with $216.6 million annually starting in 2029-30, including $47.5 million allocated for Indigenous Services Canada.

Assembly of First Nations Fall 2025 pre-budget submission summary

• The Assembly of First Nations is seeking a total of $466.7B in federal funding to support long-term objectives across all priority areas, including a number of ISC-led and implicated program areas. Highlights include:
  • Community Infrastructure: $115 billion over 7 years allocated to support the funding of roads, utilities, water systems and maintenance, ports, wharfs, transportation infrastructure, as well as community health and social services infrastructure.
  • Drinking Water Advisories: $670 million over 2 years for urgent investments throughout the drinking water supply chain, alongside the reintroduction and implementation of First Nations water legislation.
  • Children and Families: $53.5 billion over 10 years to support work on:
    • Long-term reform of discriminatory First Nations Child and Family services program
    • Jordan's Principle post-majority supports to extend eligibility to ages 18-30
    • Early learning and childcare legacy investment
  • Housing: $139 billion over 10 years to build new units and repair existing ones; expand distinctions-based funding under Reaching Home to support First Nations-led homelessness solutions aligned with MMIWG2S+ justice calls, while reducing public service costs linked to chronic homelessness.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami 2025 pre-budget submission

• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami requested approximately $40 billion over a period of ten years for services under ISC's mandate in addition to infrastructure needs that could also implicate ISC. Inuit are seeking:
  • Permanent, demand-driven funding for a co-developed replacement to the Inuit Child First Initiative, with an estimated need of $9.7 billion over ten years.
  • Expansion of the Inuit Post-Secondary Education Strategy with an additional $40.8 million over four years through 2028-2029, and $33 million per year ongoing.
  • Investments in Inuit Nunangat infrastructure to build Canada and one Canadian economy, including Inuit-driven major projects and helping to close the overall infrastructure gap. Costed at $30.1 billion over ten years for 79 projects.
  • A new approach to federal funding for Inuit Treaty Organizations, whereby grants and contributions payments would be transformed into transfer payments, consistent with the way provinces and territories receive federal funding. They are also seeking to have all Inuit funding be protected from any reduction due to the Comprehensive Expenditure Review.

Métis national council 2025 pre-budget submission

• The Métis national Council requested over $6.71 billion in long-term, distinctions-based federal investments over 10 years:
  • $6.71B for Métis-led healthcare infrastructure.
  • $229.4M for emergency management and climate resilience.
  • $201M for the Métis Nation Climate Leadership Agenda (economic pillar).
  • $181M over five years for post-secondary education, plus annual increases.
  • $17.6M for Métis economic infrastructure.

Key Messages

• Indigenous Services Canada is committed to addressing inequities and broader reform issues in registration and membership under the Indian Act.
• Through Bill S-2, An Act to amend the Indian Act (new registration entitlements), Canada is proposing amendments to the Indian Act that have been co-developed with Indigenous partners to address some remaining inequities, including legacy impacts of enfranchisement.
• Currently, Bill S-2 is being studied at the Senate. It is anticipated that on November 18, 2025, a clause-by-clause analysis will begin for the purpose of reviewing existing and proposed amendments, reflective of past discussions held during Committee.
• While work advances on Bill S-2, consultation on solutions to the second-generation cut-off and section 10 voting thresholds is underway.
• There were no measures announced in the November 2025 Federal Budget related to this work.

Background

• Registration and membership provisions in the Indian Act have been amended three times since 1985. Bill S-2 will be the fourth. There is criticism about the piece-meal approach.
• In response to Nicholas v AGC, the former Bill C-38 was introduced in December 2022 in the House of Commons. The former Bill did not receive Royal Assent prior to the end of the Parliamentary session in March 2025, and was reintroduced as Bill S-2 in the Senate on May 26, 2025.
• Bill S-2 addresses four main issues:
  • Enfranchisement: The proposed amendments will ensure that people with a family history of enfranchisement are treated equally to those without from a registration perspective.
  • Deregistration: The Indian Registrar will be able to remove a name from the Indian Register upon request from a registered individual. This ability does not exist today.
  • Loss of Natal Band Membership: The amendment supports women who, although did not lose entitlement to registration, lost entitlement to affiliation with their natal band upon marriage, to re-affiliate to their natal band, if they choose.
  • Outdated and Offensive Language: All references to "mentally incompetent Indian" will be removed from the Act and the term will be replaced with "dependent person."
• The Government of Canada's commitment to addressing enfranchisement-related inequities was affirmed in June 2023 with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan Measure 2.7, mandating the Government of Canada to support the adoption of the proposed amendments in Bill S-2.
• The Government of Canada's commitment to solutions to remaining inequities in registration and membership is also affirmed as Action Plan Measure 2.8.

Current Status

• Bill S-2 completed its first reading on May 29, 2025, and second reading on June 25, 2025. The Bill is currently in the committee stage with the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples (APPA). The first APPA meeting on Bill S-2 occurred on September 24, 2025.
• On August 19, 2025, a judgment was rendered in Nicholas v AGC granting Canada an extension until April 30, 2026, to enact the proposed changes in Bill S-2
• It is estimated that the entitlement of 3,500 individuals will be impacted by the Bill S-2 amendments over 5 years. As of October 2025, 1,800 individuals impacted by Bill S-2 have already applied for registration.
• Following discussions with partners on draft legislative amendments in Bill S-2, there is generally strong support for these amendments, however many stress that the Bill does not go far enough to address the second-generation cut-off.
• The Collaborative Process on the Second-Generation Cut-off and Section 10 Voting Thresholds seeks to find solutions to some of the issues raised in the Senate surrounding Bill S-2, namely the second-generation cut-off, is ongoing and is a commitment by Canada as part of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan Measure 2.8. This co-designed and co-developed consultation process is intended to inform future legislative amendments on registration and membership.
• Following a period of information sharing on the impacts of the second-generation cut-off, 76 First Nations and First Nations organizations are expected to put forward solutions by the end of December 2025. These solutions will be assessed for legal and operational viability in advance of First Nations led consultation events where Nations will discuss preferred approaches.

Key Messages

• Indigenous Services Canada is committed to providing timely, fair, and transparent registration decisions for First Nations individuals under the Indian Act.
• Following the June 2025 audit by the Office of the Auditor General on registration, Indigenous Services Canada has initiated concrete actions across all seven recommendations to modernize operations, enhance accountability, and deliver lasting service improvements.
• Through digital transformation, enhanced staff training, and operating efficiencies, Indigenous Services Canada is improving service standards and the client experience.
• Progress on actions will be measured, tracked, and reported.

Background

• In 2022, the Senate Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples issued the Make it Stop! Ending the Remaining Discrimination in Indian Registration report. One of the recommendations called upon the Office of the Auditor General of Canada to conduct a performance audit on registration activities.
• The registration process plays a significant role in the recognition of First Nations people in Canada, and is connected to rights, benefits and services.
• The 2025 Report by the Auditor General of Canada, Registration Under the Indian Act (PDF) was tabled in Parliament on June 10, 2025.

Current Status

• On October 10, 2025, the Deputy Minister approved the Department's comprehensive Action Plan responding to the Auditor's seven recommendations.
• A new national training curriculum has been implemented and officer delegation (Devolved Administrative Authority of the Indian Registrar) processes are in place to ensure all decision-makers hold valid certification. Officers need to complete their recertification every three years.
• Regular quality assurance reviews are conducted to verify that registration decisions comply with the appropriate level of delegated decision-making, as well as relevant policies and procedures.
• The Department is defining clear, measurable service standards for registration and protest, including timelines, monitoring mechanisms and regular reporting.
• The Department continues to expand access to the digital application tool that is more efficient and client friendly compared to the long standing paper-based application approach.
• A public-facing indicator framework is being developed to report on outcomes, service standard performance and wait times.

Program-Level Data: Processing improvements to Date

In 2024, 35,250 individuals were registered with an average registration processing time of less than six months which is an improvement from the five year average processing time reported by the Auditor General.

Since the tabling of the Office of the Auditor General's report, the Department has reduced the backlog of applications exceeding the six-month service standard by 1,084, a decrease of 8.6%.

In 2024, the average registration processing was less than 5 months. This update shows progress against the Auditor General's Report, which cited a 16 month wait time over a five-year sample (2019-2024).

- ISC Annual Report (2024)

Key Messages

• On October 20, 2025, Indigenous Services Canada piloted a faster and easier way for individuals to apply for registration under the Indian Act at in-person service locations using the Digital Applications Services (DAS).
• Under the pilot, entitled children 15 years or younger whose proof of birth document lists both parents will be able to complete their registration application digitally during in-person visits at service locations across the country.
• Over time, this tool will be made available for a broader range of persons to apply for registration and it is an addition to the digital application process for the secure status card, which is already successfully implemented across the country.
• This pilot has started at the service location in Gatineau, Quebec, and Amherst, Nova Scotia and will gradually expand to other points of service across the country.
• The Digital Application has significantly reduced application wait times by streamlining the process for applicants — cutting appointment durations while providing a better client service.
• There were no measures announced in the November 2025 Federal Budget related to this work.

Background

• Since 2022, over 106,000 secure status card and renewal requests have been submitted digitally through Digital Application Services, which is part of Indigenous Services Canada's ongoing efforts to modernize and simplify registration and status card processes.
• Other digital initiatives include the SCIS Photo App, launched in 2019, allowing cost-free digital passport-style photo uploads for secure status cards, and online booking tools available at select Indigenous Services Canada service locations, to improve appointment access and reduce wait times.
• This work responds to the Auditor General's June 2025 report calling for a fair, transparent, and accessible registration process for First Nations individuals.

Current Status

• The Pilot will rollout gradually and be expanded to include all existing services at our service locations across the county. The next service location will be Edmonton, Alberta.
• In the next phases of the pilot, registration applications will be added for:
  • Phase 2: Children 15 or younger with at least one parent listed on the proof of birth document.
  • Phase 3: Children 15 or younger applying through legal guardians.
  • Phase 4: Adults 16 or older applying on their own behalf.
  • Phase 5: Dependent adults 16 or older applying through parents, guardians, or other representatives.

Key Messages

• Jordan's Principle seeks to make sure that First Nations children have equal access to the essential government services they need and that they do not experience gaps or delays in accessing essential government services due to their identity as First Nations children.
• Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) is committed to the ongoing implementation of Jordan's Principle and its long-term sustainability.
• Jordan's Principle was created to ensure that First Nations children do not experience gaps or delays in accessing government-funded health, social and education services, and that they are not denied these services due to their identity as First Nations children.
• Nearly $10 billion in Jordan's Principle funding has been secured, and more than 9.4 million products, services, and supports have been approved since 2016.
• Budget 2022 provided $4 billion over six years, starting in 2021-22, to ensure First Nations children continue to receive the support they need through Jordan's Principle. That represents 773M per year until 2027-2028 and is already built into ISC's reference levels. Decisions on which initiatives will sunset, be extended or receive funding increments will be communicated at a later date.
• ISC is aware of the frustrations with the application and payment process as well as the concerns about the impact recent changes have had on children receiving supports.
• Since its launch in 2016, requests through Jordan's Principle have surged, especially in recent years. changes to the operational guidelines were introduced in response, as they will serve to clarify service eligibility and documentation, support long-term sustainability, as well as speed up processing.
• ISC continues to work diligently to clear the existing backlog of requests under Jordan's Principle and to process new requests.

