Child welfare
Learn how the Government of Canada is responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action 1 to 5.
Based on data provided October 2025.
1. We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to commit to reducing the number of Aboriginal children in care by:
- Monitoring and assessing neglect investigations.
- Providing adequate resources to enable Aboriginal communities and child-welfare organizations to keep Aboriginal families together where it is safe to do so, and to keep children in culturally appropriate environments, regardless of where they reside.
- Ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the history and impacts of residential schools.
- Ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the potential for Aboriginal communities and families to provide more appropriate solutions to family healing.
- Requiring that all child-welfare decision makers consider the impact of the residential school experience on children and their caregivers.
What's happening?
The Government of Canada is committed to reducing the number of Indigenous children and youth in care through major ongoing reforms in child and family services.
The reform agenda for the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) program has shifted the program from a protection focus to one of prevention and early intervention services to support the well-being of First Nations children.
These prevention investments support First Nations in developing and implementing services that address the distinct child and family services needs of their community members in culturally appropriate ways, to keep families together.
Distinct prevention and early intervention services seek to address the underlying causes of contact with the child welfare protection system.
An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (the Act) was co-developed with Indigenous partners with the aim of reducing the number of Indigenous children in care and reforming child and family services.
The Act:
- came into force on January 1, 2020
- affirms the inherent right of self-government for First Nations, Inuit and Métis, which includes jurisdiction in relation to child and family services
- sets out standards and principles for the provision of child and family services in relation to Indigenous children such as:
- the best interests of the child, prioritizing preventative care
- cultural continuity
- substantive equality
- contributes to the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- provides an opportunity for Indigenous Peoples to develop policies and laws based on their particular histories, cultures, and circumstances, choose their own solutions for their children and families, and move at their own pace to implement and enforce their policies and laws in relation to child and family services
The Act aims to promote cultural continuity and stronger communities for current and future generations.
Recent budget investments
The FNCFS program's reform responds to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) orders and the Agreement-in-Principle on long-term reform that was signed on December 30, 2021. On April 1, 2022, the FNCFS program began implementing immediate measures to reduce the number of First Nations children in care and enhance supports for children, youth and families. In addition, 2021 CHRT 41, the CHRT's amended capital order, was implemented in the spring of 2022. This provided funding for the purchase and construction of capital assets that support the delivery of First Nations child and family services, as well as the delivery of Jordan's Principle.
As a result of these efforts to reform the FNCFS Program, the budget tripled, from $680 million in 2016, to more than $3.571 billion in 2023 to 2024.
Since the Act was brought into force on January 2020, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) continues to support the implementation of the Act by:
- providing capacity-building and engagement funding
- funding the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws
- establishing coordination agreement discussion tables, of which 25 are active as of October 2025
- working with Indigenous, provincial and territorial partners
Specifically:
- more than $283 million was allocated for multi-year capacity-building purposes to 259 First Nation, Inuit and Métis groups exploring the exercise jurisdiction over child and family services through its framework
- $8.4 million was allocated to support more than 60 Indigenous-led, distinctions-based Governance Engagement Mechanisms sessions on the effective transition and implementation of the Act
- more than $49 million in funding for Indigenous communities to facilitate their participation in coordination agreement discussions with Canada, provinces, and territories
- close to $2.4 billion has been committed through 15 signed agreements as of October 2025
- this funding is meant to be predictable, stable, sustainable, needs-based, and consistent with the principle of substantive equality
The Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People, the Government of Canada's contribution to the 2021 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan, will continue to build on the increased support provided by the FNCFS program as the implementation process begins.
Recent progress
In regards of the FNCFS Program, on July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a tentative $47.8 billion Final Agreement on the Long-Term Reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program.
On October 18, 2024, the First Nations-in-Assembly voted to reject the $47.8 billion Final Agreement on the Long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program.
On February 26, 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, and Canada jointly announced they have reached a $8.5 billion landmark Agreement to reform First Nations child and family services in Ontario.
On March 7, 2025, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Chiefs of Ontario filed a joint motion with the Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and to end its oversight over the First Nations Child and Family Services Program in Ontario.
With respect to the Act, on February 9, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families as a whole is constitutionally valid. In doing so, the Court upheld Parliament's ability to affirm that the inherent right of self-government includes jurisdiction over child and family services.
Since the Act came into force in January 2020, the following progress has been made:
- 107 notices to exercise jurisdiction have been provided by 86 Indigenous governing bodies
- 63 requests to enter into coordination agreement discussions have been provided by 39 Indigenous governing bodies
- 15 coordination agreements have been signed, including 3 bilateral agreements
- 17 Indigenous laws are in force
- 564 capacity building proposals have been approved
- more than 60 Indigenous-led, distinctions-based Governance Engagement Mechanisms sessions have taken place
- 25 active coordination agreement discussion tables are currently in place
Next steps
ISC continues to fund and support the holistic and culturally appropriate delivery of prevention and protection services to meet the needs of children, youth, and families who are ordinarily resident on reserve or in Yukon, while working to advance the long-term reform of the FNCFS Program.
The Act was designed to support Indigenous groups, communities and Peoples in transitioning toward exercising jurisdiction in relation to child and family services at their chosen pace. As a next step, ISC will continue to work towards the development of a long-term funding approach to implement the Act.
Additionally, building on the unanimous opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada on February 9, 2024, that providing Indigenous child welfare services is "the responsibility of both levels of government, which must act in a concerted fashion", ISC will continue to collaborate with provinces and territories to establish coordinated approaches that ensure the continued safety and well-being of Indigenous children and families.
The Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People, the Government of Canada's contribution to the 2021 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan, affirms measures will be taken to support Indigenous-led education and awareness activities for Indigenous children, youth and families to improve and expand support and services to Indigenous children, families and communities based on their particular histories, cultures and circumstances to keep them mentally, spiritually and physically well.
2. We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, to prepare and publish annual reports on the number of Aboriginal children (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) who are in care, compared with non-Aboriginal children, as well as the reasons for apprehension, the total spending on preventive and care services by child-welfare agencies, and the effectiveness of various interventions.
What's happening?
In 2018, Canada committed to advancing progress on the 6 points of action to address the over-representation of Indigenous children and youth in care. One of these points includes the creation of a data and reporting strategy with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners.
The goal of this strategy is to increase inter-jurisdictional data collection, sharing and reporting to better understand the rates and reasons for apprehension.
To support this work, engagement with National Indigenous Organizations and provincial and territorial partners is underway to discuss strategies and approaches to encourage progress on data and information sharing, including identifying data needs and establishing outcomes and measurements. These efforts are reinforced by An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (the Act) came into force in January 2020. The Act supports Indigenous communities that are interested in enhancing their data capacity.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has collaborated with provinces and territories, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) as well as Indigenous governments and organizations to develop the Canadian Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS), a national population-based information system that uses routinely collected data about children and families involved with the child welfare system. CCWIS provides timely and relevant national data to inform a public health approach to child welfare and child and family well-being.
PHAC continues to engage with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis governments and organizations, ISC, and provinces and territories to strengthen national child welfare data. This information will contribute to the evidence base to strengthen policies and programs that support Indigenous children, youth and families.
Recent budget investments
Since An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families was brought into force in 2020, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) has committed approximately $2.7 billion to support capacity building, governance engagement mechanisms, coordination agreement discussions and multi-year implementation of Indigenous child and family services laws and service models.
The funding includes support for data and information management systems that can help improve the reporting on the extent of Indigenous children in care as part of community-led, prevention-based solutions to reduce the number of children in care.
Indigenous communities that exercise jurisdiction over their child and family services under the Act also commit to sharing with their members or citizens annual reports that could feature information on the number of their children who are in care as well as reasons for apprehension, spending on preventive and care services, and the effectiveness of various interventions.
In addition, ISC supports new data collection and reporting approaches with Indigenous communities through Knowledge-Exchange sessions and pilot projects to foster a greater understanding of the reality facing Indigenous children and youth.
