Challenges and opportunities

While progress has not always been quick or linear, departments and agencies in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples continue to work towards the achievement of the objectives of the UN Declaration. Updates provided by departments and agencies show how they are working together with Indigenous partners throughout the various stages of implementation, ensuring the consistency of laws and regulations with the UN Declaration and advancing measures from the Action Plan.

Though work is progressing, challenges to the implementation of the UN Declaration Act remain and are affecting outcomes. Specific APMs address some of these challenges while others are issues that require novel solutions not addressed within the Action Plan itself. Compounding these challenges are the volume and complexity of the work, including the 181 measures in the Action Plan; numerous legislative and regulatory initiatives under development; multiple teams across departments leading related files; and projects connected to other government-wide initiatives requiring engagement with Indigenous peoples (e.g., Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People, Indigenous Justice Strategy). Some Indigenous partners feel that the length of the Action Plan hinders the Government’s ability to implement it while other partners point to structural challenges, including unclear mandates; giving precedence to federal priorities, processes and timelines; insufficient coordination and communication; as well as inadequate and project-based funding.

Several Indigenous partners once again pointed to a lack of a central body with the authority to drive consistent implementation as a key structural challenge: with responsibility for advancing the Action Plan measures dispersed across departments, each department interprets and operationalizes commitments within its own mandate and policy lens. Partners have noted that this decentralized approach has resulted in uneven application, varying levels of ambition, and limited accountability for outcomes, making it more difficult to understand progress on implementing the UN Declaration Act.

“Meaningful implementation of the Declaration requires a shift in control over agenda setting, interpretation, and evaluation. Without that shift, reporting risks remaining a federal exercise in self assessment rather than a Nation grounded measure of change.”
– Silent Drums

Several partners also emphasized the importance of ensuring that commitments made under the UN Declaration are sustained over time and continue to guide government action, regardless of changes in government or political priorities.

The sections below outline some of the challenges encountered during implementation, describe how officials are addressing them, and present Indigenous partners’ reflections on how they would like to see these challenges resolved.

Capacity

Indigenous governments and representative organizations manage many competing priorities that can affect their ability to dedicate focus to implementation of the UN Declaration. While funding is available for many initiatives, current federal funding structures often require Indigenous partners to navigate multiple application processes, and compete for limited funding allocations, which can limit sustained participation and continuity in this work. In many cases, access to funding determines whether an Indigenous nation or organization can participate in an initiative. Indigenous partners have called for a whole-of-government fund to support consultation and cooperation for the implementation of the UN Declaration Act.

Funding supports partners to:

Long-term, sustainable funding remains critical for many Indigenous organizations to participate fully and to establish strong governance structures.

Indigenous Partnership Fund

To support with capacity and consultation and cooperation, the Indigenous Partnership Fund (IPF) continues to support a broad range of Indigenous partners including: First Nations, Inuit, and Métis governments and representative organizations, such as national and provincial/territorial Indigenous organizations, regional historic treaty, modern treaty and self-governing nations, and national and regional diversity organizations representing women, youth, urban and off-reserve communities, and persons with disabilities and accessibility needs.

In fiscal year 2025–2026, the IPF allocated $7 million to support 77 Indigenous partners through grants and contributions. While available funding was not sufficient to meet all of the needs and requests identified by Indigenous partners, it supported strategic initiatives across a range of priority areas. Grant funding recipients reported that their funded projects addressed critical priority areas, including (but not limited to) governance, consultation, legislative alignment, education, capacity building, justice, economic development, cultural revitalization, data sovereignty, and inclusion. This contribution funding supports the development and sustainability of Indigenous-led initiatives that foster broader implementation and ongoing collaboration and dialogue related to the UN Declaration Act and the Action Plan.

One Indigenous partner declined the funding indicating that the level of grant funding offered was not enough to appropriately engage and consult with communities in the implementation of UN Declaration Act and APMs.

Strengthening Indigenous research capacity

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), in collaboration with the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), co-developed three new research funding opportunities with Indigenous partners: the Indigenous Capacity and Leadership in Research Connection Grants (for First Nations and Métis); the Indigenous Innovation and Leadership in Research Network Grants (for First Nations and Métis); and the Inuit Research Network Grant. These funds support Indigenous researchers, post-secondary institutions, and not-for-profit organizations exclusively. This new investment totaling $30M continues to shape a research funding environment that supports Indigenous leadership, accountability, and respectful research partnerships across disciplines and institutions.

The Setting New Directions to Support Indigenous Research and Research Training in Canada, a strategic plan that was co-developed with First Nations, Inuit and Métis through dedicated outreach, is the foundation for this work. National and regional Indigenous organizations, Indigenous women’s organizations, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, post-secondary institutions, academics, Elders, Indigenous knowledge keepers, women, youth, community leaders and representatives, and rights-holders from across Canada were engaged in the development of the New Strategic Directions.

