Ottawa Spent Nearly $18 Billion on ‘Specific Claims’ Settlements by First Nations Since 2015: Study

Construction workers build scaffolding on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 20, 2025. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Canada’s federal government has spent nearly $18 billion to settle ‘specific claims’ by First Nations since 2015, including more than $7 billion in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, a new study indicates.

Specific claims are filed by First Nations and are based on the government’s alleged violation of the Indian Act, relating to the administration of land or other assets, or the fulfilment of a treaty. These claims have been accepted by the federal government since 1974.

“Specific claims are for past treaty breaches, and as such, their number should be finite,” said Tom Flanagan, the author of the study published by the Fraser Institute on June 19. Flanagan is a Fraser Institute senior fellow and professor emeritus of political science at the University of Calgary.

Flanagan noted in a release that the claims have been growing over the past decade “instead of declining over time.”

The federal government spent more than $7 billion to resolve 69 specific claims in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the study found, adding that this represents an “extraordinary increase” from the 2015-2016 fiscal year, which had 15 claims that cost the government $36 million.

There were 31 settlements in the 2017-2018 fiscal year, which worked out to more than $1.2 billion in government spending. The number and value of claims had increased gradually until 2017, when both began to rise at an “extraordinary rate,” the study says.

The surge in specific claims “seems correlated” with the approach introduced by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government in 2015, the study found. The policy change was formalized in 2019 by then-Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and instructed the justice department to negotiate First Nations claims instead of litigating them.

‘Cows and Plows’

The recognition of “cows and plows” claims was another factor that influenced the sudden acceleration of the number and value of specific claims, according to the study.

These agricultural claims are based on allegations that agricultural assistance that was promised in early treaties never arrived, arrived late, or was of poor quantity or quality, including seed grain, cattle, agricultural implements, and farm instructors.

There had only been one agricultural claim prior to the Liberals taking office in 2015, which involved a settlement of $1.7 million in 1984.

Agricultural claims started to see “substantial success” starting in 2017, and especially after the 2022-2023 fiscal year. There were 23 agricultural claims settled in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which represented 33 percent of all claims settled that year and was valued at more than $3.6 billion, representing 52 percent of all government spending on First Nations specific claims.

Agricultural assistance is mentioned in the Numbered Treaties from Treaty 3 of 1873 through Treaty 10 of 1906, meaning these types of claims involve benefits that were promised more than 100 years ago. Specific claim settlements usually apply compound interest and adjustment for inflation, which results in the value of “cows and plows” settlements becoming “tens or hundreds of millions of dollars,” the study says.

Then-Justice Minister Gary Anandasangaree announced the settlement of a wave of agricultural benefit claims in March, involving $1.23 billion paid in compensation to First Nations groups for alleged violations of Treaties 4, 5, 6, and 10. The commitments included ploughs, seeds for crops, livestock, and other farming necessities, which were meant to “facilitate their economic development and food security,” a March 21 release.

“These agricultural benefit-specific claim settlements provide much-needed resources to First Nations that have been waiting for justice for far too long,” Anandasangaree said the in the release. “It is a testament to our continued efforts to address the wrongs of the past and to ensure that Indigenous communities can thrive and benefit from the resources they are entitled to.”

Chief Evan Taypotat of the Kahkewistahaw First Nation said in the release that the settlements represent a step forward in the “fight for Treaty rights.”

“This settlement is about correcting the agricultural benefits injustice promised to our ancestors. Now, we can use these funds to improve the lives of our youth, adult warriors, and elders, ensuring that future generations will also benefit,” he said.

Recommendations

The report recommends the new Liberal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney terminates the specific claims program and sets a “short but reasonable period” for final claims to be submitted, such as three years.

“First Nations have had 50 years to study their history, looking for violations of treaty and legislation,” Flanagan said in a June 19 statement. “That is more than enough time for the discovery of legitimate grievances.”

“Ottawa should set a deadline for filing specific claims so that the government and First Nations leaders can focus instead on programs that would do more to improve the living standards and prosperity for both current and future Indigenous peoples.”

Chief Peter Beatty of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation said in the release on the recent wave of agricultural benefit settlements that they are about “more than just compensation.”

“It’s about finally seeing Canada recognize its obligations to our people. It means we can invest in our communities, create opportunities for our youth, and build a stronger future for the next generations,” he said. “This is a moment of justice.”

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has advocated to update the specific claims process to facilitate a fully independent system that respects indigenous laws, saying the current system where the Canadian government both investigates and adjudicates claims represents a conflict of interest.