Ottawa to widen First Nations lending, fund $260M job plan

The federal government will amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act to widen the lending authority of the First Nations Finance Authority and has committed $260 million over four years to a new Indigenous workforce fund, the Prime Minister’s Office said after Monday’s First Nations-First Ministers meeting in Ottawa.

Prime Minister Mark Carney also directed the finance minister to work with First Nations leaders on new revenue-sharing mechanisms, including a potential First Nations Sovereign Wealth Fund. The Oct. 26 release gave no dollar amount, structure or timeline for the fund. It said the aim is a direct stake for First Nations in major projects.

The PMO said nearly 200 First Nations chiefs and leaders attended, along with Carney and provincial and territorial premiers. The $260 million is for a Partnerships for Indigenous Workforce Readiness Fund, meant to connect Indigenous people with jobs created by major projects. The government is also developing an Indigenous-focused stream of the $8-billion Team Canada Strong initiative to place Indigenous workers in paid, entry-level trades jobs. No amount was given for that stream, ReNew Canada reported.

The release did not say when the amendment will be introduced or how much the authority’s lending limits would change. The First Nations Finance Authority is a First Nations-led non-profit created under the 2005 act that pools borrowing for member Nations. A Dec. 3, 2025 release from Crown-Indigenous Relations said the authority had issued more than $4 billion in financing since its first loan in 2012 and had supported 193 First Nations as borrowing members. At the time, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty pointed to proposed amendments that would let special purpose vehicles borrow through the authority to support participation in resource and economic development projects.

Carney said in the release that “Canada’s strength comes from what we can build and what we achieve together.” Alty said the meeting “brought First Nations leaders, the provinces, territories, and federal government together”, with a focus on major projects, housing, health and emergency preparedness.

The wealth fund idea came from First Nations. In remarks after the meeting, Carney called it a proposal from First Nations and said it would offer “an opportunity to share directly in the wealth the country is creating,” according to the PMO transcript. Chippewas of the Thames First Nation Chief Joe Miskokomon, who proposed the fund, has said it would pool capital and give communities more say over investments, as we reported in our story on the AFN draft seeking a First Nations-controlled wealth fund.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told reporters that nation-building “can’t just be about ramming through major projects,” and that “the national interests must also include the proposals, law and policy reforms that First Nations seek,” CBC reported. She said she was happy with the day and the commitments secured.

Reviews from other First Nations leaders were mixed. Abram Benedict, the AFN’s Ontario regional chief, said he felt good about the investments and the potential wealth fund, but that Carney made no firm pledge to hold the meetings annually. “There seems to be a willingness, but there was no commitment,” Benedict said. Cody Diabo, grand chief of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke, left early and described the meeting as all about “butterflies and rainbows,” CBC reported.

The workforce and finance measures sit alongside more than $2.5 billion over five years for First Nations emergency preparedness and more than $630 million over four years for First Nations and Inuit policing, also announced Monday. Carney separately said he is committed to a process that moves Canada beyond the Indian Act, as we reported when Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew urged its abolition. The federal budget is due Nov. 5.

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