Federal Budget 2025 Must Move First Nations from Uncertainty to Prosperity – This Budget Fails to Provide Vital Treaty and Sovereign Nation-Based Investments and Direct First Nations Streams

November 5, 2025

Treaty One Territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba —The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) and Grand Chief Kyra Wilson acknowledge several encouraging commitments in the 2025 federal budget — including renewed investment in clean water systems, progress on Indigenous infrastructure financing tools, and expanded access to loan guarantees for economic participation. However, despite these steps, the budget fails to deliver the scale of funding required to close life-threatening gaps faced by First Nations in Manitoba and does not recognize Treaty and Dakota sovereign jurisdiction as the foundation of Canada’s prosperity.

“This budget contains good words and some important investments — and we acknowledge that,” said Grand Chief Kyra Wilson. “But good intentions are not the same as reconciliation. Canada cannot call this a generational budget while reducing the very investments that ensure First Nations children have housing, clean water, and safety today.”

Chief David Monias of Pimicikamak Cree Nation emphasized: “For generations, Canada has underfunded the core services that keep our families safe — housing, water, health care, and education. These are not program decisions. These are Treaty debts. Every budget cycle that ignores Treaty is another year Canada benefits from our lands while denying our children the safety and dignity that were promised.”

Right Direction, Wrong Scale

The AMC highlights that Canada has reaffirmed commitments to:

• Clean water infrastructure, with $2.3 billion announced ($749M/year 2026-2028)— a measure aligned with AMC advocacy.
• Indigenous economic participation, including a $10B expansion of the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program;
• Created opportunities for young Canadians to transition into the workforce and launch successful careers, by launching a Youth Climate Corps, and providing 175,000 placements through Canada Summer Jobs, the horizontal Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, and the Student Work Placement Program in 2026-27.
• Made the National School Food Program permanent to provide meals to up to 400,000 children every year, allowing participating families with two children to save an average of $800 per year
• $10.1 million over three years for Indigenous consultations on major projects being fast-tracked through the regulatory process, and
• Financing tools that support First Nations’ investment in major projects. “These are tools our Nations can and will use,” Grand Chief Wilson said. “We are leading the clean energy and infrastructure solutions Canada needs. But tools alone cannot close the gap — only fair, Treaty-based funding can.”

Where the Budget Falls Short

Major concerns identified by AMC include:

1. Cuts labelled as “efficiencies”: A 2% reduction across ISC and CIRNAC — approximately $2.3 billion by 2030 — which directly impacts essential services and supports First Nations depend on.
2. Indigenous Community Infrastructure Funding will increase over the next fiscal year but then decrease over time by ~62% by 2029/30.
3. Lack of increased health funding for First Nations, particularly in the North.  Rather, Budget 2025 proposes a joint review by the Ministers of Health, National Defence, Indigenous Services, and Northern and Arctic Affairs to assess health care and infrastructure needs in northern communities. The aim is to find innovative ways to improve care access and reduce medical travel costs, with meaningful engagement from Northern and Arctic Indigenous Peoples.
4. There is no new funding announced for Jordan’s Principle, which leaves the long-term future of this program uncertain.
5. No new funding announced for First Nation on reserve K-12 education.
6. Top up of $34 million for this fiscal year for Urban Programs for Indigenous Peoples, but no commitments in the coming years.
7. Absence of a Treaty-based fiscal framework and no reference to Treaty obligations in First Nations investments — not even once;
8. Lack of sustained support for First Nations education, including silence on the Manitoba Regional Education Agreement, which is critical to ending systemic discrimination. “In Saskatchewan and Quebec, Canada recognizes regional governance models,” Grand Chief Wilson noted. “Manitoba deserves — and demands — that same respect. Our Nations negotiated the Treaty partnership that built this country. Ignoring Treaty jurisdiction is not modernization — it is a step backward.”

Climate-Driven Crisis — Still No Dedicated First Nations-Led Emergency Fund

In 2025 alone, nearly 12,000 First Nations citizens were displaced by wildfires in Manitoba. Yet the budget provides no Manitoba First Nations-controlled funding for emergency response and preparedness. We can appreciate the various funding announcements made, but First Nations need to be leading these discussions, creating these budget line items,  and identifying needs.

“That is not preparing for the future — that is accepting avoidable harm,” said Wilson.

Tax Jurisdiction ≠ Treaty Implementation

AMC welcomes discussions on new revenue-sharing tools and the budget signals intent to advance flexible, opt-in, value-added tax arrangements with First Nations. This is a step forward, but it does not substitute for core infrastructure and service funding or establish a Treaty-based fiscal framework.

Revenue powers must add to — not replace — Canada’s Treaty obligations to fund essential services and infrastructure for First Nations in Manitoba. Tax jurisdiction is one tool, not the toolbox.

True prosperity requires Treaty- and sovereignty-based fiscal transfers, not a shift toward user-pay governance or municipal-style taxation, so Grand Chief warns Canada must not shift fiscal responsibilities onto First Nations. “Tax jurisdiction is a tool — it is not the toolbox,” Wilson said. “The Crown cannot replace Treaty obligations with user-pay governance for our citizens.”

A Nation-to-Nation Path Exists — AMC Has Already Provided It

For years, First Nations have called for a modern fiscal relationship grounded in equality, sovereignty, and self-determination. This requires direct Nation-to-Nation transfers — not funding filtered through federal systems — along with multi-year, flexible budgets set by First Nations governments. It means achieving true parity with federal-provincial transfers, so our First Nation citizens receive at least the same level of support as all other Canadians. And it demands fiscal autonomy tools — such as First Nation-managed loan guarantees, revenue sharing from our lands and resources, and First Nation-controlled infrastructure financing — so that prosperity is built by our Nations and for our future generations.

AMC’s 2025–26 Alternative Federal Budget for First Nations in Manitoba outlines a clear, costed plan to close critical gaps in:

• Housing
• Infrastructure & clean water
• Education
• Health & mental wellness
• Child welfare
• Economic development

“We have brought the solutions — year after year. What we need now is a budget that respects Treaty sovereignty and funds those solutions directly,” Wilson said.

A Call to Parliament: Fix It Before the Vote

The federal budget enters four days of debate before a confidence vote on November 17, 2025. AMC calls on all MPs — especially those from Manitoba — to work with First Nations leadership to:

• Guarantee direct access to infrastructure and housing funds
•  Reverse cuts impacting core First Nations services and governance
• Embed Treaty- and Dakota-based decision-making within all regional programs
• Ensure major projects under Bill C-5 proceed only with co-decision and FPIC

“Our sovereignty is not an obstacle to Canada’s prosperity — it is the reason Canada has prosperity.” Said Grand Chief Wilson.

Shared Future — Shared Responsibility

“First Nations have been here since time immemorial. We are the original traders and original partners in this land — connected with our brothers and sisters across the artificial borders Canada later drew around us. Our sovereignty and our economies have always extended far beyond a provincial map. We look forward to meeting with the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to discuss how his plans will respect our lands, our Treaty and Dakota Nation jurisdiction, and our inherent role in building a strong future together. When Canada finally recognizes First Nations as full partners — not stakeholders — prosperity will be shared by all.”

For more information, please contact:

Communications Team
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
Email:  media@manitobachiefs.com

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