Question Period Note: 2026 Spring Economic Update

N.A.

• The 2026 Spring Economic Update builds on Budget 2025 investments.
• This includes funding to maintain support for high-quality, culturally relevant elementary and secondary education on reserve, for Indigenous communities to implement their own solutions to protect children and families by exercising their jurisdiction, and for Non-Insured Health Benefits.
• Supporting Indigenous-led services and supports rooted in their unique cultures ensures critical services like health, education, family services, social services and community governance meet the needs of Indigenous families, communities and individuals.

First Nations’ Primary and Secondary Education: $601 million in 2026-27 to support high-quality, culturally relevant elementary and secondary education on reserve that meets the needs of students so that First Nations youth can participate fully in Canada’s skilled workforce.
Child and Family Services: $700 million over six years, starting in 2025-26, to continue to support Indigenous communities to implement their own solutions to protect children and families by exercising their jurisdiction under An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.
Non-Insured Health Benefits: $794 million in 2026-27 to support the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program, which provides First Nations and Inuit with coverage for a range of health products and services such as medical travel, pharmaceuticals, and mental health counselling.
Data Collection and Indigenous Governance and Capacity Programs: $359 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, to support data collection and Indigenous governance and capacity programs, enabling First Nations to effectively deliver community-based services. This funding will ensure First Nations can sustain core functions necessary to deliver essential services and actively participate in Canada’s economy, while balancing community
responsibilities and keeping pace with population growth.
Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy: Budget 2022 announced $300 million for an Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy, supplemented by an additional $4 billion in Budget 2023. To continue to advance this work, the Spring Economic Update 2026 proposes to realign previous investments to better support Indigenous housing providers by reallocating $2.8 billion over five years, starting in 2026-27, to Build Canada Homes, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Indigenous Services Canada and Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada. This approach will better align support for Indigenous housing within Canada’s current housing landscape.
Other Recent Announcements Highlighted in the 2026 Spring Economic Update:
• Mental wellness services for Indigenous people - $630M over 2 years
• Primary care services in rural and remote on-reserve communities - $400M over 5 years
• Eliminating tuberculosis in Inuit Nunangat by 2030 - $27M over 5 years
• Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples - $168M over 5 years
• Assisted Living Program - $592M over 9 years.

N.A.