Land acknowledgement
We acknowledge that this report was written on Treaty One Territory, and in the Homeland of the Red River Métis.
The National Family and Survivors Circle Inc. includes First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples from across Turtle Island, and we honour all our relations—the Ancestors who walked before us, the families who carry truths today, and the generations yet to come.
These lands, waters, and skies are sacred gifts from Creator. As family members and survivors, we carry the voices, memories, and spirits of our stolen and missing loved ones with us.
May this report call all governments, institutions, and people across Canada to act with courage, humility, and urgency so that future generations may inherit a country where Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex and Asexual (2SLGBTQQIA+) people are safe, valued, and free to live on our lands in dignity and joy for the next seven generations.
Summary
On June 3, 2019, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) released its final report, Reclaiming Power and Place. It included 231 clear calls for justice for Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Seven years later, this report tracks progress—and regress—on federal government actions to respond to those calls.
When it comes to funding the 231 calls for justice, the federal government has spent or committed to spend $146.3 billion from 2019-20 to 2030-31—with $24.7 billion more coming from new programs spanning key areas such as child welfare, housing and infrastructure, health and wellness, culture, and safety. These investments reflect a recognition that the violence faced by Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people is systemic, and that ending it requires sustained coordinated action.
However, the findings of this report make clear that this progress is fragile. Nearly half of all federal programs linked to the calls have ended or are at risk of being sunsetted in the coming years. Annual spending on new programs is expected to fall from a peak of $3.7 billion in 2024-25 to approximately $1.8 billion from 2028-29 onwards—a 51 per cent funding cut that risks erasing recently developed social infrastructure and reversing progress.
Importantly, this pattern reflects what many Indigenous governance scholars describe as “austerity through expiration”—where commitments are not explicitly withdrawn but are, instead, allowed to lapse, producing structural instability while preserving the appearance of ongoing reconciliation investment.
This report makes the following recommendations to ensure the federal government meets its constitutional commitments to Indigenous Peoples and gets back on track with its responsibility to take action on those 231 calls for justice:
- Renew and stabilize funding for core MMIWG2S+ programs
- Establish a permanent MMIWG2S+ funding framework
- Prioritize Indigenous-led and community-delivered services
- Address the severe funding gaps facing urban Indigenous communities
- Protect and expand funding for Indigenous women’s and 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations
- Improve accountability and public transparency
- Accelerate investments in Indigenous housing, shelters, and safe infrastructure
- Strengthen Indigenous-led health, mental wellness, and trauma supports
- Advance justice and policing reform in partnership with Indigenous Peoples
- Recognize implementation of the calls for justice as a core human rights obligation
Introduction
For families of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex and Asexual (2SLGBTQQIA+) people and survivors of violence, this issue is deeply personal. It is about our daughters, our sisters, our mothers, our aunties, our grandchildren. It is about the empty chairs at our tables and the lives forever changed. It is also about responsibility, leadership, and the choices governments make today.
In June 2019, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released its final report, confirming what families and survivors had long known: the violence faced by Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQQIA+ relatives is not random, and it is not inevitable. It is the result of systems, laws, policies, and funding decisions shaped by colonialism, racism and discrimination. The national inquiry named this violence for what it is—an ongoing form of genocide—and issued 231 calls for justice.
These calls for justice are not symbolic commitments. They are legal imperatives grounded in Indigenous law, Canadian law, and international human rights obligations. They also offer something else that is often overlooked: a clear, practical roadmap for change.
The House of Commons, with representatives from every part of Canada, passed a unanimous motion in 2023 declaring the ongoing violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people a national emergency. Because that is what it is. This declaration reflected the growing recognition that the crisis requires urgent, sustained, and coordinated national action.
Today, almost seven years after the release of the calls for justice, the question before Canada is no longer whether the problem has been identified. It is whether we are prepared to fully act.
First Nations, Inuit and Métis women and girls continue to experience disproportionately high levels of violence. We are more likely to go missing, more likely to be murdered, and more likely to encounter barriers to justice. Indigenous women remain overrepresented among homicide victims. Indigenous girls continue to be overrepresented in child welfare systems, where many first experience separation and instability. Indigenous women are disproportionately affected by poverty, homelessness, incarceration, and exploitation—conditions that increase vulnerability to violence. 2SLGBTQQIA+ Indigenous Peoples face additional risks driven by discrimination and exclusion.
These realities are serious, but they are not unchangeable. They are the result of policy choices—and policy choices can be changed.
The national inquiry made clear that ending this violence requires sustained, coordinated, and adequately funded action across all orders of government. It requires moving beyond short-term initiatives toward long-term, stable solutions. It requires partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Métis women, families, survivors, communities and governments. And it requires accountability, particularly from the federal government, which has a sacred responsibility to uphold Indigenous rights and set national priorities.
This report is grounded in the understanding that federal leadership matters—and that sustained federal action can make a measurable difference.
Canada has already committed itself to a strong legal and human rights framework. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) affirms the rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people to safety, dignity, self-determination, and freedom from violence. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDRA) commits Canada to align its laws and actions with those rights. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) obligates Canada to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action outlines concrete steps to address the ongoing impacts of colonialism.
The calls for justice from the national inquiry, which were born from the testimony and truths of thousands of families and survivors, sit within this framework. Together, they do not simply describe what is wrong—they describe what must be done, and how governments can contribute to lasting change.
Funding is a critical part of that response because budgets translate commitments into action. They determine whether services are available, whether prevention efforts are sustained, and whether communities have the tools they need to keep people safe. When funding is stable and long-term, programs can plan, hire, build trust, and deliver results. That is return on investment. When funding is short-term or fragmented, even well-designed initiatives struggle to succeed.
This report examines how the Government of Canada has funded its response to the calls for justice over time, and how those investments align with the scale and urgency of the issue. It does so to provide evidence for informed, responsible decision-making.
Drawing from the federal government’s own reporting, including the 2024-25 Pathways: Reporting on the Calls for Justice, this report links the 231 calls for justice to the federal programs the government has identified as responding to them. It tracks those programs year by year, from 2020-21 through projected spending to 2030-31, drawing on federal departmental reports and budgets.
By compiling and aggregating this data, this report provides a clear picture of federal spending related to the calls for justice. It highlights programs that are ongoing and those that may sunset, even as the need continues and, in some cases, escalates. Where possible, funding is disaggregated—First Nations, Métis, Inuit and Urban Indigenous Peoples—to reflect distinctions-based realities and needs.
This kind of analysis matters because it moves the conversation from intentions to outcomes. It helps parliamentarians, policy-makers, and the public see what is working, where progress is being made, and where additional investment could have the greatest impact.
Families and survivors have consistently emphasized that real change requires sustained support, not short-term announcements. They have also seen what is possible when programs are properly resourced and led by First Nations, Inuit and Métis women, organizations and communities. Across the country, there are examples of prevention, healing, and safety initiatives that save lives—when they are given the chance to endure.
The National Family and Survivors Circle Inc. (NFSC) exists to ensure that the voices of families and survivors remain central to this work. NFSC’s advocacy is grounded in lived experience and in the belief that solutions are strongest when families, survivors, communities, and governments work together. This report builds on that foundation by offering evidence that can support informed, constructive action.
Ending the violence against Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQQIA+ people is not only necessary—it is achievable. The calls for justice provide the roadmap. The expertise exists in communities. What is required is sustained commitment and investment.
As parliament looks toward future fiscal decisions, this report is offered in a spirit of responsibility and possibility. We recognize that Canada is navigating a complex global environment with many pressing priorities. At the same time, protecting the lives and rights of Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, the original people of these lands, is not a competing interest—it is a core obligation and a measure of our shared values.
This is an opportunity to build on what has begun, to strengthen what works, and to ensure that progress does not stall. With strong federal investment, clear accountability, and partnership with families, survivors and communities, Canada can make a meaningful difference.
Survivors and families who have carried this loss for years are still waiting to see their truths reflected in sustained federal investment. Together, we can ensure they are.
Preamble
June 3, 2026, marks seven years since the release of Reclaiming Power and Place, the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This document, and the 231 calls for justice it makes, reflects decades of advocacy on the ongoing genocide against Indigenous women, girls, and members of the Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex and Asexual (2SLGBTQQIA+) community and provides a clear set of proposals to confront oppression, decolonize institutions and end violence. In June 2021 the federal government released its national action plan to address the calls for justice and federal pathway, alongside funding commitments, particularly in the 2021 federal budget.
This report assesses federal funding to address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people (MMIWG2S+) made between fiscal years 2019-20 and 2030-31. This analysis provides a critical examination of the scale of funding commitments made since the national inquiry concluded, as well as current funding reductions taking effect, putting at risk programs that may be sunset over the coming five years.
While some progress has been made since 2021, a lack of stable, long-term, and flexible federal funding to address the 231 calls has left an underfunded and inconsistent patchwork of programs to eliminate the systemic violence faced by Indigenous women, girls and members of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community (Assembly of First Nations 2025, NWAC 2025). In line with previous reports, we find that a large proportion of the federal programs earmarked to address the 231 calls were short-term in nature and are at risk of sunsetting between 2026-27 and 2030-31.By 2027-28 about two-thirds of initiatives will remain funded, however, this share drops to about half from 2028-29 onwards. Furthermore, while approximately 60 per cent of the calls have some relevant federal funding, most remain far from complete—a risk that grows if the pace of progress slows or reverses.
The risk of sunsetting of federal funding is particularly stark in the areas of health and wellness, child welfare, and funding for 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities. In particular, the instability of mental health, housing, and community safety funding streams risks erasing progress on addressing the MMIWG2S+ crisis over the coming years. While the funding situation remains precarious, the 2026 federal spring economic update extended funding for some key programs for between one and five years, in addition to providing funding for the National Family and Survivors Circle until 2028-29.
The analysis of federal spending commitments that follows is based on data coming from the methodology described in Appendix A. This report describes the federal spending associated with each call, organized according to the categories used in the national inquiry’s final report. It is important to note that the data presented are estimates and projections constructed using both actual expenditure and budget commitments.
Throughout this report, we note programs and initiatives that have either been sunset or are at risk of being sunset. Programs noted as ‘at risk of sunset’ means that no publicly available data was found indicating program or initiative renewal. In some cases, program cycles have not been concluded or initiatives have been renamed or moved.
Because many federal programs address multiple policy objectives simultaneously, the funding estimates presented in this report should be understood as informed approximations based on available federal reporting and departmental data.
Previous investigations have noted instances where federal funding for MMIWG2S+ calls went unspent—a striking example of this is the Indigenous Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative. Launched in 2021, this program allocated $720 million toward the “construction of additional shelters and transitional homes for Indigenous women, children and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals fleeing gender-based violence, including in urban areas and in the North.” (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation 2024). However, as revealed by a 2025 Winnipeg Free Press investigation, much of the funds remain unspent and various issues have plagued this program (McLeod 2025). Applications are closed and the status of this program is unclear.
Total spending on calls for justice
Building on the 2024-25 Federal Pathway Annual Progress Report, this report identifies 94 federal government programs or initiatives that are relevant to the calls for justice. Annual spending across these programs or initiatives peaked at $17.6 billion in 2024-25 and is expected to be between $7 and $8 billion from 2029-30 onwards. This reduction comes from programs at risk of being sunset, as well as from decreased spending on ongoing programs. This will be discussed in further detail in subsequent sections.
Given that the calls were published in 2019, it is also informative to track new programs or initiatives that were initiated from 2020-21 onwards, which can be viewed as a direct response to the calls. This amount is much lower, representing a small share of overall investment between 2019-20 to 2030-31. It peaked at $3.7 billion in 2024-25 and is expected to fall below $2.1 billion from 2027-28 onwards. What this reveals is that much of the funding commitments associated with the 231 calls identified in the federal government’s pathways reports represent programs that were in place prior to the national inquiry’s results being released rather than a direct response to the 231 calls. That said, the analysis in this report includes both established and new programs, as many pre-existing programs received additional funding in direct response to the calls. The subsequent sections break down the share of each.
Since most spending relevant to the 231 calls for justice was initiated prior to the inflationary spike of 2021-23, it is also relevant to adjust these spending figures for inflation in order to assess relative buying power going forward. After adjusting to 2018 dollars, overall spending on programs relevant to the calls will be, in most cases, close to 2020-21 levels by the latter part of this decade. Projecting out to 2030-31, spending on all programs (in 2018 dollars) will be around $5.6 billion—below the $6.4 billion spent in 2020-21. Adjusted for inflation, spending on established programs relevant to the calls for justice is projected to fall to $9.2 billion in 2028-29, approximately in line with 2022-23 spending levels, and will drop to $4.2 billion thereafter. Spending on new programs initiated since 2020-21 is projected to remain above initial spending levels, however, by 2027-28, inflation adjusted spending flattens to 2021-22 spending levels, falling thereafter. Investment in the 231 calls for justice is slowing down—not just due to the short-term nature of many programs, but also due to an erosion of spending power as program budgets have not been sufficiently increased to adjust for inflation.
Between 2019-20 and 2030-31, total federal spending will be between $5 and $6 billion. To put this into context, the peak annual commitment to new programming to address the 231 calls ($3.7 billion in 2024-25) is almost identical to spending committed to develop Canada’s critical minerals strategy ($3.8 billion in 2024-25).
Spending by category
The 231 calls for justice fall into 18 categories in the national inquiry’s final report. These categories are grouped into calls for all governments, calls for industries, institutions, services, and partnerships, calls for all Canadians, and distinctions-based calls.
This report follows the national inquiry’s categorization, except for the following:
- The health and wellness as well as the health and wellness service providers calls are combined into one category.
- The hospitality industry and educators’ calls are not discussed since they have no calls relevant to the federal government.
- The attorneys and law societies calls are not discussed since they contain a single call that has not been addressed by the federal government.
- The distinctions-based calls are discussed later in this report, where we present estimates of the funding going to each group.
Human and Indigenous rights and governmental obligations
The calls for justice in this category address the foundational legal duties of all governments to prevent violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, covering topics like a national action plan, implementation of international rights instruments (UNDRIP, CEDAW), an Indigenous and human rights ombudsperson, and accountability mechanisms. Annual spending on human and Indigenous rights and governmental obligations will peak at $6.2 billion in 2026-27. However, most of this spending comes from established programs, including First Nations Child and Family Services, which comprises over 80 per cent of spending in this category. Spending on initiatives launched since the calls for justice were released peaked at $308 million in 2023-24 and is set to fall to $193 million by 2027-28.
Alongside investments in First Nations Child and Family Services ($37.8 billion total),1One-time spending of $23.34 billion in 2024 resulting from the historic federal court settlement over systemic discrimination and underfunding of First Nations child welfare was removed from our database in order to focus on long-term funding patterns. other large programs within this category include implementing An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families ($4.3 billion total), the Comprehensive Violence Prevention Strategy—Family Violence Prevention Program ($867 million total), and the Indigenous Justice Program ($521 million total).
This category also includes funding for the establishment of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People Secretariat ($57 million total) and the Independent Oversight Body to Monitor Implementation of the National Action Plan on MMWIG2S+ People ($2 million total). Furthermore, the 2026 federal spring economic update included $40 million in funding through 2030-31 for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Initiative, which is led by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Since it appears that this funding will be used to continue the work of the secretariat and the oversight body, it is assumed that these are not being sunset.
The overall reduction in spending is expected because of both decreased spending on ongoing programs, as well as the many programs that are at risk of being sunset or have already been sunsetted. These are:
- Addressing anti-Indigenous racism in Canada’s health systems ($300 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2028-29.
- Supporting Indigenous women’s and 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations ($27 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27, though the amount available after 2025-26 is unclear.
- Indigenous-Federal-Provincial-Territorial Meeting on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ People ($3 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2027-28.
Furthermore, the following programs have sunset:
- Indigenous Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative ($260 million total)—funding ended in 2024-25.
- National Indigenous and human rights ombudsperson ($2 million total)—not funded beyond 2024-25.
Culture
The calls for justice in this category focus on protecting and revitalizing Indigenous languages and cultures as inherent rights, including topics like official language recognition for Indigenous languages, anti-racism education, funding for cultural programs, and improved Indigenous representation in media.
Strict punishment for speaking Indigenous languages within residential schools was one of the many ways in which Canadian settler-colonial institutions have sought to eliminate Indigenous languages. Restrictions on Indigenous language speakers have left a lasting legacy that persists today. The 2021 Canadian census found that 237,420 people speak Indigenous languages well enough to hold a conversation, representing 13.1 per cent of Indigenous Peoples. The number of Indigenous language speakers declined by 10,750 between 2016 and 2021, and the share of Indigenous Peoples who speak Indigenous languages has been continually declining since 2006 due to the loss of elders who report Indigenous languages as their mother tongue. Language revitalization is an essential component of healing and reconciliation, allowing for the continuation of oral traditions and connections to elders and land. Continued funding increases for Indigenous languages programs are clearly needed to support language revitalization (Statistics Canada 2023).
Annual spending on culture peaked at $6.6 billion in 2026-27 and is expected to be around $1. 2 billion from 2029-30 onwards. Total spending on new programs peaked in 2025-26 at $173 million, falling to around $140 million from 2026-27 onwards.
While most of the spending in this category is not explicitly related to culture, a portion of these programs’ funding is relevant to the broad scope of the calls. Investments in First Nations Child and Family Services are also included within the culture category, making up 75 per cent of total funding across this category. Further programs of note include, An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families addresses calls 2.2.ii (supporting revitalization and restoration of Indigenous cultures and languages) and 2.3 (ensuring access to these cultures and languages). Indeed, many federally funded educational programs contribute to call 2.3, including before- and after-school programming for First Nations students on reserve, the Elementary and Secondary Education Program, the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Transformation Initiative, the Indigenous Languages Program, and Library and Archives Canada’s We Are Here: Sharing Stories initiative. Another program falling in this category, the Indigenous Screen Office, is discussed in detail in the media and social influencers section.
Alongside First Nations Child and Family Services ($37.8 billion total), the largest pre-existing programs are the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Transformation Initiative ($3.7 billion total), funding for professional arts training organizations ($29 million total), and Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024-28 and Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate ($26 million). The largest new programs are implementing An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families ($4.4 billion total) and the Indigenous Languages Program ($1.8 billion total).
The overall reduction in spending is expected to mostly come from decreased funding for ongoing programs. For example, annual spending on implementing An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families is expected to peak at $840 million in 2025-26 and reach $320 million by 2030-31. Furthermore, the following program is at risk of being sunset:
- Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning ($27 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
The following program has been sunsetted:
- Digitization of Indigenous Documentary Heritage Initiative ($5 million total) and its related program, We Are Here: Sharing Stories ($3 million total)—have not been funded beyond 2024-25.
Health and wellness
The Calls for Justice in this category call on governments to ensure equitable, accessible, Indigenous-led health services, covering trauma-informed care, addictions recovery, mental health, culturally grounded healing programs, and long-term funding for community wellness.
Inequitable health care access and health outcomes for Indigenous Peoples have been documented for decades, continually underlining the need for additional funding for Indigenous-led health services. A 2019 report from the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy found that the life expectancy of First Nations Manitobans was 11 years shorter than other Manitobans (Katz et al. 2019). Despite awareness of health inequities, gaps in life expectancy have continued to grow in recent years. Data from Alberta Health for 2023 found a 19-year gap in life expectancy between First Nations Albertans and others (CTV News 2025), while data from British Columbia’s First Nations Health Authority found that life expectancy for First Nations people in that province fell by six years between 2017 and 2021 (First Nations Health Authority and B.C. Office of the Provincial Health Minister 2024). Indigenous communities face a public health emergency that can only be addressed through additional resources.
Annual spending in health and wellness peaked at $940 million in 2024-25 and is expected to be $360 million from 2029-30 onwards. Initiatives launched since 2020-21 make up a significant proportion of spending in this category, peaking at $866 million in 2024-25 and falling to $384 million in 2028-29. Total spending from 2019-20 to 2030-31 is expected to be $5.9 billion, with $5.5 billion coming from new programs or initiatives.
The largest programs in this category are the Mental Wellness Program ($2.1 billion total), the Indigenous Health Equity Fund ($1.4 billion total), the Comprehensive Violence Prevention Strategy—Family Violence Prevention Program ($870 million total), and 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline ($310 million total).
The overall reduction in spending is expected because of both decreased spending on ongoing programs, as well as from programs that are at risk of being sunset. These are:
- Mental Wellness Program ($2.1 billion total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2027-28, however, $630 million over two years to support Indigenous mental wellness was announced in March 2026.
- Addressing anti-Indigenous racism in Canada’s health systems ($300 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2028-29.
- Health transformation ($100 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2028-29.
- Clinical and Client Care Program ($90 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2027-28.
Furthermore, the following programs have been sunsetted:
- Indigenous Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative ($260 million total)—funding ended in 2024-25.
- Co-development of distinctions-based Indigenous health legislation ($16 million total)—funding ended in 2022-23.
Human security
The calls for justice in this category target the social and economic conditions that drive vulnerability, including safe housing, clean water, food security, guaranteed liveable income, employment supports, shelters, and safe transit for rural and remote communities. Annual spending on human security peaked at $8.1 billion in 2023-24 and is expected to be around $5.2 billion from 2029-30 onwards. Spending on initiatives in this category launched since 2020-21 peaked at $2.4 billion in 2023-24, falling to between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion from 2027-28 onwards. Total spending from 2019-20 to 2030-31 is expected to be $74 billion, with only $15 billion coming from new programs or initiatives.
The largest pre-existing programs in this category are elementary and secondary education on reserve ($32 billion total) and the On-Reserve Income Assistance Program ($16.6 billion total). The largest new programs are the Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy ($4.9 billion total), the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund ($4.3 billion total), and before- and after-school programming for First Nations students on reserve ($1.1 billion total).
The overall reduction in spending is expected because of both decreased spending on ongoing programs, as well as the many programs that are at risk of being sunset. These are:
- Inuit housing investment ($831 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy ($1.2 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2027-28.
- Self-governing and modern treaty First Nations housing investment ($560 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- National housing strategy ($510 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- Health Facilities Program ($390 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2027-28.
- Expanding access to adult education for First Nations on reserve and in the North ($350 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27, though the amount available after 2025-26 is unclear.
- First Nations elementary and secondary education—supporting the conclusion of a regional education agreement for 22 Communities in Quebec ($310 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- National School Food Program for First Nations on Reserve ($230 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- Remote Passenger Rail Program ($200 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- Métis housing investment ($190 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- Local Food Infrastructure Fund ($38 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- Indigenous Women’s Entrepreneurship Program ($22 million total)—the amount available after 2023-24 is unclear since parts of this program may have been subsumed by a larger program.
Furthermore, the following programs have been sunsetted:
- Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund ($4.3 billion total)—not funded beyond 2024-25.
- Affordable housing in the North ($150 million total)—not funded beyond 2023-24.
- Action Research on Chronic Homeless (ARCH) Initiative ($18 million total)—funding ended in 2024-25.
- Income Assistance First Nations Youth Employment Strategy (IAFNYES) pilot ($102 million total)—funding ended in 2024-25.
Justice
The calls for justice in this category call for a wide-ranging set of legal system reforms addressing policing, courts, corrections, and sentencing, covering topics like Indigenous policing self-governance, civilian oversight, Gladue principles, missing persons legislation, legal aid, and reducing over-incarceration. Annual spending on justice has grown steadily, from $150 million in 2019-20 to an expected $830 million in 2026-27. Funding for initiatives launched since the calls for justice were released peaked at $122 million in 2024-25, falling to around $40 million from 2027-28 onwards. Total spending from 2019-20 to 2030-31 is expected to be $7.2 billion, with only $660 million coming from new programs or initiatives.
The largest program, by far, in this category is the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program ($4.5 billion total). Increased spending on this program is the main driver of increased spending in this category. Other significant pre-existing programs include the First Nations and Inuit Policing Facilities Program ($630 million total) and the Indigenous Justice Program ($520 million total). The largest new programs in this category are the Pathways to Safe Indigenous Communities Initiative ($260 million total), services and supports for Indigenous victims of crime ($60 million total), and family information liaison units ($60 million total).
Two programs are at risk of being sunset:
- Pathways to Safe Indigenous Communities Initiative ($260 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- Indigenous-led data research projects program ($7 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
Furthermore, the following program has been sunsetted:
- Co-development of First Nations police services legislation ($45 million total)—funding ended in 2025-26.
Media and social influencers
There is a single call that relates to this category. While it is primarily directed at other organizations, the federal government funded the Indigenous Screen Office, which “supports Indigenous screen storytellers, funds Indigenous stories on screens, and works to increase the representation of Indigenous peoples throughout the screen industries” (Government of Canada 2024). Funding for this initiative began in 2021-22 and has been $13 million per year. Canadian Heritage’s latest departmental plan indicates the Indigenous Screen Office will be funded at this level for the foreseeable future.
Police services
The calls for justice in this category call for detailed reforms for policing, including increasing Indigenous recruitment and representation, establishing specialized Indigenous policing units, standardizing protocols for missing and murdered cases, creating a national task force to review unresolved cases, and improving civilian oversight. Annual spending on police services peaked at $64 million in 2024-25 and is expected to be $27 million from 2029-30 onwards. Total spending from 2019-20 to 2030-31 is expected to be $535 million, with only $13 million in spending coming from initiatives launched since 2020-21. Most of the investment in this category comes from the Indigenous Justice Program ($520 million total).
The four other programs in this category are new but are at risk of being sunset or have been sunsetted. The ones that are at risk are:
- National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains ($5 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- Missing Persons Data Standards—Strategy for Consistency in Practices for Reporting Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ ($1.4 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- Red Dress Alert Pilot Program ($1.6 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
Furthermore, the following program has been sunsetted:
- Intercultural Learning Strategy ($6 million total)—not funded beyond 2025-26.
The RCMP has some other initiatives relevant to the calls, but has funded them by reallocating existing funding, so they are not included here.
Social workers and those implicated in child welfare
The calls for justice in this category comprehensively address the child welfare system, calling for Indigenous self-determination over child welfare, ending apprehensions based on poverty, stopping birth alerts, prioritizing family reunification, and reforming “aging out” policies. Annual spending on social workers and those implicated in child welfare has grown considerably, from $2.5 billion in 2019-20 to a peak at $8.4 billion in 2024-25. Spending in this area is expected to fall to between $800 and $900 million from 2029-30 onwards. Total spending from 2019-20 to 2030-31 is expected to be $60.5 billion, with only $245 million coming from new programs or initiatives.
Programs relevant to this category can be broadly classified into four themes: child welfare, education, housing, and food. All are dominated by well-established programs. Child welfare is by far the largest, which includes major programs such as Supporting First Nations Children through Jordan’s Principle ($10.5 billion total), implementing An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families ($4.4 billion total), and the First Nations Child and Family Services Program ($37.8 billion total). Spending on education is mostly through the First Nations Post-Secondary Education Strategy ($4 billion total), while spending on housing is mostly through Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy ($1.2 billion total) and the national housing strategy ($510 million total). Finally, relatively small programs, such as the Harvesters Support Grant and the Community Food Programs Fund ($290 million total), as well as the National School Food Program for First Nations on Reserve ($230 million total), provide funding for food security.
The largest pre-existing programs are Supporting First Nations Children through Jordan’s Principle, the First Nations Post-Secondary Education Strategy, and the National Housing Strategy. The largest new programs are Implementing An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, the First Nations Child and Family Services Program, and Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy.
The reduction in spending in this category comes primarily from reduced spending on major programs such as implementing An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families. In addition, many important programs are at risk of being sunset. These are:
- Supporting First Nations Children through Jordan’s Principle ($10.5 billion total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2027-28.
- Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy ($1.2 billion total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2027-28.
- Inuit Child First Initiative ($800 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2027-28.
- National Housing Strategy ($510 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- National School Food Program for First Nations on Reserve ($230 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2027-28.
- Local Food Infrastructure Fund ($38 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
Furthermore, the following program has been sunsetted:
- Action Research on Chronic Homeless (ARCH) Initiative ($18 million total)—funding ended in 2024-25.
While 80 per cent of the calls in this category have some relevant funding, many key calls remain unaddressed. For instance, no action has been taken on the proposal to establish a national child and youth commissioner (Call 12.9), despite significant advocacy efforts and senate initiatives (Gahagan et al. 2026).
Extractive and development industries
The calls for justice in this category focus on resource extraction industries (e.g., pipelines, hydroelectric projects), calling for gender-based impact assessments, inclusion of safety provisions in impact-benefit agreements, and expanded social infrastructure in affected communities. Annual spending on extractive and development industries peaked at $1.5 billion in 2023-24 and is expected to be around $100 million from 2025-26 onwards. Total spending in this category from 2019-20 to 2030-31 is expected to be $5.3 billion. Most of this comes from spending on infrastructure that is not directly related to the extractive and development industries. This arises since programs such as the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund ($4.3 billion total) and the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund ($500 million total) are relevant to Call 13.5, which calls upon “all governments and service providers to anticipate and recognize increased demand on social infrastructure because of development projects and resource extraction, and for mitigation measures to be identified as part of the planning and approval process.”
Where more targeted programs do exist—such as Natural Resources Canada’s MMIWG2S+ and Resource Development Initiative—they are not always backed by dedicated funding, relying, instead, on reallocated departmental resources. The only other program receiving dedicated funding is the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees for Trans Mountain Expansion Project, which is expected to receive $90 million from 2019-20 to 2026-27. The federal government has recently committed to renew funding for this program, as well as for the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees for the Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Project, though specific amounts have yet to be announced or allocated (Natural Resources Canada 2025). Likewise, the 2025 federal budget allocated funding for the Major Projects Office’s Indigenous Advisory Council, but the amount remains unclear.
Correctional Service Canada
The calls for justice in this category target federal corrections, calling for decarceration options, rescinding overly broad maximum-security classifications, culturally safe programming, mental health services, elimination of strip searches, and mother-child programming. Correctional Service Canada has received little new funding to address these calls, relying largely on reallocating existing funds within the agency. The only external additions come from two programs—expand Indigenous community partnerships to meet the needs of federally incarcerated Indigenous Peoples and the Indigenous Community Corrections Initiative—only the latter of which was established after 2019. Together, these programs are expected to receive $14 million annually for the foreseeable future. Total spending from 2019-20 to 2030-31 is expected to be $110 million.
In this category, most calls remain unaddressed, despite many of them being inexpensive or uncontroversial. These include, for example, the call “upon Correctional Service Canada to prohibit transfer of federally incarcerated women in need of mental health care to all-male treatment centres” (Call 14.7) or the call upon “Correctional Service Canada to increase and enhance the role and participation of Elders in decision making for all aspects of planning for Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQQIA people” (Call 14.10). The organization, in fact, already has a budget for elder services.
All Canadians
There is a single call that relates to this category that is relevant to the federal government: “Help hold all governments accountable to act on the Calls for Justice, and to implement them according to the important principles we set out” (Call 15.8). To achieve that purpose, the federal government has established a horizontal initiative within Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to coordinate action. As discussed in the human and Indigenous rights and governmental obligations section, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Initiative received $40 million in funding through 2030-31 in the 2026 federal spring economic update. Given that there remains significant progress to be made on the calls, having a dedicated team focused on MMIWG2S+ is of utmost importance.
Spending across distinctions
Budget allocations are not distributed uniformly across Indigenous Peoples. Some programs, such as the Canada-Métis National Permanent Bilateral Mechanism or the Inuit Child First Initiative, target a single people, while others, such as the Indigenous Health Equity Fund or the Indigenous Languages Program, span First Nations, Inuit and Métis people. There are also broader federal programs, such as the National Housing Strategy or the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, where Indigenous Peoples represent a fraction of the intended recipients. The shares of these programs that are relevant to each group are calculated using the methodology outlined in Appendix A.
First Nations
Seventy per cent of spending from 2019-20 to 2030-31 went to First Nations people. This is unsurprising, given that 58 per cent of Indigenous Peoples in Canada are First Nations, as well as the constitutional obligations of the federal government established through treaties. Annual spending in this category peaked at $15.5 billion in 2024-25 and is expected to be just over $6 billion from 2029-30 onwards. On a per capita basis, this is a peak of $12,160 in 2024-25 and about $10,200 in 2027-28.
There are 14 First Nations-specific programs, with the largest being First Nations Child and Family Services ($37.8 billion total). The largest new program is the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund—First Nations ($2.5 billion total). However, many of these programs are at risk of being sunset. These are:
- Supporting First Nations Children through Jordan’s Principle ($10.5 billion)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- Self-Governing and Modern Treaty First Nations Housing Investment ($560 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- Expanding access to adult education for First Nations on reserve and in the North ($350 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27, though the amount available after 2025-26 is unclear.
- First Nations elementary and secondary education—supporting the conclusion of a regional education agreement for 22 Communities in Quebec ($310 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- National School Food Program for First Nations on Reserve ($230 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
Furthermore, the following programs have been sunsetted:
- Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund—First Nations ($2.5 billion total)—funding ended in 2024-25.
- Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund—Self-governing and modern treaty First Nations ($790 million total)—funding ended in 2024-25.
- Co-development of First Nations police services legislation ($45 million total)—funding ended in 2025-26.
Inuit
Four per cent of Indigenous Peoples in Canada are Inuit and three per cent of spending from 2019-20 to 2030-31 went to Inuit people. Annual spending peaked at $760 million in 2023-24 and is expected to be $340 million in 2027-28. On a per capita basis, this is a peak of $10,135 in 2023-24 and falling below $4,900 from 2027-28 onwards.
There are eight Inuit-specific programs, with the largest—and the largest new program—being the Inuit Housing Investment ($830 million total). Many of these programs are at risk of being sunset. These are:
- Inuit Housing Investment ($830 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
- Inuit Child First Initiative ($803 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
Furthermore, the following programs have sunset:
- Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund—Inuit ($520 million total)—funding ended in 2024-25.
- Qikiqtani Truth Commission ($44 million total)—funding ended in 2023-24.
- Nanilavut “Let’s Find Them” Initiative ($19 million total)—funding ended in 2025-26.
There remain significant unaddressed calls for justice that are specific to Inuit people. This includes fully implementing Article 23 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (Call 16.34) and the James Bay Northern Quebec Agreement (Call 16.35), as well as ensuring “ongoing and comprehensive Inuit-specific cultural competency training for public servants” (Call 16.27). The recent announcement of a proposed university in Arviat, Nunavut—the Inuit Nunangat University—is a promising development for Call 16.26, which calls for the establishment of a university.
Métis
Thirty-five per cent of Indigenous Peoples in Canada are Métis and five per cent of spending from 2019-20 to 2030-31 went to Métis people. Annual spending peaked at $1.5 billion in 2024-25 and is expected to fall below $500 million from 2027-28 onwards. On a per capita basis, this is a peak of $1,900, falling below $800 from 2027-28 onwards.
There are four Métis-specific programs, with the largest being the Métis Nation Post-Secondary Education Strategy ($460 million total). The largest new program is the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund—Métis ($240 million total). The following program is at risk of being sunset:
- Métis Housing Investment ($190 million total)—no commitment to fund beyond 2026-27.
Furthermore, the following program has been sunsetted:
- Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund—Métis ($240 million total)—funding ended in 2024-25.
Urban Indigenous Peoples
According to the 2021 census, 60 per cent of Indigenous Peoples in Canada live in urban areas. However, a recent report provides evidence suggesting that this is a significant undercounting of the true share (Snyder et al. 2025). Regardless, only 22 per cent of spending from 2019-20 to 2030-31 went to urban Indigenous Peoples. Annual spending peaked at $5.2 billion in 2024-25 and is expected to be reduced to below $5 billion from 2027-28 onwards. On a per capita basis, this is a peak of $6,000 in 2024-25, falling below $4,800 from 2028-29 onwards.
These data strongly suggest that urban Indigenous Peoples are underfunded, particularly since the crisis of MMWIG2S+ is often linked to urban environments. Collier (2020) provides a good overview of services provision for Indigenous Peoples living in urban areas. Even though most Indigenous Peoples live in cities, much of the federal government’s funding is not specifically targeted toward them. While all orders of government have a responsibility toward off-reserve Indigenous Peoples, the federal government has a constitutional obligation.
A look at two programs targeted at urban Indigenous Peoples can shed light on the current and projected funding situation. First, the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund—Urban Component is relevant to calls 4.6 and 4.7 (calling for increased housing supply and funding of shelters and transitional homes), as well as 13.5 (calling for increased infrastructure in response to resource extraction or development projects). Its stated goal was to “provide capital infrastructure support specifically targeted to improving the physical capacity, safety, security and accessibility of facilities for urban Indigenous peoples.” (Indigenous Services Canada 2023b). The program received a total of $190 million from 2022-23 to 2024-25, after which it has not been funded.
Another program is the Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples (UPIP), which provides funding for “organizations and projects that support Indigenous peoples living in urban centres.” (Indigenous Services Canada 2023c). While it does not directly feature in the 2024-25 Federal Pathway Annual Progress Report, it is an ongoing program that is relevant to many calls for justice. It comprises six funding streams (organizational capacity, programs and services, housing, coalitions, research and innovation, and infrastructure) and six areas of focus (women, vulnerable populations, youth, transition services, outreach programs, and community wellness).
Funding for this UPIP program has decreased significantly since 2020-21. Its peak was $470 million in 2020-21, and it is expected to reach $110 million by 2028-29 (Indigenous Services Canada 2023a, 2026). The number of full-time equivalent staff allocated to this program is also being reduced. This is despite a recommendation in a federal government evaluation of this program to “take concrete steps towards making funding stable, more sustainable, flexible, and readily accessible.” (Indigenous Services Canada 2024). Furthermore, another evaluation of this program (by the National Association of Friendship Centres) recommended enhanced “funding levels to align with current capacity needs, costs, and regional realities.” (National Association of Friendship Centres 2022).
Spending targeted toward 2SLGBTQQIA+ people
Annual spending on the 2SLGBTQQIA+-specific calls for justice is expected to peak at $482 million in 2025-26 and is expected to drop to $5.4 million from 2028-29 onwards. Total spending from 2019-20 to 2030-31 is expected to be $2.8 billion, with $1.1 billion coming from new programs or initiatives.
The largest programs that are specifically targeted toward the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community are increasing the capacity of Indigenous women’s and 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations ($90 million total), supporting Indigenous women’s and 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations ($37 million total), and the federal 2SLGBTQQIA+ action plan ($11 million total).
The other funding comes from broader programs, of which only a portion applies to 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. These include Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy ($1.2 billion total) and the National Housing Strategy ($510 million total). It is the risk of sunsetting these programs that drive the majority of the reduction in expected spending.
Only 17 per cent of the 2SLGBTQQIA+-specific calls have been partially addressed. Given the cuts to Women and Gender Equality Canada, described in the next section, the remainder of the calls are at serious risk of being unaddressed in the coming years.
Conclusion and recommendations
Since the release of the calls for justice, the federal government has made meaningful investments in addressing the ongoing crisis of MMIWG2S+. Total federal spending linked to the 231 calls has been $146.3 billion from 2019-20 to 2024-25, with $24.7 billion coming from new programs spanning key areas such as child welfare, housing and infrastructure, health and wellness, culture, and safety. These investments reflect a recognition that the violence faced by Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people is systemic, and that ending it requires sustained coordinated action.
However, the data make clear that this progress is fragile. Nearly half of all federal programs linked to the calls have ended or are at risk of being sunsetted in the coming years. Annual spending on new programs is expected to fall from a peak of $3.7 billion in 2024-25 to $1.8 billion from 2028-29 onwards—a drop that risks erasing recently developed social infrastructure and reversing progress.
Importantly, this pattern reflects what many Indigenous governance scholars describe as “austerity through expiration”—where commitments are not explicitly withdrawn but are, instead, allowed to lapse, producing structural instability while preserving the appearance of ongoing reconciliation investment.
Families and survivors have long called for sustained long-term investment that allows communities to plan, build trust, and deliver results. As the federal government considers its fiscal priorities in the years ahead, whether it renews and expands these commitments will be a measure of Canada’s willingness to match its stated values with meaningful action.
Recommendations
1. Renew and stabilize funding for core MMIWG2S+ programs
The federal government should immediately renew funding for programs at risk of being sunsetted between 2026–27 and 2030–31, particularly those related to mental wellness, housing, Jordan’s Principle, Inuit Child First Initiative, Indigenous policing, homelessness prevention, and Indigenous women’s and 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations. Multi-year statutory or long-term funding mechanisms should replace short-term proposal-based models wherever possible.