Under the proposed Ontario Final Agreement for the long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) Program, which addresses the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) orders to reform the FNCFS Program, there is top-up funding specifically focused on the compilation and reporting of results by First Nations and their agencies.
In addition, GC Infobase’s Infographic for Department of Indigenous Services, ISC’s Departmental Results Report 2023 to 2024, and the Government of Canada’s Public Accounts: Volume roman numeral 3 Section 6: Transfer payments, includes information related to First Nations children coming to care for the first time, the types of care, such as kinship care, as well as spending on preventive and care services by child-welfare agencies.
Lastly, FNCFS staff provide data and guidance for the Public Health Agency Canada’s Canadian Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) that seeks to report more detailed information on Indigenous children and youth.
Recent progress
In early 2021, ISC began work on the co-development of increased interjurisdictional data collection, sharing and reporting strategies and approaches. This initiative was carried out through distinctions-based working groups of representatives from Indigenous, provincial and territorial partners.
In October 2022, ISC launched a series of knowledge-exchange sessions focused on exploring key elements of data governance, management and information sharing as part of the department's objective to support Indigenous Governing Bodies in building additional data capacity as they exercise jurisdiction in relation to child and family services.
Since launching the series, ISC has hosted 9 sessions. This Indigenous-led series has been regularly attended by an average of 68 participants, representing 41 unique communities and 2 National Indigenous Organizations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) and the Métis National Council. Additionally, the series led to a small demonstration project supporting a small number of communities in identifying their child and family service vision and leveraging this vision to document a business requirements framework to be used in the development of a child and family services information system.
Building on this momentum, in November 2024, ISC and ITK co-developed and published the Inuit-specific child welfare data discussion paper. The discussion paper was prepared to better understand the current state of child and family services data collected by provinces, territories and Inuit Treaty Organizations, and the degree to which Inuit identity is recorded and distinguishable. This paper is the first milestone within a comprehensive strategy to better identify and support Inuit children in care. The paper supports an Inuit-driven approach to child and family service delivery and Inuit child welfare sovereignty.
Currently, ISC is supporting ITK in the implementation of the Inuit-specific child welfare data discussion paper’s Next Steps and Supporting Actions. This includes the population of a self-report tracker detailing which provinces, territories and Inuit Treaty Organizations include mandatory indigenous-identity data fields within their child and family service information management systems. Additionally, the tracker provides opportunities for respondents to detail the effort, time and support needed to integrate Indigenous- identity fields within their respective systems.
In addition, ISC continues to work with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) to finalize a data-specific workplan that includes strategies in conjunction with provinces and territories to better identify and enumerate First Nations children in care.
Through all these initiatives, ISC is committed to a co-development process that strives to respect Indigenous data sovereignty.
ISC tracks the number of First Nations children who reside or ordinarily reside on a reserve or in the Yukon, that are in care, and are receiving services funded by the FNCFS Program. This data is reported annually, using a point in time count taken on the last day of the fiscal year.
Findings indicate that as of March 31, 2023:
- the percentage of children who came into care for the first time (as a proportion of all children in care) decreased from 19.30% in 2016 to 14.95% in 2023, for a decrease of 22.5% of children over 7 years
- the percentage of children in kinship care (as a proportion of all children in care) increased from 16.19% in 2016 to 28.34% in 2023, for an increase of 75% over 7 years
It is important to note that children in kinship care experience greater stability in care, and they are less likely to re-enter care compared to those children placed in non-kin or in-shelter care.
PHAC published the first CCWIS report in 2024. Since then, work has been ongoing to improve national coverage, including updated information from provinces, territories and ISC (custom tabulations) about children in out-of-home care. Analysis has been conducted to provide breakdowns by province, territory, year, sex, gender, age group, placement type, and legal status, in preparation for the second report.