Level and nature of engagement

Consultation and cooperation are at the heart of Canada’s implementation of the UN Declaration. Indigenous governments and representative organizations may have different priorities from government and propose different approaches to address them. When not included from the beginning, partners’ priorities cannot be part of the development of solutions, including on legislative initiatives. While work with national and/or regional organizations and tribal councils is valuable, rightsholders expect to be engaged directly on matters that affect their rights. Partners have pointed out that consultation is most effective when it functions as an ongoing exchange.

“When the MMF provides feedback on the implementation of an Action Plan Measure, the federal government must commit to reporting back to the MMF to provide updates regarding how the feedback has been meaningfully considered and implemented”

- Manitoba Métis Federation

Some other challenges and opportunities related to consultation and cooperation include:

Indigenous organizations and the Government of Canada are engaged in exploring ways to increase Indigenous participation in decision-making. Departments and agencies continue to engage with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis nations, governments and organizations to advance shared priorities.

Uneven understanding of obligations under the UN Declaration Act across the Government of Canada

Several partners shared experiences working with Government of Canada representatives who either indicated that the UN Declaration did not apply or demonstrated limited understanding of their responsibilities under the UN Declaration Act. The UN Declaration Act establishes a framework that must guide the exercise of federal responsibilities. yet some Indigenous partners find that every department interprets their obligations differently. One partner mentioned Natural Resources Canada as a good example of a department that has demonstrated improvement in their integration of the UN Declaration throughout their work. These examples highlight the need to continue developing training for public servants, including through the implementation of SP14.

Difficulty in gaining a clear picture of UN Declaration Act implementation

Many partners spoke of the challenge of knowing what is happening regarding UN Declaration Act implementation, which can create the impression that progress is not advancing as quickly as they would like. At the same time there is a great deal happening across government as detailed in this report. According to a number of Indigenous partners, some of these challenges include:

Partners have suggested that having a public website tracking progress and providing updated information that departments can update on an ongoing basis would address many of the issues listed above. The Government of Canada can also build trust, demonstrate accountability, and foster stronger relationships with Indigenous peoples by providing more frequent updates. Other partners suggested tracking and reporting ongoing litigation between the Crown and Indigenous groups involving the Declaration.

“First Nations Leadership in Ontario have expressed to Chiefs of Ontario their interest in the creation of a mechanism to track federal cases against First Nations. It is important that this data is reflected in [UN Declaration Act] annual reporting as litigation often conflicts with positive legislative and policy developments and the stated alignment purposes of [UN Declaration Act]. Further, increased transparency on this topic will help meet the expressed intention within the fourth annual report: “mechanisms for transparent reporting, accessible communication, and grassroots involvement are essential to fostering accountability and trust.”

– Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict

Coordination with other levels of government

The UN Declaration Act applies only at the federal level and does not apply to provinces and territories. At the same time, much of the work to implement the UN Declaration requires federal/provincial/territorial collaboration. Partners view provincial and territorial collaboration as an essential component of successful UN Declaration implementation, and many would like the federal government to encourage them to adopt the UN Declaration.

According to some Indigenous partners, jurisdictional overlaps, gaps, and conflicts among the federal government, provinces and territories, impact their communities. These issues often affect critical areas such as education, health care, housing, social services including child welfare, the justice system and policing, creating barriers to timely and culturally appropriate support. These partners emphasized the need for greater coordination, clearer accountability, and more collaborative approaches across jurisdictions to ensure that services are accessible, responsive, and aligned with the needs of Indigenous peoples and their communities.

We also heard that when the Government of Canada delegates authority over matters to provincial or territorial governments, appropriate measures must be put in place to ensure the rights contained in the UN Declaration continue to be protected post-transfer. Such measures would help to ensure that the commitments contained in the UN Declaration Act persist beyond the transfer.

Urban and off-reserve Indigenous people

Organizations that represent Indigenous individuals living off-reserve and in urban areas, have continued to stress the challenges and gaps inherent in Canada’s UN Declaration Act implementation approach in relation to these individuals. They have argued that federal implementation continues to centre distinction-based approaches and governance relationships in ways that insufficiently account for or exclude urban, off-reserve, and non-status Indigenous realities. Urban Indigenous organizations seek opportunities to participate in decision-making, policy development, and implementation, arguing that without their inclusion, gaps in representation and access will persist and could widen over time. As a result, they view coordinated implementation of shared priorities within the Action Plan as critical to addressing systemic issues for Indigenous individuals whether they are living.

“While the intention of the distinction-based approach is to recognize the unique rights and governance structures of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, its current application has created persistent gaps… As a result, a significant portion of the Indigenous population are not just underrepresented in policy design and resourcing tied to [UN Declaration Act] implementation but also underserved as a result of it.”

- Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres