2024-2025 Highlight report: First Nations

Highlights for 2024–25

• In March 2025, Justice Canada released Canada's first-ever Indigenous Justice Strategy, which sets out a vision and priority areas to guide ongoing collaboration among Indigenous peoples, the federal government, and provincial and territorial partners to advance transformative reforms in the criminal justice system and support the revitalization of Indigenous laws and legal orders.
• Administration of Justice Agreements supported First Nations to assume greater control over the design and operation of community-governed justice systems grounded in relational accountability and local governance.
• With $49.3 million over 5 years, starting in 2020–21, and $9.7 million ongoing, Justice Canada supported the implementation of Gladue Principles, including funding for a variety of efforts, including community-based Gladue report writing and community-based post-sentence Gladue aftercare.
• Public Safety Canada continued work with key partners on the co-development of a future federal legislation, which would recognize First Nations police services as essential services.
• The Indigenous Community Corrections Initiative continued to work with successful applicants to develop culturally appropriate, community-based corrections projects that provide alternatives to incarceration and reintegration supports tailored to the unique needs of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Immediate action and progress

In 2024–25, federal investments aimed to increase access to culturally grounded legal supports and public safety services for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. Through the Indigenous Justice Strategy, First Nations legal experts and community leaders shaped reform options that aim to reflect First Nations priorities, lived realities and legal traditions. Gladue report funding and trauma-informed services were delivered to address the specific justice needs of survivors and those navigating colonial legal systems. Meanwhile, engagement on policing legislation and Administration of Justice Agreements laid foundations for more immediate safety through community-governed enforcement and protective systems.

The completion of phase I of the Teslin Tlingit Council (a Yukon Self-Governing First Nation) Administration of Justice Agreement provided resources for their Corrections and Community Services component to support Teslin Tlingit Council's vision to operate a year-round land-based healing camp that nurtures Tlingit wellness through traditional values based on Haa Ḵusteeyí ("Our Way"), which is defined by Teslin Tlingit Council as a "collective and shared understanding of who we are: our knowledge, language, art, history and relationship to our environment. The conclusion of these negotiations represents the culmination of decades of collaborative trilateral work, which marks a momentous milestone in Yukon's unique modern treaty implementation context and advances Indigenous self-determination with respect to the administration of justice.

Progress toward transformational systemic change

These initiatives aim to address systemic discrimination and promote Indigenous control over justice processes. The Indigenous Justice Strategy includes measures to support Indigenous-led and community-based alternatives to incarceration, trauma-informed approaches, and the development of culturally safe legal services.

Highlights for 2024–25

• The Pathways to Safe Indigenous Communities Initiative funded 31 First Nations projects in 2024-25, focused on culturally grounded, community-driven safety and well-being interventions.
• The Family Violence Prevention Program funded shelter expansion, second-stage housing, and culturally safe crisis supports led by First Nations organizations.
• Through the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund and other sources, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) supported the construction and renovation of safe community spaces, and schools on reserve.
• Starting in 2024–2025, ISC is delivering distinctions-based funding, over 7 years, to First Nations partners in the provinces through the Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.
• Administered by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), the Affordable Housing in the North initiative, and the Modern Treaty and Self-Governing First nations, Inuit and Métis communities, and northern First Nation and northern Métis communities streams of the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund supported the construction of safe and accessible housing in remote northern Indigenous communities.
• The Local Food Infrastructure Fund supported projects to increase access to safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food for communities experiencing food insecurity.
• The Aboriginal Community Safety Planning Initiative supported Indigenous communities in co-developing community-led strategies for improving community safety in a culturally responsive manner.

Immediate action and progress

The Pathways to Safe Indigenous Communities Initiative funded over 31 First Nations projects focused on community-driven safety and well-being priorities. Through the Family Violence Prevention Program, First Nations and First Nations organizations expanded emergency shelter capacity and access to culturally grounded second-stage housing.

Modern Treaty and Self-Governing First Nations, Inuit Treaty Organizations, Métis Governments, and northern First Nations without modern treaties delivered self-determined housing programming to respond to the diverse needs of their members through the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund.

Progress toward transformational systemic change

These initiatives support preventative and long-term, culturally grounded infrastructure solutions. First Nations-led infrastructure development strengthens community self-determination and ensures that safety, housing, and infrastructure reflect First Nation values and priorities. By resourcing the design and control of these systems, the federal government supports a shift away from temporary service models toward locally governed safety and wellness infrastructure that is better positioned to mitigate displacement, overcrowding, and violence. By addressing food insecurity in First Nations communities, the Local Food Infrastructure Fund is also supporting Indigenous communities to take ownership of their local food systems and revitalization of traditional food practices.

Highlights for 2024–25

• ISC supported the implementation of community-specific laws and child and family services delivery models under An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.
• Justice Canada's Family Information Liaison Units (FILUs) initiative, in collaboration with other levels of government, supported First Nations families within and outside the criminal justice system to access all the available information they are seeking about their missing and murdered loved ones from multiple government sources and to access services they need.
• Justice Canada's Community Support and Healing for Families supported First Nations-led community organizations to design and deliver a wide range of programs and events for families of missing or murdered loved ones to assist them with their grief and trauma of their loss and to support pathways to healing and wellness.
• Justice Canada launched the Supports for Indigenous Victims of Crime to Increase access to Indigenous-led, culturally safe, survivor-centred victim services and supports, at the community level, and reinforce and strengthen partnerships between Indigenous agencies, all levels of government, and various justice agencies to reduce the harm that Indigenous victims and survivors experience in the criminal justice system.
• Justice Canada's Indigenous Justice Program funded First Nations-led civil and family mediation services, offering alternatives to court that emphasize healing and reconciliation.
• CIRNAC's Support for the Wellbeing of Families and Survivors funded 17 First Nations projects focused on healing, culturally grounded supports, and the wellbeing of families and survivors.
• Of the over $52 million invested in Reaching Home's Distinctions-based Approach stream, First Nations and Self-Governing First Nations Governments received $28.2 million and $5.9 million respectively.

Immediate action and progress

ISC supported the implementation of community-specific laws and child and family service delivery models under An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families. Justice Canada initiatives and investments helped 3 streams of culturally safe supports:

• FILUs
• the Community Support and Healing for Families initiative
• Supports for Indigenous Victims of Crime

First Nations-led family mediation services also provided alternatives to court that emphasized preservation, reconciliation, and community-based healing.

Progress toward transformational systemic change

These initiatives support the transfer of child and family services jurisdiction to First Nations governments. They seek to dismantle colonial systems of family disruption and support First Nations authority to design prevention-first, culturally grounded care models. By funding long-term healing services and community-led legal alternatives, the federal government is contributing to systemic change that prioritizes family unity, kinship care, and child and family services First Nation jurisdiction over state-imposed removal and disconnection.

Highlights for 2024–25

• ISC's Addressing Anti-Indigenous Racism in Canada's Health Systems initiative supported Indigenous midwifery, doula education, patient advocacy and health system navigation, as well as culturally safe provider training.
• The Health Facilities Program supported First Nations infrastructure projects funded through Budget 2024's $241.7 million investment, including a new Virtual Health Hub in Saskatchewan.
• The Indigenous Health Equity Fund funded self-determined, Indigenous-led initiatives to increase fair and equitable access to quality and culturally safe health services.
• ISC continued to meet with interested partners to discuss the current status and next steps on the co-development of distinctions-based Indigenous health legislation.
• Through the Health Transformation initiative, two Agreements-in-Principle were signed with the Southern Chiefs Organization and Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin Inc., to establish a path forward in transferring the responsibility of health service delivery from Canada to their respective First Nations-led health systems. An additional 4 sub-regional health transformation projects are currently underway.
• The 9-8-8 continued to offer 24/7 suicide prevention crisis support to people across Canada. In many parts of the country, Indigenous Peoples were able to select the option of connecting to the Hope for Wellness Helpline which offers support in Cree, Ojibwe and Inuktitut, upon request.

Immediate action and progress

The Addressing Anti-Indigenous Racism in Canada's Health Systems initiative funded Indigenous-led health services that included Indigenous midwifery and doula education, the hiring of patient advocates and health system navigators, as well as culturally safe training for health professionals. The Health Facilities Program, supported the expansion, renovation and building of priority First Nations health infrastructure, including a new Virtual Health Hub in Saskatchewan. ISC's Indigenous Health Equity Fund also funded self-determined, Indigenous-led initiatives, and other distinctions-based supports responsive to the needs of First Nations women, children, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. CIRNAC also provided a transfer for the Indigenous Health Equity Fund to Inuit, Métis, and Modern Treaty and Self-Governing First Nations to support their delivery of health programming in their communities.

Progress toward transformational systemic change

These initiatives aim to address anti-Indigenous racism in health systems and expand First Nations authority over health and wellness. These processes and infrastructure investments collectively contribute to structural transformation by embedding Indigenous values and governance into the design of health systems — replacing systems of marginalization with holistic, relational models of care.

Highlights for 2024–25

• ISC's Elementary and Secondary Education Program provided approximately $1,500 per student to support language and culture programming in on reserve schools.
• ISC's adult education programming for First Nations aims to expand access for adult learners on-reserve and in the Yukon and in the Northwest Territories to complete, prepare for, or upgrade their secondary education, which can include funding for improved access to language and culture, in support of life-long learning.
• The First Nations Post-Secondary Education Strategy ($425 million annually) supports First Nations to provide eligible students with funding to access education opportunities at the post-secondary level, and support First Nations-established post-secondary education institutions and community-based programming, which can deliver culturally grounded curriculum, language instruction, and Elder mentorship.
• Canadian Heritage's Indigenous Languages Program through its Indigenous Languages Component, continued to support 4 First Nations regionally designated organizations in British Columbia, Ontario, Québec and Nova Scotia through 5-year funding agreements (approximately $45 million in 2024–25). It also concluded a new agreement with the Cree Nation Government in Québec (approximately $2 million per year) in 2024–2025 to support their own language revitalization initiatives. In other regions, it continued to provide funding (approximately $38 million in 2024–25) to fund projects that are chosen by a First Nations Review Committee.
• Library and Archives Canada's Listen, Hear Our Voices funded digitization of oral histories and community language archives.

Immediate action and progress

ISC's Elementary and Secondary Education programming provides funding so that education services and resources can better reflect student needs, culture and language, while its 3 distinctions-based post-secondary education strategies provided financial and programmatic support for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation recipients that may support culturally-relevant curriculums and language instruction. Library and Archives Canada's Listen, Hear Our Voices initiative supported oral history digitization and community archival control, contributing to language recovery and youth engagement.

Building on the work initiated in 2023–24, the Indigenous Languages Program at Canadian Heritage continued to support a self-determined approach towards First Nations language revitalization. Moving away from an annual call for applications process led by Canadian Heritage, the program now supports a First Nations Languages Funding Model and four First Nations Regionally Designated Organizations—the First Peoples' Cultural Council in British Columbia, the First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centers in Ontario, the Regional Committee on First Nations Languages in Québec and Mi'kmaw Kina'matnewey in Nova Scotia—to implement their respective language revitalization strategies. For the other regions, the program is supported by a First Nations Review Committee. This new approach puts financial decision-making in the hands of First Nations communities and organizations, providing them with autonomy to prioritize and implement language initiatives specific to their languages and ensuring funding aligns with their unique revitalization needs, goals and strategies.

Progress toward transformational systemic change

These efforts address the lack of cultural recognition that has historically contributed to the vulnerability and invisibility of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. By supporting First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation control over culture and language renewal, these programs contribute to long-term identity restoration and intergenerational healing. Investments in education, heritage preservation, and community-defined curriculum contribute to a stronger foundation for culturally safe institutions and support collective safety through cultural belonging and self-determination.