PHAC had been working in close partnership with the Nunatsiavut Government to examine out-of-home care among Inuit children and youth in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Next steps
It is recognized in the Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People that Canada currently lacks the detailed statistical data that governments, public institutions, academics and advocates need to:
- make fully informed, evidence-based policy decisions
- effectively address racial and social inequities
The Government of Canada is committed to co-developing distinctions-based national data strategies and continuing to support Indigenous-led data strategies for First Nations, Inuit and Métis.
The Government of Canada is committed to a partnership approach to data development that respects co-development and addresses the need for national standards to ensure the information collected is relevant and meets the needs and priorities of Indigenous peoples. The government recognizes the importance of Indigenous data sovereignty as a key principle of the proposed partnership approach and in supporting Indigenous self-determination.
The department will seek ways to develop new indicators and systems to support the distinctions-based requirements for prevention and child and family services emerging from communities, agencies and organizations across the country.
PHAC plans to release the second CCWIS report in 2026, focusing on improved national coverage of data about children and youth in out-of-home care and their legal status.
The Nunatsiavut Government and PHAC plan to publish a study of out-of-home care among Inuit children and youth in Newfoundland and Labrador. An additional report will describe how the Nunatsiavut Government and PHAC applied Inuit research principles to their partnership and study.
PHAC is working with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Inuit treaty organizations to consider ways to further develop Inuit-specific child welfare data at the Inuit regional and national level as part of the CCWIS.
3. We call upon all levels of government to fully implement Jordan's Principle.
What's happening?
Between July 2016 and September 2025, more than 10 million products, services, and supports were approved under Jordan's Principle.
Additional information and the most up-to-date numbers can be found at Jordan's Principle.
Recent budget investments
As of March 2025, nearly $10 billion has been invested to meet the needs of First Nations children through Jordan's Principle.
Indigenous Services Canada continues to support Jordan’s Principe to ensure that First Nations children continue to have access to the products, services, and supports they need. Most recently, on March 22, 2025, the Minister of Indigenous Services announced the continued funding for Jordan’s Principle through 2025 to 2026.
The Government of Canada also continues to address the immediate needs of Inuit children through the Inuit Child First Initiative. Since 2019, $509.2 million has been committed to the initiative. In March 2025, an additional $121.7 million was allocated through March 31, 2026 to support ongoing service delivery in the interim while Canada and Inuit Partners move forward on the co-development of a long-term approach for Inuit children.
Recent progress
In order to expedite decision making, address the increased demand, support partners providing critical services to First Nations children, and improve the long-term sustainability of Jordan’s Principle, the Government of Canada has made changes to operating procedures in February 2025 to provide further clarity and consistency around the services available for First Nations children through Jordan’s Principle.
Next steps
The Government of Canada will continue to uphold and honour Jordan's Principle while also working with First Nations partners, provinces and territories to develop long-term approaches to help better address the unique health, social and education needs of First Nations children. This includes continued engagement with parties and First Nations on the ongoing implementation of Jordan's Principle.
Indigenous Services Canada will continue to work with Inuit partners to co-develop the long-term approach to the Inuit Child First Initiative.
4. We call upon the federal government to enact Aboriginal child-welfare legislation that establishes national standards for Aboriginal child apprehension and custody cases and includes principles that:
- Affirm the right of Aboriginal governments to establish and maintain their own child-welfare agencies.
- Require all child-welfare agencies and courts to take the residential school legacy into account in their decision making.
- Establish, as an important priority, a requirement that placements of Aboriginal children into temporary and permanent care be culturally appropriate.
What's happening?
As part of its commitment to reform child and family services, the Government of Canada hosted an emergency national meeting in January 2018 on First Nations, Inuit and Métis child and family services with Indigenous partners, provinces and territories, child and family services experts, advocates and youth.
At the meeting, the Government of Canada committed to Progress on 6 points of action to address the over-representation of Indigenous children and youth in care in Canada.
One of the points of action was a commitment to work with partners to support communities to exercise jurisdiction in the area of child and family services, including exploring co-developed federal legislation.