Background

• Jordan's Principle is a legal requirement, not a policy or program, resulting from the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision of January 2016, which ordered Canada to cease applying a narrow definition of Jordan's Principle and to take immediate measures to implement the full meaning of the principle.
• Jordan's Principle was created to ensure that First Nations children do not experience gaps or delays in accessing government-funded health, social and education services, and that they are not denied these services due to their identity as First Nations children. Since 2016, nearly $10 billion has been invested in Jordan's Principle, resulting in the delivery of approximately 9.9 million products and services.
• Jordan's Principle has no permanent funding but rather is funded through Budget investments and off-cycle funding decisions. Budget 2019 announced $1.2 billion over three years in baseline funding, while Budget 2022 announced $4.0 billion over six years, starting in 2021-22 to ensure the continued implementation of the initiative, creating baseline funding of $772.8 million per year until 2027-28. Off-cycle funding decisions between 2018-19 and 2024-25 have provided in-year funding to address growing demand. Most recently, a 2024-25 off-cycle decision provided $1.0 billion to address forecast expenditures for 2025-26.
• Jordan's Principle is a demand-driven initiative and has seen exponential growth since 2016, both in volume of requests and funding requested. In 2024-2025 alone, expenditures reached nearly $2.1 billion, with 210,119 requests submitted and 113,539 approved, yielding an estimated 2.8 million products, services, and supports. It is important to recognize that every request differs both in the amount of time, complexity and effort required to ensure that requests are properly adjudicated.
• As the incoming volume of requests continues to exceed processing capacity, there is a substantial backlog of requests. As of June 4, 2025, approximately 140,000 requests were in the backlog awaiting a first-level decision, with a further 896 in the appeals backlog. This number continues to grow as incoming volumes exceed processing capacity. Eliminating the backlog remains a top priority for the department and ISC staff continue to work diligently to clear the existing backlog of requests under Jordan's Principle and to process new requests within the prescribed timelines.

Current Status

• In light of the increasing volume of requests to Jordan's Principle, the Government of Canada is implementing new ways to process requests to expedite decision-making and address the increased demand. These changes, announced on February 10, 2025, provide further clarity and consistency around the services available for First Nations children through Jordan's Principle, as well as the required documentation that is needed when processing requests. They will also help ensure requests align with the long-term sustainability of Jordan's Principle.
• ISC has developed a plan to reduce the backlog. Targeted actions include fast-tracking approval of low-risk individual requests, streamlining and standardizing core business processes, and investments in payments processing capacity.

Program-Level Data

Key Messages

• Canada is committed to the full implementation of Jordan's Principle and related Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) orders including 2021 CHRT 41 (major capital).
• $148.1 million over 5 years has been allocated for capital expenditures under 2021 CHRT 41 Jordan's Principle.
• Funding provided under 2021 CHRT 41 helps First Nations and authorized service providers plan and advance major capital projects to support the delivery of Jordan's Principle services. This includes support for needs assessments and feasibility studies both on- and off-reserve, and full capital funding for ready-to-go projects on-reserve and in the Territories.

Background

• Under the CHRT's capital order (2021 CHRT 41), the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered Canada to fund major capital projects that support the delivery of child and family services on-reserve and in the Yukon, and Jordan's Principle services on-reserve and in the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Under 2021 CHRT 41, Canada must also fund needs assessments and feasibility studies, on and off-reserve, in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, for assets where these services are eligible for Jordan's Principle.
• Common requests include multi-service buildings housing navigators, child development professionals (e.g., occupational therapists and speech language pathologists), Elders, and youth and mental health counselors.
• As of June 1, 2025, Jordan's Principle 2021 CHRT 41 has received 409 requests, 235 of which are active relating to 162 unique infrastructure assets. The majority of the requests are currently at pre-capital and design phases: 167 in the pre-capital planning phase, 36 at design phase, 26 at construction phase, and 6 at completion phase.

Current Status

• As stated in 2021 CHRT 41 and the First Nations Child and Family Services and Jordan's Principle Capital Delivery Guide, to be eligible, a capital asset must support the direct delivery of approved Jordan's Principle direct services to eligible First Nations children. In addition, the capital request and space implications need to align with the delivery of Jordan's Principle services.
• Changes to the Jordan's Principle operating procedures and the scope of eligible services and supports that were released in February 2025 have implications for the scale and nature of 2021 CHRT 41 capital assets.
• As part of the ongoing implementation of 2021 CHRT 41, ISC is undertaking a comprehensive analysis and working to reassess pending Jordan's Principle 2021 CHRT 41 requests to ensure alignment with Canada's legal obligations under the order. 2021 CHRT 41 requests are also being reviewed to ensure the alignment between approved Jordan's Principle services and the space required for service delivery.

Program-Level Data

Key Messages

• The Inuit Child First Initiative (Inuit CFI) ensures Inuit children have equal access to essential government funded health, social and educational products, services and supports.
• In March 2025, the Government allocated $121.7 million to extend the Inuit Child First Initiative until March 31, 2026.
• Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) remains committed to continuing to work with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) and the four Inuit Treaty Organizations through the Co-development Steering Committee to co-develop the long-term Inuit-specific approach for the Inuit CFI.
• Following Budget 2025, decisions on which initiatives will sunset, be extended or receive funding increments will be communicated at a later date.

Background

• The Government of Canada announced the Inuit CFI with ITK in September 2018 as an interim approach based on Jordan's Principle, until a long-term Inuit-specific approach is co-developed.
• From April 1, 2019 to July 31, 2025, the Government of Canada approved $460 million in funds representing 285,232 products, services, and supports through the Inuit CFI.

Current Status

• ISC is co-developing a long-term Inuit-specific approach to the Inuit CFI with ITK and the four Inuit Territorial Organizations.
• Funding for the Inuit CFI is currently scheduled to sunset at the end of 2025-26.
• Since April 1, 2025, approximately $16.2 million has been expended based on approved requests.
• Jordan's Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative both provide funding on a case-by-case basis for a range of requests related to health, education and social products and services, including for temporary supports towards groceries to address immediate needs of children. However, it is not intended to support northern food security, nor structured to displace provincial and territorial government income assistance programs through "universal" programs such as food vouchers or income supplements.
• Operational updates in February 2025 clarified that Jordan's Principle and Inuit Child First Initiative funding must be assessed on a child-specific basis and supported by appropriate documentation. Universal or community-wide programs, such as the food vouchers that were implemented by various communities in Nunavut, no longer fall within the scope of the Inuit Child First Initiative.
• From July 2023 to March 2025, the Inuit Child First Initiative saw an influx of requests for food-related supports (i.e., group requests for school food programs and community food vouchers). For example, 24 communities in Nunavut were approved for $89,505,721 in funding to support an estimated 14,735 Inuit children between 2023-2025.

Program-Level Data

Key Messages

• The Government of Canada is committed to undertaking a review of the provisions and operations of an Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children youth and families (the Act) in collaboration with Indigenous partners and provincial and territorial governments.
• Indigenous Services Canada is currently determining a balanced approach to the five-year review which will ensure the inclusion of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples across the nation and provide an opportunity to discuss both the successes and challenges associated with implementing the Act.
• To date, all partners have expressed significant interest in participating in the five-year review of the Act.

Background

• The Act came into force on January 1, 2020. Subsection 31(1) of the Act states that every five years after the day on which the Act comes into force, the Minister must, in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples, including representatives of First Nations, Inuit and Métis, undertake a review of the provisions and operation of the Act. Subsection 31(2) of the Act states that for greater certainty, when undertaking the review, the Minister may also collaborate with provincial and territorial governments.
• The Act also lays out specific and required duties of the Minister, in relation to the five-year review. These include: undertaking the review (subsection 31(1)), "preparing a report…that sets out the Minister's conclusions and recommendations" (subsection 31(3)), and tabling the report in Parliament within 30 days of the sitting following the report's completion.
• Indigenous Services Canada has allocated $6 million over two years (2025-2026 and 2026-2027) for the five-year review.

Current Status

• In December 2024, Indigenous Services Canada began pre-engagement to identify who should be engaged, how partners would like to be engaged, and existing fora or mechanisms that could be used. The department met with national Indigenous organizations (the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Métis National Council), the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, seven provinces and territories (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and Yukon), and three First Nation regional organizations.
• The Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami have allocated funds to support engagement with section 35 rights holders on the five-year review of the Act in their existing work plans for 2025-2026.
• The Children, Families, and Learning Sector has developed engagement options for consideration to ensure that participation in the review is inclusive and comprehensive.

Key Messages

• Since An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (the Act) was brought into force in 2020, Indigenous Services Canada has committed approximately $2.7 billion to support its implementation. This includes funding for capacity building, governance engagement mechanisms, coordination agreement negotiations and multi-year implementation of Indigenous child and family services laws and service models.
• As of October 2025, 15 agreements have been signed with First Nations and Inuit governing bodies. Work is underway to advance discussions toward the first Métis coordination agreement.
• Funding for coordination agreements is intended to be needs-based, sustainable, and consistent with the principle of substantive equality, as set out in section 20(2)(c) of the Act.
• Canada continues to work with Indigenous partners and provinces and territories to close service gaps and advance Indigenous-led child and family service models.

Background

• $301 million in capacity-building funding to date, supporting 577 projects from 267 Indigenous recipients representing 479 First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities — encompassing both Indigenous governing bodies preparing to enter coordination agreement negotiations and national Indigenous organizations advancing culturally grounded child and family services reform.
• $56.9 million has supported ongoing negotiations toward new coordination agreements, while $2.37 billion has been committed to implement and sustain signed agreements with Indigenous governing bodies.
• $7.9 million has supported governance engagement mechanisms, including joint fiscal and policy tables with national and regional Indigenous organizations on key issues requiring further examination relating to provisions, principles and definitions within the Act.
• Federal funding is provided through a combination of grants and contribution agreements.

Current Status

• Over the past six months, Canada has concluded one new coordination agreement (15 total) and advanced negotiations with 20 additional Indigenous governing bodies.
• In fiscal year 2025-2026, to date, $19.6 million in new capacity-building funding has been committed.
• In the months ahead, Indigenous Services Canada will:
  • Advance negotiations toward additional coordination agreements;
  • Explore the creation of a long-term funding approach to enhance sustainability, predictability and transparency; and,
  • Maintain engagement with provinces and territories to promote shared funding responsibility and equitable support for Indigenous service delivery models.

Key Messages

• Canada is committed to reforming the First Nations Child and Family Services Program, addressing the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's 2016 decision and subsequent orders, and improving the lives and outcomes of First Nations children and families living on-reserve and in the Yukon.
• Canada is focussed on supporting the nine-year, landmark $8.5 billion agreement reached with the Chiefs of Ontario and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation to reform the First Nations Child and Family Services Program for First Nations in Ontario.
• Canada will continue to advance reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program, ensuring that the path to reform is flexible, sustainable and inclusive of all partners. Reforms will continue to support equitable, culturally appropriate services that help First Nations children stay with their families and in their communities.

