Outdated infrastructure funding rules hold First Nations back

It’s time for tools that finance and build infrastructure at scale, rather than forcing nations to rely on a one-project-at-a-time, pay-as-you-go system.

Much of the current infrastructure funding system, administered through Minister Mandy Gull-Masty’s Indigenous Services Canada, relies on population-based formulas and annual program funding. Our First Nations are ready to rebuild, but Canada’s funding rules must catch up, write Yvette Metansinine, Paul Gladu, and Judy Whitecloud.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY YVETTE METANSININE, PAUL GLADU, JUDY WHITECLOUD

August 24, 2026

Across our communities, our people are coming home. Families are returning after generations of displacement. Young people want to build their futures where they belong. But, too often, they are returning to communities that still do not have the housing, roads, water system...

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