Throughout the summer and fall of 2018, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) held engagements to co-develop options for child and family services federal legislation. As part of that engagement, officials held over 65 engagement sessions across the country and met with nearly 2,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis participants including leaders and experts. Additional engagements took place with Indigenous, provincial and territorial partners in January 2019 to gather feedback on the content of the draft legislation. On February 28, 2019, Bill C-92, An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (the Act), was introduced in Parliament.
On June 21, 2019, the Act received Royal Assent and it came into force on January 1, 2020.
The Act affirms the rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to exercise jurisdiction over child and family services and contributes to the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Act provides an opportunity for Indigenous peoples to develop policies and laws based on their particular histories, cultures, and circumstances, choose their own solutions for their children and families, and move at their own pace to implement and enforce their policies and laws in relation to child and family services.
The proposed pathways, leading to the exercise of jurisdiction included in the Act recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to Indigenous child and family services.
Indigenous communities, groups and peoples can exercise jurisdiction to develop their own child and family services models, systems and laws based on Indigenous values, worldviews, languages and cultures. The Act was designed to enable Indigenous groups, communities and peoples to transition towards exercising jurisdiction over child and family services at their chosen pace.
The standards set out in the Act include the prioritization of preventive care over other services and the placement of Indigenous children in care with family members or within their communities. These standards promote cultural continuity and stronger communities for current and future generations.
Engagement on the implementation of the Act remains ongoing. The Government of Canada works directly with Indigenous partners at the community, regional and national levels to ensure a wide range of Indigenous voices provide direction on the implementation of the Act.
The Federal Pathway to address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People, announced in June 2021, affirms measures will be taken to support Indigenous-led education and awareness activities for Indigenous children, youth and families, and will improve and expand support and services to Indigenous children, families, and communities based on their particular histories, cultures, and circumstances to keep them mentally, spiritually, and physically well.
Recent budget investments
Since the Act came into force in January 2020, ISC continues to support the implementation of the Act by:
- providing capacity-building and engagement funding
- funding the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws
- establishing coordination agreement discussion tables
- working with Indigenous, provincial, and territorial partners
Specifically:
- more than $283 million was allocated for multi-year capacity-building purposes to 259 First Nation, Inuit and Métis groups exploring the exercise jurisdiction over child and family services through its framework
- $8.4 million was allocated to support more than 60 Indigenous-led, distinctions-based Governance Engagement Mechanisms sessions on the effective transition and implementation of the Act
- over $49 million in funding for Indigenous communities to facilitate their participation in coordination agreement discussions with Canada, provinces, and territories
- close to $2.4 billion has been committed through 15 coordination agreements (as of October 2025)
- this funding is meant to be predictable, stable, sustainable, needs-based and consistent with the principle of substantive equality
Recent progress
On February 9, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed, in a unanimous opinion, that An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families as a whole is constitutionally valid. In doing so, the Court upheld Parliament's ability to affirm that the inherent right of self-government includes jurisdiction over child and family services.
As of October 2025, the following progress has been made:
- 107 notices to exercise jurisdiction have been provided by 86 Indigenous governing bodies
- 63 requests to enter into coordination agreement discussions have been provided by 39 Indigenous governing bodies
- 15 coordination agreements have been signed, including 3 bilateral agreements
- 17 Indigenous laws are in force
- 564 capacity building proposals have been approved
- more than 60 Indigenous-led, distinctions-based Governance Engagement Mechanisms sessions have taken place
- 25 active coordination agreement discussion tables are in place
Next steps
In 2025, ISC, in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples, including representatives of First nations, Inuit and Métis, will undertake the first mandatory 5 year review of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families. This review will provide an opportunity to engage, consult and gather meaningful feedback from Indigenous partners, communities and individuals on the provisions and operation of the Act.
Canada will continue to consult with Indigenous partners, administer capacity funding and enter into coordination agreements to support Indigenous communities wishing to exercise jurisdiction over their child and family services.
5. We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to develop culturally appropriate parenting programs for Aboriginal families.
What's happening?
In 2018, the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) program began offering funding directly to First Nations to:
- expand the availability of prevention and well-being initiatives that are responsive to community needs
- support First Nations in developing and implementing jurisdictional models
Eligible activities supported by this funding include the development and implementation of culturally appropriate parenting programming.
Since April 1, 2022, Canada has funded prevention services under the FNCFS Program at $2,500 per registered First Nation person resident on reserve and in Yukon adjusted annually based on inflation and population. Funds are directed to the First Nations or First Nations child and family service providers responsible for the delivery of prevention services.
The development and delivery of prevention services aims to support the safety and well-being of First Nations, children, youth, young adults, families and communities, in an approach that is culturally appropriate, in their best interests, and in accordance with substantive equality.
Prevention services including at the primary, secondary or tertiary levels, are evidence-informed and culturally-appropriate, address identified risk factors, and build protective factors within families and communities. Prevention includes targeted services and activities that address structural drivers in order to mitigate the risks factors that could place children at risk of harm and reduce the likelihood of children being taken into care. Prevention is a continuum of care that is based on the needs of the child and interventions can be included at all stages of prevention.
The Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework, introduced in September 2018, provides additional funding for Indigenous-led, enhanced and culturally-appropriate programs and services for Indigenous children and families.
For example, the Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities, supported by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has provided funding to Indigenous community-based organizations to develop and deliver programs that promote the healthy development of Indigenous preschool children and their families. Data from 2023 to 2024 shows that 100% of Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities projects had parental or family support available.
See Call to Action 12 for more information about how the government is working in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Métis governments and organizations to advance the early learning and child care goals of the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework.
An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (the Act):
- came into force on January 1, 2020
- affirms the inherent right of self-government for First Nations, Inuit and Métis, including jurisdiction in relation to child and family services
- contributes to the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- provides an opportunity for Indigenous Peoples to develop policies and laws based on their particular histories, cultures, and circumstances, choose their own solutions for their children and families, and move at their own pace to implement and enforce their policies and laws in relation to child and family services
The standards set out in the Act include the prioritization of preventive care over other services and the placement of Indigenous children in care with family members or within their communities. These standards aim to promote cultural continuity and stronger communities for current and future generations.
The principles and minimum standards established under the Act are designed to benefit all Indigenous children and families regardless of whether Indigenous communities or groups decide to exercise jurisdiction over child and family services under the Act.
In addition, PHAC delivers the Community Action Program for Children and the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program, which provides a total of $78.7 million per year to community organizations who develop and deliver culturally-appropriate, early intervention public heath programming for pregnant individuals, children (0 to 6) and families that face health inequities and other barriers to health, including Indigenous populations who live off reserve in urban and northern areas.
PHAC also develops resources and serves a national coordination role for the Nobody's Perfect Parenting Program, which aims to provide education and support on child health and development, parenting and coping skills to parents of children (0 to 6) who face health inequity barriers, including Indigenous parents.
Recent budget investments
In response to the Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) orders, on April 1, 2022, the FNCFS Program began implementing immediate measures to reduce the number of First Nations children in care and improve supports for children, youth, and families. As a result of these efforts to reform the FNCFS Program, the budget tripled, increasing from $680 million in 2016 to over $3.571 billion in 2023 to 2024.
Since the Act came into force in January 2020, ISC continues to support the implementation of the Act by:
- providing capacity-building and engagement funding
- funding the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws
- establishing coordination agreement discussion tables
- working with Indigenous, provincial, and territorial partners
Specifically:
- more than $283 million was allocated for multi-year capacity-building purposes to 259 First Nation, Inuit and Métis groups exploring the exercise jurisdiction over child and family services through its framework
- $8.4 million was allocated to support more than 60 Indigenous-led, distinctions-based Governance Engagement Mechanisms sessions on the effective transition and implementation of the Act
- over $49 million in funding for Indigenous communities to facilitate their participation in coordination agreement discussions with Canada, provinces, and territories
- close to $2.4 billion has been committed through 15 coordination agreements (as of October 2025)
- this funding is meant to be predictable, stable, sustainable, needs-based and consistent with the principle of substantive equality
PHAC allocates $29.1 million annually in core program funding. Through incremental investments in Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care provided through Budget 2021, the Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities program is receiving an additional $122.9 million over 5 years (2022 to 2027), with $23.2 million ongoing annually and a 3% escalator beginning in 2027 to 2028.
Recent progress
In regards to the FNCFS Program, on July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a tentative $47.8 billion Final Agreement on the Long-Term Reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program.
On October 18, 2024, the First Nations-in-Assembly voted to reject the $47.8 billion Final Agreement on the Long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program.
On February 26, 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, and Canada jointly announced they have reached a $8.5 billion landmark Agreement to reform First Nations child and family services in Ontario.
On March 7, 2025, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Chiefs of Ontario filed a joint motion with the Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and end its oversight over the First Nations Child and Family Services Program in Ontario.
In regards to An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, on February 9, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously confirmed that the Act as a whole is constitutionally valid. In doing so, the Court upheld Parliament's ability to affirm that the inherent right of self-government includes jurisdiction over child and family services.
Since the act came into force in January 2020, the following progress has been made:
- 107 notices to exercise jurisdiction have been provided by 86 Indigenous governing bodies
- 63 requests to enter into coordination agreement discussions have been provided by 39 Indigenous governing bodies
- 15 coordination agreements have been signed, including 3 bilateral agreements
- 17 Indigenous laws are in force
- 564 capacity building proposals have been approved
- more than 60 Indigenous-led, distinctions-based Governance Engagement Mechanisms sessions have taken place
- 25 active coordination agreement discussion tables are currently in place
On April 1, 2024, PHAC implemented a new administrative approach for the Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities program, the result of more than 2 years of collaboration to develop new culturally appropriate tools, templates, and processes for the administration of the program. This approach emphasizes Indigenous-led administration grounded in relationships and capacity building, ensuring program delivery reflects community priorities.
Through comprehensive engagement sessions with recipients, PHAC has ensured alignment with program needs and partner perspectives to facilitate a more effective implementation of the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Transformation Initiative. In April 2025, an additional 7 partner organizations opted to renew their funding agreements with PHAC, bringing the total number of agreements under the new administrative approach to 76.
By fostering a collaborative approach, this initiative not only strengthens program delivery but also supports a streamlined administrative process, allowing recipients to focus more of their time and resources on delivering cultural programming that reflect the values, traditions, and priorities of Indigenous families.
Next steps
The FNCFS program will continue to fund prevention and well-being initiatives to respond to community needs, which could include developing and implementing culturally appropriate parenting programming.
The Act was designed to support Indigenous groups, communities and peoples transition toward exercising jurisdiction in relation to child and family services at their chosen pace. As a next step, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) will continue to support individual Indigenous governing bodies as they develop their own governance and service delivery systems, rooted in a community-based approach and the implementation of Indigenous laws.
The Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People, released in June 2021, also affirms measures will be taken to support Indigenous-led education and awareness activities for Indigenous children, youth and families, and improve and expand support and services to Indigenous children, families and communities based on their unique histories, cultures and circumstances.
The Federal Pathway, released in June 2021, also commits to continue the progress towards an early learning and child care system that meets the needs of Indigenous families, wherever they live. This includes:
- establishing before and after-school programming for First Nations children on reserve
- providing additional funding to expand access to culturally appropriate Aboriginal Head Start day care programs and services
- repairing and renovating existing Indigenous early learning and child care centres
- building and maintaining new centres
Over the next year, PHAC continues to support Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities recipients and sites in the Indigenous-led development of parental-related programming and enrichment activities. It will continue to support Indigenous partners' self-determined vision for Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care as part of the new Canada wide child care initiative.
Moving forward into the new fiscal year, the focus will continue to be on supporting the newly-launched administrative approach for the Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities program, ensuring its smooth implementation. This includes providing ongoing assistance and resources to recipients as they navigate the new approach. By fostering collaboration and communication, PHAC aims to continue advancing Indigenous-led early learning and child care services, promoting self-determination and improved outcomes for Indigenous children and their families.