Background

• In 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found that Canada was discriminating against First Nations children and families by underfunding the First Nations Child and Family Services Program and implementing Jordan's Principle too narrowly. It ordered Canada to reform the First Nations Child and Family Services Program and implement the full meaning and scope of Jordan's Principle.
• The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has since overseen Canada's implementation of reforms to the First Nations Child and Family Services Program and Jordan's Principle.
• In January 2024, the Government of Canada, the Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation began negotiations towards an agreement on a reformed First Nations Child and Family Services Program.
• On October 17, 2024, the First Nations-in-Assembly rejected a proposed $47.8 billion, ten-year Final Agreement and instructed the Assembly of First Nations to take a different approach to negotiating reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program.
• On February 26, 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada signed a $8.5 billion agreement to reform the First Nations Child and Family Services Program in Ontario.

Current Status

• The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal issued an order on August 20, 2025 (2025 CHRT 80) requiring Canada to develop an evidence-based comprehensive national plan for reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program outside of Ontario by December 22, 2025. Canada subsequently challenged that decision through an application for judicial review. Pending a decision from the Federal Court on the judicial review, Canada is required to implement the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's order and present a plan for national long-term reform by December 22, 2025.
• Meanwhile, ISC continues to implement the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's orders on the First Nations Child and Family Services Program. At the same time, ISC is delivering incremental reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program outside the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's orders. ISC is continuing to fund prevention services at $2,500 per registered First Nations person on-reserve or in the Yukon, fund First Nation Representative Services across the country, adjust funding for remoteness, and provide the child-focused housing funding announced in Budget 2022. ISC began to implement some of these incremental reforms in 2022-23.

Key Messages

• In 2019, Indigenous Services Canada implemented a co-developed policy and funding approach that transformed First Nations elementary and secondary education on reserve, providing at a minimum, funding that is based on what students receive in provincial schools, plus additional investments to address First Nations' unique circumstances.
• The transformed policy and funding approach to Elementary and Secondary Education on reserve includes an expanded effort to support the regional and local diversity of First Nations education systems through the development of regional education agreements that are tailored to the particular goals, needs and priorities of First Nations partners.
• To date, 11 regional education agreements have been signed with First Nations partners, with 9 remaining active. As of March 31, 2025, these 9 agreements supported over 25,000 students from 191 First Nations across five provinces.
• Through this transformed approach, funding for elementary and secondary education has grown by 112% between 2015-2016 and 2024-2025. Since 2015, the Government of Canada has invested over $4.95 billion for elementary and secondary education to help First Nations children living on reserve receive high-quality education.
• In October 2025, the Prime Minister announced that the National School Food Program will become permanent, with the Government of Canada investing $216.6 million annually in ongoing funding starting in 2029-2030 through the departments of Employment and Social Development Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.
• This investment builds on the Budget 2024 investments of 1 billion over 5 years to create a National School Food Program. In implementing this Budget 2024 commitment, Indigenous Services Canada is allocating $227.8 million over five years starting in 2024-2025 for First Nations on reserve, through the Elementary and Secondary Education Program.

Background

• Indigenous Services Canada's Elementary and Secondary Education Program supports the delivery of kindergarten to grade 12 education for eligible First Nations students who are ordinarily resident on reserve, by providing funding directly to First Nations recipients and education organizations designated by First Nations partners.
• Under this approach, core funding for First Nations elementary and secondary education is allocated through interim regional funding formulas that reflect student enrolment and provincial rates for education, plus adaptations and national common investments beyond provincial comparability, including language and culture programming, full-day kindergarten for children aged four and five, before- and after-school programming, and most recently, school food programming.
• Regional education agreements support First Nation-designed education systems to improve student success through the vision and goals set by First Nations for elementary and secondary education.
• These agreements are tailored to the local or regional context and outline First Nations' design, implementation and management plans for their education systems, including funding required to achieve better student outcomes, and formalizing Canada's commitment to provide the required resources.
• Budget 2024 proposed new investments in First Nations' kindergarten to grade 12 education programming and infrastructure, including:
  • $649.4 million over two years, starting in 2024-2025, to improve elementary and secondary education on reserve, and ensure funding formulas meet the needs of growing communities;
  • $545.1 million over three years, starting in 2024-2025, for kindergarten to Grade 12 infrastructure to build and renovate safe and healthy learning environments for First Nations students; and
  • $1 billion over five years starting in 2024-2025 to create a National School Food Program, including $227.8 million to be allocated by Indigenous Services Canada for First Nations on reserve through the Elementary and Secondary Education Program via existing funding agreements.
• In October 2025, the Prime Minister announced key measures from the upcoming federal Budget, including the decision to make the National School Food Program permanent to provide meals for up to 400,000 children.
• The announcement highlighted that the National School Food Program will ensure kids are fed healthy meals at school and will save families with two children $800 per year on groceries; and that by making the Program permanent, the Government of Canada will work with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners to expand the Program into more schools across Canada.
• Starting in 2029-2030, the Government will provide $216.6 million in ongoing funding to the Departments of Employment and Social Development Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to make the National School Food Program permanent.

Current Status

• In 2025-2026, Elementary and Secondary Education Program rising costs outpaced Indigenous Services Canada available program funding. The overall funding amount for the program increased in 2025-2026, and funding adjustments were made to support the program's sustainability. These adjustments varied by community, and were communicated directly to First Nations in September 2025.
• The department remains committed to the fundamental principles that were established during the co-development of the current funding and policy approach, including: that First Nation learners and schools are supported by funding that is at a minimum, directly provincially comparable; that national common investments for First Nation learners that seek to address barriers to success are in place, such as language and culture and full-day kindergarten for children aged four and five; and, that funding is reliable and does not require the submission of annual proposals.

Key Messages

• Indigenous Services Canada provides funding and supports for students through distinctions-based Post-Secondary Education strategies, for First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation.
• These strategies provide direct, flexible, and culturally relevant supports to students, enabling more eligible learners to access and succeed in post-secondary education. By funding academic and living expenses, and supporting community-based and culturally tailored programming, these strategies aim to remove barriers to education, and strengthen Indigenous control over education systems
• Budget 2019, announced investments totaling $814.9 million over 10 years to support Indigenous post-secondary education. This funding was used to renew and expand the First Nations Post-Secondary Student Support Program and the University and College Entrance Preparation Program over 5 years, and provided support for First Nations-led engagement to develop regional post-secondary education models over 3 years.
• Budget 2024 invested $242.7 million over 3 years to extend funding for the First Nation Post-Secondary Student Support Program and University and College Entrance Preparation Program.
• First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation partners have communicated that Indigenous Services Canada's Post-Secondary Education programming is not sufficiently meeting their needs as it is oversubscribed and underfunded.
• Rising costs of living and tuition, a growing Indigenous population, rising levels of secondary school graduation for Indigenous youth, and a steady increase in demand for access to post-secondary education have all led to pressure on available funding.

Background

• Indigenous Services Canada has been supporting First Nations and Inuit students in post-secondary education since at least the 1960s, and currently supports First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation post-secondary education as a matter of social policy.
• The department implements the three distinctions-based Post-Secondary Education Strategies, and works collaboratively with Indigenous partners to ensure that First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation learners have access to the same high-quality post-secondary education services and opportunities as non-Indigenous Canadians.
• The three distinctions-based strategies are:
  • the First Nations Post-Secondary Education Strategy, which includes the Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP), the University and College Entrance Preparation Program (UCEPP), the Post-Secondary Partnerships Program (PSPP) and the First Nations Adult Secondary Education mechanism;
  • the Inuit Post-Secondary Education Strategy; and
  • the Métis Nation Post-Secondary Education Strategy.
• In 2020-2021, based on reports received, more than 22, 360 First Nations students were funded through the Post-Secondary Student Support Program. In the same year, over 3,360 funded First Nations students graduated with a PSE certificate.^{Footnote 1}
• Between its launch in 2019-2020 and fiscal year 2022-2023 the Inuit Post-Secondary Education Strategy provided funding to 2,130 Inuit students, largely surpassing its target of providing financial support to 200 students per year.

• With the implementation of the Métis Nation Post-Secondary Education Strategy in fiscal year 2019-2020, initial recipients aimed to provide financial support to 733 students annually; this target was surpassed each year. Between fiscal years 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 the number of Métis Nation students reported to have received post-secondary education funding through the Strategy increased from 1,025 to 4,645 (353 percent). Partners across the Métis Nation have shared that, during this period, the amount of funding allocated per student decreased. As well, they have noted that due to the demand for post-secondary and limited funds available, other sources of funding (i.e., funding from the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program) are being utilized to support students' final year of post-secondary education.
• A Budget 2024 funding decision directed the Minister of Indigenous Services to present a plan to the Treasury Board Secretariat by September 2024 on how the department will work with First Nations to improve reporting with a view to providing central agencies with up-to-date information on funded students and results as soon as possible.

Current Status:

• The department continues to work with Regional Offices and Indigenous partners to ensure important program data is collected to inform policy development and program implementation.

Key Messages

• Indigenous Post Secondary Institutions support the unique needs of Indigenous students by providing culturally-appropriate wrap-around supports and educating students where they reside.
• The Post-Secondary Partnerships Program (PSPP) provides funding to support First Nations to define their own partnerships with institutions, leading to an increase in the availability of post-secondary education programs tailored to First Nation's cultural and educational needs. PSPP has a core budget of $22.1 million per year.
• PSPP investments have remained static for over a decade (with the exception of COVID-19 emergency funding), and the program is oversubscribed by approximately 300% each year.
• First Nations partners have communicated that PSPP is inadequate in meeting the needs of First Nations post-secondary institutions. As a proposal-based program, PSPP funding is unpredictable for partners. The oversubscription challenges existing recipients to maintain levels of support provided to post-secondary institutions, and makes it difficult for new or prospective applicants to access funding.
• The Inuit and Métis Nation Post-Secondary Education Strategies also offer flexibility for recipients to carry out activities or contract out services. This could include allocating funds to Inuit or Métis Nation-led or affiliated PSE institutions, to support their priorities.
• First Nations University of Canada:
  • In line with the terms and conditions for the PSPP, Indigenous Services Canada provides the First Nations University of Canada with up to $7 million per year for ongoing support.
  • ISC does not have a role in the governance of the First Nations University of Canada, which is in alignment with the principle of First Nations control of First Nations education.

Background

• Education is an area of provincial jurisdiction. Indigenous Services Canada supports First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation post-secondary education as a matter of social policy through the distinctions-based Post-Secondary Education Strategies. These strategies provide direct, flexible, and culturally relevant supports to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation students, enabling more eligible learners to access and succeed in post-secondary education. By funding academic and living expenses, and supporting community-based and culturally tailored programming, these strategies aim to remove immediate barriers to education, and strengthen Indigenous control over education systems.
• The First Nations Post-Secondary Education Strategy includes the Post-Secondary Student Support Program, the University and College Entrance Preparation Program, and the Post-Secondary Partnerships Program (PSPP).
• Budget 2019 invested $320 million over 5 years, beginning in fiscal year 2019 to 2020, to renew and expand funding for the Post-Secondary Student Support Program and for the University and College Entrance Preparation Program (UCEPP), as well as $7.5 million over three years, starting 2019-2020, to First Nations to engage with First Nations on the development of long-term regional post-secondary education models.
• Budget 2019 also invested $125.5 million over 10 years (and $21.8 million ongoing) for the Inuit Post-Secondary Education Strategy, and $362 million over 10 years (and $40 million ongoing), for the Métis Nation Post-Secondary Education Strategy.
• Budget 2024 announced $242.7 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, for access to post-secondary education for First Nations students through the Post-Secondary Student Support Program.
• The only Indigenous post-secondary institution in Canada that receives ongoing support through PSPP is the First Nations University of Canada in Saskatchewan ($7 million per year). Partners have expressed ongoing concerns with equitable access to the stable funding similar to that of the First Nations University of Canada in Saskatchewan. PSPP's funding levels ($22.1 million/year) are fully expended.

Current Status

• The department continues to work with Regional Offices and Indigenous partners to ensure important program data is collected to inform policy development and program implementation.

Key Messages

• Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) recognizes that schools are often the cornerstone of First Nation communities. They provide students with a safe place to learn and grow, and act as a gathering place for community events and cultural activities.
• Investments in education infrastructure can include new school construction, renovation and expansion of existing facilities and teacher accommodations. These investments support the creation of quality learning environments that are safe and healthy, promoting better educational outcomes for students living on reserve.
• In fiscal year 2024–2025, ISC invested $114.6 million in targeted infrastructure funds (excluding operating expenses) to support education infrastructure, resulting in the completion of 29 education infrastructure projects, including the construction of eight new schools and the renovation and upgrade of eight schools. In addition to the targeted infrastructure funds, school operations and maintenance programming is provided through the co-developed Elementary and Secondary Education Program, based on provincial comparability to provincial spending for school operations and maintenance costs.
• In 2025–2026, ISC will invest $216.9 million in targeted funding (excluding funding for operating expenses) to support education infrastructure on First Nation reserves.
• There is significant demand for long-term, sustainable and predictable infrastructure funding across the country to close the education infrastructure gap. The Government will continue the work in partnership with First Nations partners and organizations on options to help reduce the gap.

Background

• In a Needs Assessment Report from 2021, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) estimated that over the next five years the capital needs will be $3.8 billion for the construction, expansions, planning and design of new schools.
• Budget 2024 provided $471 million to ISC over three years, starting in 2024–2025, to build and renovate First Nations elementary and secondary education infrastructure. A national list of 23 education infrastructure projects was established based on regional priorities that focused on prioritizing highest health and safety risks and overcrowding concerns.
• The School Priority Ranking Framework (SPRF) is used to provide a fair, transparent and consistent basis for assessing education facilities projects and to ensure that the highest priority projects are funded. In partnership with Indigenous organizations, interim updates to the SPRF came into effect in December 2024, further prioritizing health and safety risks and overcrowding concerns.
• A second stage of revisions to the SPRF is underway which will address further elements, such as First Nation involvement, operations and maintenance impacts, seismic considerations, and the inclusion of communities without an existing school. Engagement with First Nations and partners will take place during this stage.
• ISC Elementary and Secondary Education's Program's annual allocation has approximately 4.5% growth annually of the overall program budget at the departmental level.
• Allocations to individual First Nations are driven by a formula that calculates elementary and secondary education funding, including O&M, based on direct provincial comparability in each of the ten provinces. This means that growth/escalation is driven by actual provincial spending, including inflation.

Current Status

• The Department is closely monitoring progress of the 23 education infrastructure projects supported by Budget 2024.
• The First Nations Enhanced Education Infrastructure Fund, which currently provides a source of targeted, time-limited funding to supplement on-going funding for education infrastructure, sunsets on March 31, 2027, and there is currently no supplemental targeted funding beyond this date. Efforts are being made to secure funding for future years.

Key Messages

• The Government of Canada is committed to supporting the safety and well-being of Indigenous Peoples and communities. Community services, including culturally-appropriate policing are an important part of this. Public Safety Canada is the Government of Canada lead on First Nations policing and the Community Safety Officer pilot.
• To proactively support community protection and well-being, a holistic approach must also include complementary, Indigenous-led initiatives which offer a broad spectrum of community support.
• Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) administers the Pathways to Safe Indigenous Communities Initiative (Pathways Initiative), which is a five-year initiative (2021-22 to 2025-26) to support First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities and partners (on- and off-reserve) to deliver Indigenous designed programs, interventions, and services to improve community safety and well-being. The Initiative does not fund policing services.

Background

Budget 2025

• Budget 2025 announced a number of measures to enhance safety and security for Canadians through investments to strengthen the border ($1.3M Border Plan, which includes 1000 new CBSA personnel and combatting of illegal drugs, guns, and human smuggling) and expand RCMP policing capacity (hiring of 1000 RCMP personnel to enhance gun/drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime). It also reiterates ongoing work to improve safety such as the bail reform strategy and the Firearms compensation program.
• The announcements do not mention specific funding for Indigenous communities or complementary funding to Indigenous Services Canada for community safety and security.
• Any questions related to funding for border security and RCMP should be re-directed to Public Safety Canada.

Pathways to Safe Indigenous Communities Initiative (Pathways Initiative)

• Budget 2021 committed $103.8 million over five years for the Pathways to Safe Indigenous Communities Initiative (2021-22 to 2025-26), and in November 2022, the Government of Canada committed an additional $20 million over three years (2023-24 to 2025-26).
• The Pathways Initiative allows for greater community control, innovation and alternative approaches to community safety and well-being that recognize the importance of traditional knowledge and practices, as well as a role for professionals, other than law enforcement, in contributing to greater community safety and well-being.
• The Initiative is part of the Government of Canada's response to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls' Calls for Justice, and will specifically support programs, services, and interventions that address needs relating to the safety and well-being of Indigenous women and girls and 2SLGBTQI+ People.
• Projects funded by the Pathways Initiative range from land-based healing initiatives, development of a youth centre, community safety liaison officers, a pilot project to develop First Nations by-laws, the establishment of networks to address the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, as well as capital investments to improve how communities are set up for safety and well-being.
• Since 2021, the Pathways Initiative has funded approximately nine projects that provide Indigenous community safety liaison or peacekeeping services. They differ from Public Safety Canada's Community Safety Officer pilot projects in that they are community-led, and are not affiliated or funded with existing First Nations or regional police forces.
• For example: Pathways is providing $3.8 million over 4 years to Elsipogtog First Nation (NB) for their "Indigi-Watch" patrol to deliver a community-led safety and well-being program that provides cultural wellness support for the community of Elsipogtog and surrounding unceded Mi'kmaq territory.
  • This project hired a non-enforcement task force of 11 peacekeepers and 2 supervisors to provide mental health interventions, secure emergency transportation, provide assistance in accessing key health, education, and social programs and services, and work in cooperation with the RCMP and other first responders to provide assistance during calls.
  • The Indige-Watch team received training in search and rescue, First-Aid, mental health First-Aid, NARCAN (Nalaxone and Injection), Occupational Health and Safety, fire management, traffic control, patrol tactics, and suicide intervention.
  • The Indige-Watch team have used their skills to respond to nearly 700 calls for service in the community in 2024-25. In addition, Elsipogtog reported an increased sense of community security as residents and elders felt comfortable calling upon Indige-Watch knowing they will get a response from someone that can speak their language.

Current Status

• The Pathways to Safe Indigenous Communities Initiative has provided $120M to 83 projects (2021-22 to 2025-26) that have improved the safety and security of Indigenous communities, women, children, families, and 2SLGBTQI+ people and has strengthened local capacity to prevent violence and crime.
• The Pathways Initiative is scheduled to sunset March 31, 2026.

Key Messages

• The safety, health, and well-being of First Nations community members is a top priority for the Government of Canada. Through the Emergency Management Assistance Program, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) provides critical funding and coordination to help First Nations communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.
• The 2025 cyclical event season resulted in significant infrastructure damage across 22 First Nations communities, with 152 structure affected: 119 homes and 33 community buildings or other structures. Reporting for 2025 is still preliminary with further assessments to be received from First Nations, but the widespread geographic impact highlights the broad reach of this year's events. The damage to both residential and community infrastructure is expected to drive long-term recovery needs in many First Nations.
• While the total number of incidents during the 2025 wildfire season was not the highest on record, emergencies were 25% above the five-year average and again the highest number of evacuees from First Nations communities were required to be supported since the program's inception. This pattern of sustained, above-average activity suggests that this is not an exception.
• This trend stretches collective coordination systems, financial resources, and most importantly, people – both in the affected communities and within emergency response network. ISC remains committed to working alongside First Nation, Tribal Councils, and provincial and territorial government to support coordinated and community-driven emergency management services.
• ISC supports over 300 Emergency Management Coordinator positions across Canada. Coordinators provide First nations with valuable emergency preparedness and planning capacity.
• First Nations communities continue to disproportionately experience the effects of climate change, including more frequent and severe floods, wildfires, and other natural hazards. These events affect not only physical safety and infrastructure but also community well-being, mental health and may have negative health outcomes for community members. Strengthening local resilience through proactive mitigation, preparedness, and capacity development is essential to safeguarding lives and critical infrastructure.
• ISC is advancing a more inclusive and effective emergency management system through ongoing collaboration with First Nations leadership, provincial and territorial governments, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Public Safety Canada.
• ISC is working with First Nations partners, provinces and territories to advance new multilateral emergency management service agreements that are reflective of the needs and decision-making of First Nations.

Background

• The Government of Canada is committed to supporting First Nations-led emergency management approaches that recognize the central role of First Nations leadership in planning and decision-making.
• Under Canada's emergency management framework, provinces and territories maintain primary responsibility for emergency management within their jurisdictions. ISC collaborates closely with these governments to enable effective coordination and timely support for First Nations communities.
• Indigenous Services Canada's Emergency Management Assistance Program is the Department's primary funding mechanism for emergency management support for on-reserve and other eligible First Nation communities.
• All eligible First Nations communities have access to Indigenous Services Canada's Emergency Management Assistance Program.
• Indigenous Services Canada provides advance payments for imminent threats and reimburses one hundred percent of all eligible emergency costs.
• Eligible response activities may include measures to mitigate damage, safeguard people and infrastructure, reduce the likelihood of evacuations, support necessary evacuations, and provide assistance during health emergencies.
• The Emergency Management Assistance Program emphasizes culturally-informed practices across all pillars of emergency management. Community engagement and local knowledge are prioritized to ensure responses are aligned with community values and governance structures.
• For fiscal year 2025-26, specific investments under the Emergency Management Assistance Program included:
  • 10.9 million in funding for FireSmart initiatives to enhance wildfire resilience;
  • $18 million in non-structural mitigation and preparedness funding to enhance community-based resilience;
  • $16.9 million in health emergency preparedness funding;
  • $25 million in health emergency response and recovery funding
• Since April 1, 2025, the Emergency Management Assistance Program has provided over $459 million to support eligible First Nations response and recovery efforts. In Fiscal year 2024-2025 approximately $588 million was provided under the program to support First Nations in response and recovery to emergency events.
• By strengthening all four pillars of emergency management, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery, the Emergency Management Assistance Program contributes to creating safer, more resilient First Nations communities capable of adapting to the growing impacts of climate change.
• Following the 2022 Auditor General's Report on Emergency Management in First Nations Communities, ISC co-developed a Management Response and Action Plan with First Nations partners. The Management Response and Action Plan commits to enhancing risk-based planning, capacity development, and advancing multilateral emergency management agreements that position First Nations as full and equal partners in emergency management governance and delivery.

