Ottawa Offers More Than $35 Billion to Reform First Nations Child Welfare Program

Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty speaks during a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa, on Dec. 22, 2025. The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby

Ottawa is submitting a plan to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to provide more than $35.5 billion in funding to reform the First Nations child welfare program.

The federal government is proposing to provide $35.5 billion to 2033–34 to reform the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) program, as well as an ongoing commitment of $4.4 billion annually after that “to make sure First Nations children and families—now and in the future—have sustainable resources,” Indigenous Services Canada said in a Dec. 22 news release.

Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty called the proposal a “historic turning point” for First Nations children, noting governments have “failed” them for decades.

Indigenous Services Canada said “far too many” First Nations children remain in care, underscoring the “urgent need for transformative change.” The department also noted the reform needs to be determined by First Nations communities and their families. The department added that regional agreements would allow First Nations to tailor the delivery of child and family services to their own needs.

The funding would also include additional supports for First Nations Representatives acting as cultural and legal advocates for their members, the department added.

Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government had proposed a $47.8 billion deal in 2024, which First Nations rejected saying the funding didn’t go far enough to protect children.

First Nations are also expected to present the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal with a competing plan to reform the First Nations child welfare system. An August tribunal order mandated the proposals.

In 2019, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered the federal government to compensate First Nations children and families, three years after its verdict that Ottawa had discriminated against First Nations children for years by not properly funding child-welfare services on reserves.

The Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society had filed a joint human rights complaint against the federal government in 2007.

Indigenous Services Canada says more than $267 million has been paid in compensation as of Dec. 2, 2025, to those who have been found to have experienced discrimination in Canada’s FNCFS program.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.