This shift is necessary not only for service continuity but also to address the structural reliance on competitive, time-limited funding models that place disproportionate administrative burdens on Indigenous organizations while undermining self-determination. Stable, long-term funding must also prioritize prevention and upstream investments that address the root causes of violence, including poverty, housing insecurity, child welfare involvement, systemic racism, gender-based violence, and barriers to culturally grounded health, education, and wellness supports. Violence prevention strategies must also include investments in economic security, including income supports, employment pathways, childcare, education, and culturally grounded community development initiatives that reduce vulnerability to exploitation, trafficking, homelessness, and gender-based violence.
2. Establish a permanent MMIWG2S+ funding framework
Canada should create a permanent federal funding framework dedicated to implementation of the calls for justice, with clear long-term fiscal commitments tied to measurable outcomes. This framework should include transparent annual reporting to parliament on spending, implementation progress, and unmet calls.
Such a framework must move beyond symbolic reporting mechanisms toward enforceable fiscal obligations, ensuring that implementation is not subject to shifting political priorities or annual budget cycles.
3. Prioritize Indigenous-led and community-delivered services
Funding should increasingly flow directly to First Nations, Inuit, Métis, urban Indigenous and 2SLGBTQI+ organizations that deliver frontline prevention, healing, housing, safety, and cultural programming. Community-led initiatives are often the most effective because they are grounded in lived experience, cultural knowledge, and local relationships.
This also requires addressing the current intermediary funding structure, which often positions Indigenous organizations as subcontractors of state priorities rather than as autonomous decision-makers with jurisdiction over program design and delivery. Families and Survivors must remain central decision-makers in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of all MMIWG2S+ initiatives and funding frameworks.
4. Address the severe funding gaps facing urban Indigenous communities
Given that the majority of Indigenous Peoples live in urban areas, the federal government should significantly increase sustained investments in urban Indigenous housing, shelters, transitional housing, mental health supports, and violence prevention services. Programs such as Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples should be expanded and stabilized rather than reduced.
Urban Indigenous funding frameworks must be recognized as core infrastructure rather than discretionary programming, particularly given the longstanding mismatch between population realities and funding allocation models.
5. Protect and expand funding for Indigenous women’s and 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations
Indigenous women’s organizations and 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations continue to play a critical role in advocacy, prevention, crisis response, and systems accountability. Dedicated operational funding should be made permanent and expanded to ensure these organizations can retain staff, plan long-term, and meet growing community needs.
6. Improve accountability and public transparency
The federal government should publicly release annual implementation scorecards tracking progress on each call for justice, including which calls remain unaddressed, where funding has lapsed, and how outcomes are being measured. Independent Indigenous-led oversight bodies must be adequately resourced to monitor progress and report publicly. Again, families and Survivors must remain central decision-makers in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of all MMIWG2S+ initiatives and funding frameworks.
Accountability mechanisms must also capture funding discontinuities—not only program existence—so that “implementation” reflects continuity and accessibility rather than nominal program presence. Implementation accountability should further include independent review and investigation mechanisms through a National Indigenous and Human Rights Ombuds Office, consistent with Call for Justice 1.7, to ensure governments remain accountable to Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, families, and Survivors.
7. Accelerate investments in Indigenous housing, shelters, and safe infrastructure
Safe housing remains one of the most critical violence prevention measures. Canada should renew and expand Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy and distinctions-based Indigenous housing strategies, including urban Indigenous housing, second-stage shelters, transportation infrastructure, and safe spaces for women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people fleeing violence.
Federal investments in major infrastructure projects and economic development projects, including extractive industries, resource corridors, and potential pipeline developments, must also include mandatory, Indigenous-led safety and violence prevention measures for affected communities. This should include sustained funding for community safety planning, emergency response capacity, culturally safe supports, housing, transportation, and monitoring mechanisms addressing the documented links between resource extraction projects, transient workforces, and increased violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.
8. Strengthen Indigenous-led health, mental wellness, and trauma supports
The federal government should make long-term investments in Indigenous-led mental health, addictions recovery, trauma healing, and culturally grounded wellness services. Programs addressing anti-Indigenous racism within health care systems should also be made permanent and expanded nationwide.
9. Advance justice and policing reform in partnership with Indigenous Peoples
Canada should accelerate implementation of Indigenous policing legislation, strengthen civilian oversight and accountability mechanisms, improve supports for families of missing persons, implement a national Red Dress Alert, and ensure sustainable funding for Indigenous-led community safety initiatives and victim services.
10. Recognize implementation of the calls for justice as a core human rights obligation
The calls for justice are legal imperatives grounded in Indigenous rights, human rights, and Canada’s obligations under UNDRIP, CEDAW, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action. Future federal budgets and policy decisions should treat implementation as an essential responsibility tied to reconciliation, safety, and justice.
This requires moving beyond a reconciliation framework grounded in discretionary investment toward one grounded in binding obligations, where fiscal policy is aligned with substantive rights enforcement rather than symbolic progress indicators.
The evidence presented in this report demonstrates that progress is possible when governments make sustained investments and work in partnership with Indigenous women, families, survivors, communities, and organizations. At the same time, the projected decline in funding over the coming years poses a serious risk to the fragile gains that have been made.
The calls for justice were never intended to be symbolic commitments; they were intended to save lives. The decisions made by parliament in the years ahead will determine whether Canada moves toward safety, justice, and accountability, or whether critical progress is allowed to stall. Sustained action is both necessary and achievable. Families and survivors deserve nothing less.
Ultimately, without structural guarantees against funding instability and program expiration, “progress” remains contingent rather than secured—subject to the very fiscal cycles that have historically reproduced the conditions of harm the calls for justice were designed to address.
Appendix A: Methodology
The data used in this report were collected and constructed using the following procedure.
Identification of relevant calls for justice
A review was conducted to identify which of the 231 Calls for Justice are relevant to the federal government. For example, Call 18.9 (“We call upon First Nations, Métis, and Inuit leadership and advocacy bodies to equitably include 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, and for national Indigenous organizations to have a 2SLGBTQQIA+ council or similar initiative”) is not relevant, while Call 12.13 (“We call upon all governments and child welfare agencies to fully implement the Spirit Bear Plan”) is. Calls that are relevant to federal agencies and other institutions, such as Correctional Service Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, are included.
Identification of relevant federal programs and initiatives
Using the Government of Canada’s 2024-25 Federal Pathway Annual Progress Report, federal programs or initiatives that are relevant to each call for justice were identified. Some programs are relevant for multiple calls. For example, the Indigenous Screen Office is relevant to calls 2.7 (in the culture category) and 6.1 (in the media and social influencers category).
Identification and estimation of funding amounts
Funding amounts from 2019-20 to 2030-31 were identified using a variety of sources. Whenever possible, actual expenditure data were used. These were drawn from departmental plans and results reports as well as the GC Infobase federal government spending database. When these were unavailable, budget allocations from federal budget documents were used. When these were unavailable, the amounts specified in the 2024-25 Federal Pathway Annual Progress Report were used.
Where year-by-year data were available, they were used directly. Where these were unavailable, but the program sat within a larger spending envelope, its annual allocation was estimated proportionally based on the envelope’s trend. Where neither applied, spending was distributed evenly across years.
For many ongoing programs (i.e., programs that are continuing indefinitely or are not at risk of being sunset), the available data ended before 2030-31. If the annual funding was fairly stable, it was assumed that it continued that way. If the annual funding followed a trend, the trend was assumed to continue.
In some cases, funding amounts were difficult to identify. Where a program fell within a larger spending envelope and an approximate amount was known, it was assumed to follow the larger program’s trend based on its proportional share.
Data were collected between January 2026 and late April 2026 and, therefore, reflect announced funding up to this date.
Overall, the data in this report should be taken as estimates of past spending and projections of future spending, since they are based on a combination of actual expenditure, projected expenditure, and budget allocations.
Calculation of funding shares
Some programs, such as the National Housing Strategy or Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate, apply to all Canadians rather than Indigenous Peoples exclusively. Where possible, the relevant Indigenous share of these programs was identified and incorporated into the data. Where this was not possible, the Indigenous share was estimated based on Indigenous Peoples’ proportion of the total population (using data from the 2021 Census).
To analyze spending across distinctions, the share of each program going to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples was calculated. Whenever possible, the relevant share of these programs was identified and incorporated into the data. When this was not possible, that group’s share was estimated based on their proportion of the total Indigenous population (using data from the 2021 Census).
In some cases, actual spending data across programs were combined in original sources but separated in the pathways report (for example, funding for Supporting First Nations Children through Jordan’s Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative). In these cases, combined program spending was applied to each program, prorated based on a spending ratio derived from other spending reports.
Other methodological considerations
- This analysis relies on the 2024-25 Federal Pathway Annual Progress Report, which is the most recent progress report. It is unlikely that our analysis is missing many programs since very few have been announced since 2024-25, and we have corroborated our findings with other sources. Most notably, commitments from the 2025 federal budget and the 2026 federal spring economic update have been included.
- Programs without funding, or funded by reallocating existing departmental resources, are not included in this report.
- Because many programs span multiple categories, spending totals within each category are generally overestimates and will exceed the total across all categories when summed.
- The data presented in this report are in nominal terms. This implies that programs with “stable” funding levels are, in real terms, facing cuts.
Appendix B: References
Assembly of First Nations. 2025. Breathing Life into the Calls for Justice: Thematic Analysis of Human Trafficking (2025 CFJ Progress Report). https://afn.bynder.com/m/2d9148a283482600/original/Breathing-Life-into-the-Calls-for-Justice-Thematic-Analysis-on-Human-Trafficking2025-CFJ-Progress-Report.pdf
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. 2024. Indigenous Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative. https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/professionals/project-funding-and-mortgage-financing/funding-programs/all-funding-programs/shelter-and-transitional-housing-initiative-for-indigenous.
Collier, Brittany. 2020. Services for Indigenous People Living in Urban Areas. Library of Parliament. https://lop.parl.ca/staticfiles/PublicWebsite/Home/ResearchPublications/BackgroundPapers/PDF/2020-66-e.pdf.
CTV News. 2025. “First Nations life expectancy 19 years lower than other Albertans.” CTV News. February 9, 2025. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/first-nations-life-expectancy-19-years-lower-than-other-albertans/
First Nations Health Authority and Office of the Provincial Health Officer. 2024. First Nations Population Health and Wellness Agenda: First Interim Update, 2024. Government of British Columbia. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/reports-publications/special-reports/first_nations_phwa_full_report.pdf
Gahagan, Jacquie, Dale Kirby, Melanie Doucet, and Mary Holland. March 25, 2026. “The crisis of youth aging out of care is why Canada needs a children and youth commissioner.” The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-crisis-of-youth-aging-out-of-care-is-why-canada-needs-a-children-and-youth-commissioner-277362.
Government of Canada. 2024. “Indigenous Screen Office.” https://www.canada.ca/en/services/culture/arts-media/film-video/indigenous-screen-office.html.
Indigenous Services Canada. 2023a. “2022-23 Details on Transfer Payments Program.” Government of Canada. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1642089540833/1642089614522#chp13.
Indigenous Services Canada. 2023b. “Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund, Urban Component.” Government of Canada. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1663943527338/1663943752726.
Indigenous Services Canada. 2023c. “Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples.” Government of Canada. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1471368138533/1536932634432.
Indigenous Services Canada. 2024. “Evaluation of the Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples Program.” Government of Canada. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1743776373551/1743776420361.
Indigenous Services Canada. 2026. “2026-27 Details on Transfer Payments Program.” Government of Canada. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1767991086528/1767991165626#sec1-27.
Katz, Alan, Kathi Avery Kinew, Leona Star, Carole Taylor, Ina Koseva, Josée Lavoie, Charles Burchill, Marcelo L Urquia, Andrew Basham, Leanne Rajotte, Venkata Ramayanam, Jessica Jarmasz, Susan Burchill. 2019. “The Health Status of and Access to Healthcare by Registered First Nations People in Manitoba.” Manitoba Centre for Health Policy. http://mchp-appserv.cpe.umanitoba.ca/reference/FN_Report_web.pdf
McLeod, Marsha. February 13, 2025. “Indigenous safe housing in limbo.” Winnipeg Free Press. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/featured/2025/02/13/indigenous-safe-housing-in-limbo.
National Association of Friendship Centres. 2022. Urban Programming for Indigenous People (UPIP) Evaluation. https://nafc.ca/downloads/upip-en.pdf.
Native Women’s Association of Canada. 2025. Annual Scorecard: The Federal Government’s MMIWG2S+ National Action Plan. https://nwac-afac.ca/assets-documents/en_MMIWG2S_scorecards_MMIWG2S_V4.pdf
Natural Resources Canada. 2025. “Funding to renew support for the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees for the Trans-Mountain Expansion Project and the Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Project – Natural Resources Canada.” https://natural-resources.canada.ca/corporate/transparency/funding-renew-support-indigenous-advisory-monitoring-committees-trans-mountain-expansion-project-enbridge-line-3-replacement-project.
Snyder, Marcie, Lisa Avery, Monica Cyr, Julia Iannace, Kate Mazzietti, Genevieve Blais, and Janet Smylie. 2025. Our Health Counts First Nations & Metis Winnipeg. Community Report #1: Wahkotowin ~ Kinship: Project Overview & Adult Demographics. Well Living House. http://www.welllivinghouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/OHC-FNM-Winnipeg-Mini-Report-1-March2026_compressed.pdf.
Statistics Canada. 2022. “Indigenous population continues to grow and is much younger than the non-Indigenous population, although the pace of growth has slowed.” Government of Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220921/dq220921a-eng.htm.
Statistics Canada. 2023. “Indigenous languages across Canada.” Government of Canada. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/98-200-x/2021012/98-200-x2021012-eng.cfm.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) Senior Economist David Macdonald and Senior Researcher Katherine Scott for their assistance with this report.