Current Status

• Since April 1, 2025, there have been 172 emergencies: 25% above the five-year seasonal average.
• Additionally, and since April 1, 2025, emergency events have resulted in the evacuation of more than 49,000 individuals, marking a nearly-tripling of evacuees over 2024 levels and over a 50% increase compared to 2023.
• Indigenous Services Canada supported First Nations efforts to respond to these increasingly larger more complex events.
• As part of its continuous improvement, the Department will incorporate lessons learned from this season's action reports to continue meeting First Nation evolving needs.
• Indigenous Services Canada is advancing new multilateral emergency management service agreements that bring First Nations, provinces and territories, and the federal government together as equal partners to strengthen coordination, accountability, and culturally appropriate supports.
• These multilateral emergency management service agreements will include First Nations as full and equal partners in their development and implementation and are a mechanism to support First Nations-led emergency management.
• Through these efforts, ISC aims to:
  • Support First Nations-led emergency management, reinforcing local governance and decision-making authority;
  • Ensure high-quality, culturally appropriate, and equitable emergency management services across jurisdictions;
  • Enhance community preparedness and risk mitigation through targeted investments and planning support; and
  • Build long-term resilience in the face of escalating climate-related risks.
• An important part of ISC's emergency management program is funding First Nations to hire emergency management coordinators.
• The local importance and impact of Emergency Management Coordinators has been a key priority area at multilateral partnership tables across Canada. As a result of multilateral discussions, ISC has increased the support for Emergency Management Coordinators in multiple provinces and territories.
• ISC supports over 300 Emergency Management Coordinator positions across Canada. Coordinators provide First Nations with valuable emergency preparedness and planning capacity.

Key Messages

• Indigenous communities in Canada are disproportionately affected by climate change, including natural disasters, ecosystem changes, impacts on infrastructure and economic development, increased costs of living, and negative effects on health and wellbeing.
• Recognizing the urgency and severity of climate impacts on Indigenous communities, the federal government has been taking action, including a Budget 2024 investment of $145.2 million over five years (starting in 2024-25) for Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to collaborate with First Nations on protecting communities, homes, and essential infrastructure from climate disasters.
• Since 2016, ISC has spent more than $2 billion across programs helping Indigenous communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from the impacts of climate change, including transitioning to clean energy and off-diesel, building sustainable and resilient infrastructure, providing services for physical and mental health, enhancing food security, and supporting emergency management, preparedness and recovery.

Background

• Indigenous communities in Canada are disproportionately affected by climate change impacts and environmental risks. This is in part due to a close relationship and reliance on lands and natural resources, often remote geographic locations, as well as socio-economic inequality and infrastructure challenges.
• Climate change and environmental impacts are causing detrimental effects to Indigenous communities, including increased costs of living, damaged infrastructure, food and water security challenges, impacts on physical and mental wellness, decreased ability to safely conduct cultural practices, and damages to historic and cultural sites.
• At the same time, Indigenous communities are demonstrating strong leadership in climate action by building resilient communities, investing in clean energy, reducing pollution, and exemplifying ways to respect and protect nature.
• Indigenous Services Canada currently delivers several programs that support Indigenous peoples in taking action on climate change in key areas, such as transition to clean energy and off-diesel, building sustainable and resilient infrastructure, providing services for physical and mental health, enhancing food security, and providing emergency management and preparedness services.
• In 2023, ISC adopted its first Working Strategy on Climate Change (2023-2028) to help integrate climate considerations in existing programs and services.

Current Status

• Since 2016, ISC has allocated more than $3 billion in program funding for Indigenous communities in areas connected to climate action. For example, key investments include:
  • $1.3 billion between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2025, in Emergency Response and Recovery funds, which includes $526.6M for recovery projects to support First Nations communities who have experienced an emergency event. ISC's Building Back Better strategy supports recovery by investing in community and asset restoration to reduce First Nations communities' vulnerability to emergencies and strengthen long-term climate resilience.
  • $229.4M between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2025, for emergency management preparedness and mitigation projects and activities , emergency management coordinators and service agreements.
  • Budget 2024 also announced $20.9 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, for ISC to support the First Nations Fire Protection Strategy 2023-2028 by distributing fire alarms and fire extinguishers to homes and community facilities on-reserve, as well as fire-related education programs.
  • $198.5 million of targeted funds since 2016 (as of June 30, 2025) to support 155 structural mitigation projects, 79 of which are complete. These projects will benefit 279 communities serving approximately 181,000 people. This includes $77.2 million over five years (2024-2025 to 2028-2029) through Budget 2024 for Indigenous Services Canada to support First Nations in addressing climate change impacts through structural mitigation projects.
  • $40 million over four years, as committed by the Minister of Indigenous Services in November 2024, to support winter road improvements and advance First Nations leadership in winter road infrastructure planning and delivery.
  • $1.88 billion between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2025, to support 233 Energy Systems projects (157 completed), benefitting 185 communities serving approximately 205,000 people. A key example is the First Nations-led Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project, a $1.6 billion investment connecting 16 isolated communities to the provincial grid, with power now reaching 15 communities.
  • $63 million and $5 million ongoing since 2008 (North) and 2016 (South) to support community-led climate change and health adaptation projects in First Nations and Inuit communities, including in the areas of mental health, food insecurity, water quality, heat stress, and vector-borne illnesses; and
  • $12 million from 2023-2028 in enhanced funding under the National Adaptation Strategy to support multi-year First Nation and Inuit-led health adaptation projects in the North ($10 million) and the Climate Resilient Health Systems Initiative ($2 million), which supports Indigenous organizations in engaging on the climate change gaps and needs in the health services funded and/or delivered by ISC.
• ISC further supports Indigenous priorities on climate action through participation on the Joint Committee on Climate Action (co-led by the Assembly of First Nations and Environment and Climate Change Canada), the horizontal Climate Plan Implementation, and the National Adaptation Strategy Committees.

Key Messages

• The need for mental health and wellness supports among Indigenous people remains significant. ISC continues to support Indigenous communities on a path towards healing and well-being.
• In 2024-25, ISC funded over $1 billion in mental wellness services and supports for individuals and communities through the Mental Wellness Program, the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program, the Health Emergency Management Program, Jordan's Principle, and the Inuit Child First Initiative.
• ISC remains committed to improving the availability, accessibility, quality and effectiveness of First Nations- and Inuit-led culturally grounded, and community-driven mental wellness services and supports, and has made sustained and increased investments to this end.

Background

• The opioid crisis continues to disproportionately impact Indigenous communities. Indigenous people are five to eight times more likely to die of an overdose. Since 2021, there have been 80 declared state of local emergencies in Indigenous communities related to substance use and mental health.
• Suicide rates among Indigenous populations also remain significantly higher than non-Indigenous populations, especially among youth.
• To support distinctions-based mental wellness services for Indigenous communities, Budget 2024 provided a total of $630 million over two years in additional funding for ISC's Mental Wellness Program, increasing annual funding to approximately $768 million as of 2025-26. These increased funds support community well-being and capacity, cultural safety, and wholistic Indigenous-led approaches to health and wellness.

Current Status

• A significant portion of the Mental Wellness program's annual funding, $315.1 million from Budget 2024 investments, will sunset on March 31, 2026. Renewal of this funding is critical to continue addressing the opioid and substance use crisis in Indigenous communities, and provide trauma-informed and cultural supports for mental wellness and suicide prevention.
• Through the Mental Wellness program, the Department provides targeted funding for 83 opioid agonist therapy wraparound supports sites and 45 treatment centres.
• The Department funds 75 community-based, client centred, and multi-disciplinary mental wellness and crisis response teams that provide a variety of culturally-safe mental wellness services and supports to First Nations and Inuit communities.
• The Department also funds 24/7 crisis lines including the Hope for Wellness Line, the Indian Residential School Survivors Crisis Line, and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Crisis Line, as well as Indigenous-led solutions to suicide prevention and life promotion.
• In addition, the Department funds access to community-based cultural supports (Elders, Traditional Healers), emotional supports (Indigenous health workers, peer counsellors), professional mental health counselling (registered psychologists, registered social workers), responding to the intergenerational trauma caused by colonization, the legacy of residential schools, and historical and ongoing harms.
• Beyond the Mental Wellness program, the Department also funds access to mental health counselling through the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program, as well as reimbursements for mental health supports for First Nations and Inuit children and youth under the age of majority through Jordan's Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative.
• In addition, ISC's Health Emergency Management Program provides reimbursement for mental health supports during emergencies such as wildfires and floods.

Program-Level Data

Key Messages

• Medical travel is essential for residents of the territories, given their geography, small population, remote and isolated communities, and limited availability to local health services. All provinces and territories provide their residents with access to insured health care services. However, for territorial residents, this often involves travel outside of the territories to access insured health services in other jurisdictions.
• To support access to care, ISC reimburses the territorial medical travel copayment charge on behalf of eligible First Nations and Inuit through the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program. Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, ISC has provided supplementary funding to the Government of Nunavut, and between 2023-24 and 2024-25 to the Government of the Northwest Territories, in addition to the client eligible co-payment, to offset escalating costs of providing medical travel services in these territories. Funding for 2025-26 has not yet been confirmed.
• Despite ISC's coverage of the medical travel copayment and the additional supplementary funding, the Governments of Nunavut and Northwest Territories have called for Canada to fully fund medical travel costs for First Nations and Inuit residents, or they will return the administration of the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program to the federal government, fracturing the single-window system that currently exist in both territories.
• Budget 2025 announced a comprehensive assessment of northern health and infrastructure needs, led collaboratively by Health Canada, National Defence, Indigenous Services, and Northern Affairs to identify innovative ways to improve access to care and reduce medical travel costs in partnership with Northern and Arctic Indigenous Peoples.

Background

• ISC's Non-Insured Health Benefits Program provides eligible registered First Nations and recognized Inuit with coverage for a range of health benefits not covered by other public or private plans, including prescriptions and over-the counter drugs, dental and vision care, medical supplies and equipment, mental health counselling, and medical transportation.
• Due to their geography, remote and isolated communities, and small population, the territories face significant challenges in delivering health care. As a result, many residents must travel outside their communities and territories to access insured health services, including support for births, mental health and addictions treatment, diagnostic imaging, surgeries, and dental care.. While virtual care is available in limited ways, technological barriers, such as lack of bandwidth and satellite capacity restrict its reach.
• Due to differing devolution landscapes in each of the territories, the manner in which medical travel is delivered varies. In the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, medical travel is primarily managed and delivered by the territorial governments, which cover travel to access insured health services. In Nunavut (where 85% of people are Inuit) and the Northwest Territories (where 41% are First Nations or Inuit), territorial medical travel programs charge residents a copayment each time they travel for insured health services. ISC reimburses this copayment for eligible First Nations and Inuit to ensure it is not a barrier to care.
• ISC provides funding to the Governments on Nunavut and Northwest Territories through a contribution agreement to cover the cost of the copayment charged by the territorial government, to all clients travelling to access insured health services. Through the Non-Insured Health benefits program, ISC also covers the full cost of travel to access eligible uninsured health services. This model allows residents to access all services through a single window.
• Since 2020, ISC has provided supplementary funding to the Governments of Nunavut and Northwest Territories in addition to the client eligible co-payment, to offset escalating costs of providing medical travel services in these territories.
• In the Yukon, First Nations and Inuit are not eligible for Territorial medical travel coverage. Non-Insured Health Benefits coverage for eligible clients in the Yukon (including eligible medical transportation), is delivered through an ISC call centre located in Whitehorse.
• The federal government supports territorial government health care systems in a number of ways, including through Territorial Formula Financing and Health Canada's Territorial Health Investment Fund (for which additional funding, $350 million over ten years, was announced in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement).

Current Status

• To improve health care access and services, Budget 2025 announced the government's intention for the Minister of Health and the Minister of National Defence, in collaboration with the Minister of Indigenous Services and the Minister of Northern Affairs and Arctic Affairs, to undertake a comprehensive assessment of health care and health infrastructure needs in the North, with the goal of identifying innovative ways to increase access to health care in northern communities and reduce medical travel costs through engagement with Northen and Arctic Indigenous Peoples.
• The Governments of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have reiterated their request for Canada to fully fund medical travel costs for Indigenous residents. Both have indicated that, without resolution, they will return the administration of the Non-Insured Health Benefits program to the federal government – undermining the current single-window delivery model. Until a long-term agreement can be reached, the Governments of Nunavut and Northwest Territories will not sign agreements for supplementary medical travel or administration of Non-Insured Health Benefits, although both territories continue to provide services.

Program Level Data

Key Messages

• Tuberculosis continues to disproportionally affect Inuit populations in Canada, reflecting persistent disparities in healthcare access and social determinants of health, including inadequate infrastructure, overcrowded housing, and food insecurity.
• In 2018, the Government of Canada and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) made a joint commitment to reduce the rate of active tuberculosis cases in Inuit Nunangat by at least 50% by 2025 (relative to 2016 rates) and eliminating tuberculosis entirely by 2030.
• Preliminary data for 2024 and 2025 suggest investments are producing positive results in three Inuit regions. This progress highlights the need for continued focus, renewed funding and sustained, equity-oriented, and locally-driven interventions.
• ISC continues to work with Inuit partners to support Inuit-led approaches to address disproportionate rates of tuberculosis in Inuit Nunangat.

Background

• Tuberculosis is both curable and preventable, yet Inuit communities continue to experience a disproportionately high burden.
• The roots of this inequity are tied to historic and continuing impacts of colonialism, systemic inequalities, and lack of sufficient funding, which have contributed to inadequate housing, overcrowding, food insecurity, and barriers to culturally appropriate health care.
• These conditions were further exacerbated by COVID-19, which interrupted tuberculosis surveillance, screening, and treatment programs across Inuit Nunangat.
• Historical trauma also contributes to mistrust of the health system. In the mid-20th century, Inuit and First Nations individuals were forcibly relocated to tuberculosis sanatoriums, separated from their families and communities for long periods. This legacy has caused intergenerational trauma and stigma that continue to affect tuberculosis prevention and care.
• The impacts of tuberculosis extend beyond health: individuals may lose access to education, employment, and community/cultural participation, further reinforcing cycles of inequality and transmission.
• To address these factors, the Government of Canada and ITK made a joint commitment in 2018 to eliminate tuberculosis in Inuit Nunangat by 2030. Since then, Budget 2018 provided $27.5 million over five years to support Inuit-specific approaches; Budget 2023 committed $16.2 million annually over three years, bringing total federal investment since 2018 to $43.7 million. Funding for tuberculosis will sunset in March 2026; renewal is essential to maintain momentum and fulfill Canada's commitment toward elimination goals.
• In addition, more than $1.8 billion has been invested since 2017 in housing and infrastructure across Inuit Nunangat to help address these underlying inequities, which play a critical role in tuberculosis prevention and disease outcomes.

Current Status

• In 2023, the rate of active tuberculosis among Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat was 270.4 cases per 100,000 – a rate 49 times higher than the Canadian average (5.5 cases per 100,000).
• ISC's Public Health Nursing Surge Team have been mobilized on a short-term basis to assist with diagnosis and treatment in communities facing outbreaks and health human resource shortages. However, these deployments are temporary and insufficient to achieve long-term progress towards tuberculosis elimination.
• Tuberculosis treatment requires sustained, resource-intensive care, including daily direct observed therapy, frequent clinical monitoring, and long-term follow-up. Community outbreaks typically persist for years and require consistent and well-coordinated capacity, stable resources, and community trust to achieve meaningful progress.

Key Messages

• Canada continues to face a national nursing shortage, impacting service delivery across health systems in Canada, including on-reserve services in the 79 remote and isolated communities, provided or funded by ISC.
• ISC is working with First Nations leadership, provincial/territorial governments, and other partners to find solutions to strengthen recruitment, retention, and safety of frontline health professionals, while ensuring high-quality, culturally safe, accessible, and effective health services are provided in remote and isolated First Nations on-reserve as well as promoting increased Indigenous employment in health care.
• Investments totalling $485.8 million through Budgets 2021, 2022 and 2024, are supporting the implementation of ISC's Nursing Health Human Resource Framework, aimed at stabilizing staffing, modernizing care models, improving recruitment and retention of frontline healthcare staff, implementing interprofessional teams, advancing the Nursing Services Response Centre as a flagship retention strategy, and improving safety of primary care workers in remote and isolated on-reserve First Nations communities.

Background

• ISC supports primary health care services in 79 remote and isolated First Nations communities, and two hospitals in Manitoba. Of these, ISC directly delivers primary health care services in 50 remote and isolated communities in four regions (Alberta (4), Manitoba (21), Ontario (24) and Quebec (1)).
• Canada continues to experience a national nursing shortage. According to Statistics Canada's Job Vacancy Report (Q2 2025), vacancies in health occupations remained well above pre-pandemic levels - 68,900 in Q2 2025 compared to 39,000 in Q4 2019. Registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, nurse aides, orderlies, patient service associates and licensed practical nurses make up 61.2% of the total vacancies among health professions in the second quarter.

Current Status

• The ISC Nursing Health Human Resources Framework was updated in 2025 to maintain its relevance and is currently in the approval stage.
• The newly negotiated Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada collective agreement that impacts registered nurses and nurse practitioners was implemented in May 2025 and is expected to positively impact recruitment and retention.
• Budget 2024 provided $91.3 million over four years to address safety and security risks, including the introduction of 24/7 security personnel, in 79 remote and isolated communities where ISC employs and supports the delivery of healthcare.
• ISC Regions are advising First Nation partners on funding parameters, reporting requirements, and timelines.
• Additional investments include $725,000 in 2025-26 and $425,000 in 2026-27 for repairs and maintenance of nursing stations and health professional accommodations to enhance workplace safety and improve retention.
• A portion of current investments under Budget 2021 will sunset on March 31, 2026; renewal will be important to sustain workforce stabilization and retention efforts in remote and isolated communities.

Key Messages

• ISC is responsible for funding, and in some cases, directly delivering core provincial-like health services to First Nations living on-reserve, such as primary health care in remote and isolated communities, and public health.
• ISC also funds certain health programs and initiatives for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis that complement those provided by provinces and territories, such as mental wellness, health promotion, and addressing anti-Indigenous racism.
• Services to Indigenous people are most effective when under Indigenous control, as Indigenous communities are best positioned to design, deliver, and govern services in a way that reflects their cultures, values, and lived realities.
• ISC remains committed to improving access to high-quality, culturally relevant health programs and services for Indigenous peoples, and to working in partnership with Indigenous governments and organizations, as well as provinces and territories, to advance self-determination in health and gradual transfer of services to Indigenous control.

Background

• The federal role in Indigenous health is guided by longstanding policy and legislative authorities, notably the 1979 Indian Health Policy, which established the federal commitment to improving the health status of First Nations and Inuit to a level comparable to that of other Canadians. The policy rests on three pillars — community development, the traditional relationship between Indigenous peoples and the federal government, and the integration of health services with other levels of care — and continues to inform service delivery and partnerships today.
• The Department of Indigenous Services Act (2019) formalized the Minister's authority to deliver and fund health, social, and infrastructure programs, and to advance the gradual transfer of services to Indigenous control in accordance with self-determination and reconciliation principles.
• Under its mandate, ISC is responsible for working with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners to improve access to high-quality health services; support Indigenous peoples in independently delivering services; and, address socio-economic gaps and inequities affecting health outcomes in their communities.
• ISC's role spans direct service delivery for Firsts Nations living on reserve (e.g., Primary Health Care and Public Health), program funding for First Nations, Inuit, and to a certain extent Métis (e.g., Mental Wellness and Health Promotion, Communicable Disease Control, Home and Long-Term Care, etc.), and partnership-based First Nations health transformation initiatives (e.g., Health Transformation).

Current Status

Examples of current health initiatives advancing ISC's mandate:

Primary Health Care

• Continue delivering primary healthcare services in 50 First Nation communities, supporting self-determination through consultative discussions and strengthened collaborations with Indigenous partners, while promoting health human resource retention and recruitment strategies for improved healthcare access and delivery.
• Continue the implementation of interdisciplinary teams to increase access to, and availability of, culturally safe primary care services to address urgent, emergent, episodic, and chronic health conditions in remote and isolated First Nations communities.
• Continue supporting access to clinical preventive and treatment oral health services in 331 First Nations communities, with services directly delivered by ISC in 39 communities.

Public Health

• Continue working in partnership with the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Inuit communities and organizations, provincial and territorial governments, and other federal departments to advance Inuit-led TB elimination in Inuit Nunangat.

Mental Wellness and Health Promotion

• Continue to work closely with national, regional and community Indigenous partners to meet their mental wellness and health promotion priorities, including supporting measures that address long-term needs and respond to the overdose and toxic drug crisis and crises of all kinds.
• Continue to support the implementation of Indigenous-led approaches to achieve overall wellness (mental, physical, spiritual and emotional) that are driven by Indigenous knowledge grounded in culture and community.
• Continue to work in partnership with Indigenous partners and Health Canada on the implementation of the Youth Mental Health Fund and the Emergency Treatment Fund.

Health Systems Support

• Continue to support self-determination and the establishment of First Nation-led health organizations who will assume responsibility for the design, delivery and management of health services though tripartite agreements. The Southern Chiefs Organization and the Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin Inc. (both in Manitoba) have executed Agreements-in-Principle that set the foundations for service transfer, and Tajikeimɨk in Nova Scotia and Nishnawbe Aski Nation in Ontario are expected to conclude Agreements-in-Principle in the coming months.
• Through the Indigenous Health Equity Fund, ISC is providing $2 billion over ten years to enable First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities to determine their own health priorities and put in place measures to increase access to high quality and culturally safe health services.
• Continue to implement Joyce's Principle and take action to foster health systems free from racism and discrimination, where Indigenous Peoples are respected and safe.

Key Messages

• Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples was created in 2017 and is designed to assist status and non-status First Nations, Inuit, and Métis living in or transitioning to urban centres.
• The Program helps ensure Indigenous people living in urban centres have access to culturally relevant programs, supports, and services that strengthen well-being, cultural connections, and community belonging.
• Looking ahead, ISC will continue working closely with Indigenous partners to strengthen urban Indigenous programming, enhance outcomes, and ensure long-term sustainability of culturally grounded services.
• Beginning April 1, 2026, Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples will move to a new funding distribution model focused on service delivery through Friendship Centres.
• Indigenous people in urban areas who face unique challenges will continue to have access to culturally relevant supports and services that respond to their unique needs and circumstances.

Background

Current Status

• Funding for all current Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples recipients will continue until March 31, 2026.
• ISC has prepared communications packages and continues to inform affected organizations of upcoming changes and timelines.
• Ongoing engagement with partners is and will continue to be focused on ensuring continuity of culturally appropriate services.
• Program funding will sunset on March 31, 2026; renewal will be essential to sustain culturally relevant and community-driven programming for Indigenous people in urban centres.

Key Messages

• Indigenous Services Canada's Assisted Living program provides access to in-home, group-home, and institutional care supports on reserve helps individuals maintain their independence and support networks in their home communities for as long as possible.
• Demand for Assisted Living programming continues to grow, and the Government of Canada remains committed to supporting vulnerable individuals and their families through holistic and culturally-safe health and social services in or near their communities.
• In 2024-25, the Assisted Living program estimated having supported approximately 16,500 individuals and families, including about 850 living in long-term and continuing care facilities.
• ISC continues to engage and work with communities to modernize the Assisted Living Program to better reflect their current and future needs.

Background

Current Status

• ISC continues to seek opportunities for renewed and sustained investments in the Assisted Living Program.
• ISC is also continuing to explore opportunities to innovate and make improvements to Assisted Living programming based on the results of long-term and continuing care engagement.
• Program Integrity funding for the Assisted Living Program will expire on March 31, 2026; ongoing investments are required to maintain service continuity and support growing community needs.

Key Messages

• The Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program provides clients (registered First Nations and recognized Inuit) with coverage for a range of health benefits: pharmacy (prescription and over-the-counter medications), dental and vision care, medical supplies and equipment, mental health counselling, and medical transportation to access health services not available locally.
• NIHB benefits are provided to NIHB-eligible clients when not otherwise covered through provincial or territorial health insurance, private insurance plans, or other publicly funded plans or programs.

Background

• The NIHB Program does not directly deliver health services to its clients, rather providers enrolled with the program deliver eligible services to eligible clients and submit claims for reimbursement.
• The department also facilitates First Nations and Inuit control of the program at a time and pace of their choosing, by working with Indigenous partners to fund the provision of benefits through contribution agreements, as well as through broader health transformation projects and as part of self-government agreements.During 2024-2025, the NIHB Program provided access to benefits coverage for 983,461 eligible clients. Total Program benefit expenditures in this period were $2,330.7 an 11.1% increase over 2023-2024.
• Vision care benefits covered under the NIHB program include general eye exams (when not insured by the province or territory) as well as corrective eyewear. Eye exams delivered via tele-optometry are an exclusion under the NIHB vision care benefits. Based on available evidence, the remote delivery of eye exams does not provide the same standard of care as in-person assessments.

Current Status

• As a demand-driven program, the Non-Insured Health Benefits program will continue to provide supplementary health benefits to First Nation and Inuit clients eligible to receive benefits under the program.

Key Messages

• Indigenous Peoples have the right to make decisions about matters that affect them and the right to fair and equitable access to quality and culturally safe health care, free from racism and discrimination.
• That is why, the Government of Canada introduced the Indigenous Health Equity Fund, which is intended to address the unique challenges that Indigenous Peoples face when it comes to fair and equitable access to quality and culturally safe health services.
• The fund is providing $2 billion over ten years (or $200 million annually) to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities and represents a new approach to respecting Indigenous self-determination in health, by providing a predictable base of long-term, flexible funding to support their health priorities.
• While it is still early days, many First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities are engaged in putting in place new programs and services to increase access to culturally safe health services. ISC will continue to work closely with these communities on their continued implementation and reporting on progress.

Background

• Indigenous Peoples health outcomes continue to lag behind those of non-Indigenous Canadians: life expectancies are shorter; infant mortality rates are higher; rates of mental illness and substance use are higher; and the incidence of chronic disease is higher.
• These disparities are known to be a direct result of the cumulative impacts of colonization, including inequities in the social determinants of health, intergenerational trauma, systemic racism and discrimination.
• Indigenous peoples have the right to fair and equitable access to quality and culturally safe health care, free from racism and discrimination. The Government of Canada has committed to a new relationship with Indigenous peoples that recognizes the right of Indigenous Peoples to make decisions about matters that affect them, including health care.
• The Indigenous Health Equity Fund was announced by the Prime Minister in February 2023 as part of the Government of Canada's Working Together to Improve Healthcare for Canadians Plan. Budget 2023 provided $2 billion over ten years (or $200 million annually), starting in 2024-25, to address the unique challenges Indigenous Peoples face when it comes to fair and equitable access to quality and culturally safe health services.
• The Indigenous Health Equity Fund represents a new approach to delivering health funding to Indigenous communities that prioritizes Indigenous self-determination in health and flexibility to adjust their health priorities as circumstances change within First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. The fund has 2 components:
  • Distinctions-Based Funding: $190 million a year directed to First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, providing a long-term, predictable base of funding support for their health priorities.
  • Targeted Initiatives: $10 million a year directed to select Indigenous communities and organizations in support of short-term, innovative, activity-driven projects on cross-cutting Indigenous health priorities.

Current Status

• The Indigenous Health Equity Fund is in its second year of implementation and feedback to date from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities has been positive, particularly given the flexibility being provided to determine their own priorities.
• With respect to Distinctions-Based Funding, many First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities are in the process of putting in place new programs and services to increase access to culturally safe health services. Key priorities identified to date by partners include primary care, mental wellness and substance use, and healthy living.
  • Many communities are still in the process of determining their priorities and identifying plans for investment. ISC continues to work with these communities to support their implementation.
  • While it is still early days, ISC will continue to work with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners to report on progress.
• With respect to Targeted Initiatives, in 2024-25, ISC supported more than 31 high impact, innovative health projects across Canada that aim to address a range of cross-cutting Indigenous health priorities. Among these projects, ISC is supporting the Health Standards Organization to develop a National Standard on Cultural Humility, which will provide a framework for increasing cultural safety within provincial and territorial health systems.

Key Messages

• The Government of Canada is committed to fostering economic reconciliation and prosperity through its procurement activities, leading to greater opportunities for Indigenous businesses.
• Indigenous Services Canada is collaboratively working with Indigenous partners to determine a path forward to strengthen the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business and devolving the Indigenous Business Directory so that Indigenous peoples are determining who qualifies as an Indigenous business.

Background

• The Government of Canada fosters Indigenous business participation in federal procurement through various policies and initiatives, including: the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business; the mandatory minimum target of 5% Indigenous procurement; and the Treasury Board Directive on the Management of Procurement. This is in addition to Canada's legal obligations under Modern Treaties and the Directive on Government Contracts, Including Real Property Leases, in the Nunavut Settlement Area.
• Since the launch of the 5% target in August 2021, federal contracting with Indigenous businesses has consistently exceeded the benchmark, reaching 6.27% ($1.63B) in 2022–23 and 6.1% ($1.24B) in 2023–24. Indigenous Services Canada continues to contribute strongly, awarding 17.68% of the total value of its contracts to Indigenous businesses in 2022–23 and 14.24% in 2023–24.
• The number of businesses registered on the Indigenous Business Directory also increased, from roughly 1,600 to around 2,800 between 2018 and October 2025 (an increase of approximately 75%).To apply such initiatives and policies, federal procurement officers must be able to determine who qualifies as an Indigenous business. For this purpose, Indigenous Services Canada administers the Indigenous Business Directory, one of the primary sources the federal government uses to determine if Indigenous businesses are available to fulfill federal contracts. To be included on the Indigenous Business Directory, a business must provide documentation proving that it is at least 51% owned and controlled by Indigenous peoples.
• In 2021, Indigenous Services Canada was mandated to meaningfully engage with Indigenous partners and begin developing a transformative approach to Indigenous procurement.
• Over the past year, Indigenous procurement has faced public scrutiny from Indigenous groups, the media, and Parliamentary Committees. Concerns have centered on challenges within federal procurement processes and the absence of verification measures, which undermine the integrity of the Indigenous Business Directory and the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business. Stakeholders have argued that this lack of verification has led to non-Indigenous businesses securing contracts intended for Indigenous businesses, thus limiting economic opportunities for legitimate Indigenous businesses.

Current Status

• Several internal audits and evaluations have been conducted on the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business and the Indigenous Business Directory with the most recent being published in 2023 and in 2025.
• An external audit by the Office of the Procurement Ombud is currently underway and the department has been advised that the Comptroller General of Canada has expressed interest in reviewing the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business. Indigenous organizations have also been calling on the Auditor General of Canada to conduct an audit.
• Each audit and evaluation Management Action Plans have been consistent in two areas: the need for updates in the Indigenous procurement process; and the need to devolve the Indigenous Business Directory to Indigenous organizations.
• ISC is working with Indigenous partners on the future devolution of the Directory. ISC and Indigenous partners are working to outline the roles, responsibilities, and minimum standards required for Indigenous businesses and lists to be certified and recognized within federal procurement processes.
• In the interim and to ensure that the current Directory continues to serve as a reliable and credible resource for Indigenous procurement, the department has implemented several improvements: enhanced business verification guidelines; a standardized checklist; formal record keeping with standardized document retention; comprehensive training material and training plan for employees; and, surge capacity to accelerate the reassessment of all businesses currently listed.
• These measures are also in line with feedback received from Indigenous partners, with audit and evaluation recommendations, and with the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates recommendation of December 2024.
• Finally, ISC and Public Services and Procurement Canada are working together to implement key policy and program changes aimed at strengthening the integrity and oversight of the procurement process to help ensure that Canada does not contract with suppliers of concern.

Program Level Data

Key Messages

• Additions to reserve (ATRs) offer an opportunity to return lands that were historically taken from First Nations, which is a tangible step toward acknowledging past wrongs and advancing reconciliation. These lands are essential to accommodate growing communities and seek economic development opportunities.
• ISC was allocated $32.2 million over four years through Budget 2021 to address the existing inventory of ATRs, strengthen First Nation capacity through the training of land managers, and develop modern digital solutions to enhance on-reserve land management. In 2025-26, this funding was renewed for an additional year and ISC is seeking a further year of funding for 2026-27.
• A failure to renew this funding will significantly impede progress achieved so far on accelerating the completion of addition to reserves and empowering First Nations to take further control of these processes.
• Since April 1, 2022, ISC has: created 32 ATR-specific positions across the country; supported First Nation capacity by empowering four Indigenous organizations to deliver ATR-related services to their member First Nations; provided approximately $10 million to over 100 First Nations to complete ATR technical components (i.e., environmental site assessments, municipal service agreements, surveys, etc.); and created a Duty to Consult unit to support consultation activities on complex files, among other projects.

Background

• The process to add lands to reserve is First Nation led, requiring the participation of multiple stakeholders. Each ATR takes approximately 2 to 8 years to complete.
• The Minister of CIR is responsible for the Addition of Lands to Reserves and Reserve Creation Act and the Framework Agreement on First Nations Land Management. This includes the authority to issue a Ministerial Order, pursuant to these acts, to set land apart as reserve for the use and benefit of a First Nation.
• ISC is responsible for the administration of the ATR process in accordance with the 2016 ATR Policy directive, the Addition of Lands to Reserves and Reserve Creation Act and the Framework Agreement on First Nations Land Management Act. Once land has been set apart as reserve, ISC has statutory and fiduciary obligations to administer the land in accordance with the Indian Act for First Nations that are not managing their lands pursuant to the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management.
• On August 29, 2019, the Minister of CIR, pursuant to section 9 of the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Act, delegated the administrative functions and duties of the Addition of Lands to Reserves and Reserve Creation Act to the Minister of ISC, while retaining final sign off on all ATRs.
• On April 19, 2021, the federal budget announced $43 million over four years, starting in 2021-22. Of the $43 million, $32.2 million was provided to ISC for the reduction of the ATR inventory, while the remaining $10.8 million was dedicated to the redesign of the federal ATR Policy.
• In spring 2025, the departments received a renewal of $13.9 million for an additional fiscal year, with $3.3 million going to CIRNAC and $10.6 million going to ISC to continue accelerating ATR implementation. Both departments are currently seeking an additional one year at-level renewal of this funding for 2026-27.
• ISC resources secured pursuant to Budget 2021 are supporting capacity development within Indigenous organizations and First Nations, allowing them to gradually assume greater control over their ATR processes. It will also improve their governance capacity and support self-determination through partnerships with neighbouring governments and third parties, as well as with internal community engagements. These investments have also increased the capacity of ISC regional and headquarters staff to process ATR proposals.

Current Status

• There are approximately 860 active ATR proposals in the inventory.
• ISC continues to work directly with Indigenous institutions, regional offices and First Nation land managers to flow Budget 2021 investments and continue to develop strategies and tools to expedite their completion. Some of these activities include building stronger relationships with municipal and provincial governments to facilitate ATR implementation and the development of templates for municipal service agreements and replacement agreements for third party interest holders.
• ISC also continues to support CIRNAC in their efforts to redesign the ATR Policy by developing short term solutions to expedite ATR proposals and provide input into longer term legislative and policy reform options.
• In addition, ISC is currently leading working groups with First Nation practitioners, the Assembly of First Nations and the National Aboriginal Lands Managers Association on Duty to Consult and third party interests to develop new tools, templates and best practices.

Key Messages

• Budget 2021, renewed in Budget 2024, invested $36 million over three years, through the Strategic Partnerships Initiative (SPI), to address federal funding gaps in capacity building, planning, and development of Indigenous-led, economically-sustainable, clean energy projects.
• This funding is a top up to the Strategic Partnerships Initiative, a flexible catalyst enabling 23 federal signatories, along with provincial, Indigenous, and private partners to pool resources, reduce red tape, and coordinate efforts more effectively. Over the past 10 years, SPI's annual budget of $14.45 million has leveraged over $3 for every $1 invested.
• Communities consistently identify funding needs for increased capacity, planning, and technical expertise required to access long-term, low-cost financing for energy projects through the Canada Infrastructure Bank, Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program, and First Nations Finance Authority.

Background

• The British Columbia Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative was first developed in 2016 by Western Economic Diversification Canada (now Pacific Economic Development Canada) with funding from Strategic Partnerships Initiative. The demonstrated success and growing scale of the British Columbia Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative (BCICEI), underscored the need for a dedicated SPI Clean Energy budget to support similar efforts nationally. Since 2016, the BCICEI identifies approximately $30 million awarded to 135 projects by more than 90 First Nations. In June 2023, the Province of British Columbia announced a contribution of $140 million to further expand and sustain Indigenous-led energy projects within the province.
• Budget 2021 also provided $300 million to create Wah-ila-toos, a partnership between Natural Resources Canada, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and Indigenous Services Canada, among other federal departments, aimed at reducing reliance on diesel for heating and power in Indigenous, rural, and remote communities. Wah-ila-toos is guided by an Indigenous Council who share their knowledge and provide guidance on program and policy development through their Kinship & Prosperity: Proven Solutions for a Clean Energy Landscape report.

Current Status

• Since Budget 2021, additional support was provided to the British Columbia Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative, and to the new Initiatives launched in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and the Atlantic regions. A partnership agreement with the national Indigenous Clean Energy Social Enterprise organization was created to further develop and refine regional clean energy initiatives. Recently, Initiatives in Northern Ontario and Yukon were launched.
• Since 2021, Strategic Partnerships Initiative Clean Energy's funding has supported 219 Indigenous-led clean energy projects, the creation of 422 jobs and 178 training opportunities, and supported 87 Indigenous businesses. This funding has advanced Indigenous priorities across the clean energy sector including solar farms, wind projects, biomass generation, and microgrids with energy storage.
• Multiple federal funding sources for Indigenous clean energy sunset in March 2027, including SPI's Clean Energy and Wah-ila-toos. At the same time, large scale and complex clean energy opportunities for Indigenous communities are rapidly emerging across the country:
  • A growing number of Provinces/Territories/Utilities are launching large renewable energy procurements with an emphasis on Indigenous ownership and participation; and
  • Offshore wind development and related transmission infrastructure projects have been identified as potential projects through the Major Projects Office.
• In response, SPI is collaborating with Indigenous Clean Energy and regional initiatives to identify gaps in funding and develop responsive, coordinated approaches to support Indigenous communities in their efforts to secure fair equity partnerships and affordable long-term financing for emerging large-scale energy projects.

Key Messages

• Indigenous tourism is a major economic driver in First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities and an important part of the Canadian economy.
• ISC committed a total of $6.1 million in 2025-2026 to continue supporting the Indigenous tourism industry through Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC), as well as regional Indigenous tourism initiatives.

Background

• Indigenous tourism is a key contributor to Indigenous economies and generated $1.6 billion in GDP in 2023. Demand for Indigenous tourism experiences in Canada continues to grow, creating powerful opportunities for Indigenous businesses and communities to share their cultures, histories, and stories, while also strengthening and diversifying the economy.
• The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) is a national not-for-profit organization that provides economic development advisory services, tourism conferences, capacity development training and workshops, industry research, and information for Indigenous tourism operators and communities throughout Canada.
• Since 2016, ISC has provided funding to ITAC to support its core operations and grow the Indigenous tourism industry.
• Since 2021, ISC's Strategic Partnerships Initiative (SPI) has invested in regional Indigenous tourism initiatives across seven provinces, which have demonstrated considerable impact – The initiatives have resulted in over $25 million in funding allocated, 326 communities impacted, $77.8 million in funding leveraged, and 19 partnerships formed.

Current Status

• Through a Spring 2025 funding decision, ISC provided $1.25 million to ITAC for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, supplemented by an additional $750,000 from ISC's core program funding. This investment, noted in Budget 2025, supports ITAC's core operations, including wages and benefits, professional fees, administrative and project costs, and travel expenses, as well as key organizational pillars: activities, marketing, leadership, partnerships, and development. Together, these funds will help ITAC achieve self-sustainability, maintain its organizational capacity and programming, and expand partnerships with key stakeholders to advance the growth of the Indigenous tourism industry.
• On July 15, 2025, ITAC released its 2025-26 Operational Plan, backed by a seven-year funding commitment made possible through Social Impact Funding, supported by a group of investors who have directed targeted resources toward strengthening Indigenous tourism in Canada. This funding will provide approximately $35 million per year to support ITAC and the implementation of its Operational Plan.
• The four current SPI regional Indigenous tourism initiatives are set to conclude by March 31, 2026. As interest in continued federal support remains high, future funding decisions will be made by the program's interdepartmental investment committee in Winter 2026.
• Next steps
  • Work with ITAC to ensure project deliverables are met and they are on track to secure the Social Impact Funding.
  • Work with federal and Indigenous partners to assess the impact of recent developments on SPI's current regional tourism initiatives and their future viability.

Monitoring of Financial Management Practices

• Indigenous Services Canada is committed to advancing Indigenous well-being and self-determination by supporting the delivery of programs and services through funding agreements with hundreds of Indigenous communities and organizations across the country.
• These funding agreements help ensure sound financial stewardship through a collaborative, transparent, and partner-centered approach that includes financial and activity reporting to confirm funds are used for the intended purpose.
• The department also conducts periodic risk-based recipient audits through independent auditors to assess funding agreement compliance.

FSIN Forensic Audit

• Following allegations about the management of funding provided to the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, Indigenous Services Canada initiated an independent forensic audit to review the organization's expenditures between April 1, 2019, and March 15, 2024.
• The findings were presented to the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations and departmental officials in September 2025, and a summary of the report was made available on Indigenous Services Canada's website on September 24, 2025.
• Indigenous Services Canada is currently reviewing the audit's findings and recommendations with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations.

If Pressed on Next Steps

• Indigenous Services Canada is focused on working with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in the review of all findings and recommendations outlined in the audit and ensuring all available information has been considered.
• The department's post-audit practices can include the recovery of funding used toward ineligible or unsupported expenses. If warranted, audit findings may also be referred to the appropriate authorities for further investigation.

FSIN Forensic Audit

• ISC was made aware of allegations involving the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations during the 2023-24 fiscal year. Following a review of these allegations, the Assessment and Investigation Services Branch for Indigenous Services Canada launched a forensic audit in March 2024.
• Audit officials initially met with Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations leadership on June 19, 2025 to discuss the draft findings of the forensic audit and provide them the opportunity to submit additional documentation.
• On September 11, 2025, the findings were presented to the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations by the independent auditor retained by Indigenous Services Canada.
• On September 24, 2025, the department's Assessment and Investigation Services Branch released the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Forensic Audit - Summary Report of Findings and Recommendations. This is a standard practice following completion of an audit.
• On October 23, 2025, a redacted version of the forensic audit was shared with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations' Executive committee and their Treasury Board. This version was also shared with individual parties that formally requested it through an Access to Information and Privacy request, as well as with others who informally requested it.
• The forensic audit covers expenditures related to all funding from April 1, 2019, to March 15, 2024 and found over $34 million in ‘questionable, ineligible or unsupported spending'.

Monitoring of Financial Management Practices

• Financial reporting and recipient audits are ongoing, integral components of the oversight and management of funding agreements.
• Annual financial reporting is mandatory for all recipients of contribution funding.
  • Financial reporting requirements (a revenue and expenditure report or audited financial statements) are determined by recipient type (e.g. First Nations, Tribal Council, other type of Indigenous organization) and the amount of funding provided.
  • As part of their audited financial statements, recipients must provide separate schedules detailing their expenditures by program stream.
  • While financial reports are due on an annual basis, Indigenous Services Canada personnel maintain an ongoing relationship with recipients to ensure stewardship, progress, and to help mitigate potential challenges in program delivery.
• Recipients are also required to report non-financial information on program results and activities.
• In circumstances where recipients do not comply with reporting requirements and timelines, funding may be halted until required reporting is submitted.
• The decision to perform a recipient audit is made using a risk-based approach. Results from these audits are shared with the recipient and include a management action plan to address issues identified during the course of the audit and can span several areas, including internal controls, system efficiencies, internal policies, and potential funding recoveries.