Today marks 20 years since the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (2005) (the Act or FMA) came into force (2006) enabling the First Nation-led institutions under the Act to support First Nations in Canada with a similar fiscal framework and access to financing and investment opportunities as other forms of government. This enabled the development of real property taxation systems, increased financial capacity, access to affordable capital and investment services, and improved infrastructure project outcomes.

The Act established the First Nations Tax Commission, the First Nations Financial Management Board, First Nations Finance Authority, and the First Nations Infrastructure Institute as a part of a comprehensive fiscal framework. Recognized as one of the most fundamental and successful pieces of legislation for First Nations in history, and receiving all-party support, the Act is part of Canada’s commitment to level the playing field between First Nations and the rest of Canada with equitable participation in economic reconciliation opportunities.

First Nations can choose to become scheduled to the Act enabling access to support and services of all the institutions. To date almost 70 per cent of First Nations in Canada, have become scheduled demonstrating a growing commitment to economic growth and self-determination.

Quotes:

“For 20 years, the First Nations Fiscal Management Act has provided communities with the tools they need to grow their economies on their own terms. The First Nations-led institutions created by the Act are helping communities build infrastructure, attract investment, and create new opportunities for their people. Our government is proud to mark this anniversary and will continue to support this work and the Indigenous Partners leading it in the years ahead.” ~ The Honourable Rebecca Alty, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Government of Canada

“At the time of Royal Assent, I called the passage of the FMA a triumph for First Nations and Canada that would usher in a new era of economic development, job growth and improved infrastructure. Over the past twenty years, First Nations have collected more than $1 billion in local revenues to support community development and build more sustainable economies across Canada. While there is much to celebrate from our past, I am enthusiastic and optimistic about our future. We have been joined by a new generation of First Nation leadership who share our vision of true and full self-determination. With the North Star as our guide, we will walk and work together to clear the path for fiscal jurisdiction, strengthen community development, improve infrastructure and help First Nations advance self-determination as they build strong economies.” ~ C.T. Manny Jules, Chief Commissioner, First Nations Tax Commission

“This milestone celebrates the choice of First Nations leadership to deliver real results for their communities, with 67% of eligible First Nations now scheduled to the FMA. Good financial management equips First Nations to achieve their goals for the future, and the FMB will continue to adapt and create new tools as needed to meet the challenges ahead.” ~ Harold Calla, Executive Chair, First Nations Financial Management Board

“To date, FNFA has raised more than $4.2 billion for First Nations contributing to the creation of an estimated 40,000 jobs and almost $9 billion to Canada’s economy. Further amendments to the Act, such as enabling FNFA to lend to Special Purpose Vehicles, will only increase Indigenous economic participation and further drive growth and prosperity for generations to come.” ~ Ernie Daniels, President and CEO of First Nations Finance Authority

“On the 20th anniversary of the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, we celebrate the many First Nations that have worked with the FMA institutions to strengthen their economies and advance their right to self‑determination. Building on this success, FNII looks forward to working alongside these institutions and participating First Nations to extend that progress into infrastructure, which is at the heart of every First Nation community—supporting communities as they plan, build, and manage projects that reflect their own priorities for generations to come.” – Allan Claxton, First Nations Infrastructure Institute Development Board Chair

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About FNTC

The FNTC undertakes a comprehensive range of functions and services designed to meet the evolving interests, needs and circumstances of First Nations and their taxpayers. The aim of these functions and services is to ensure the integrity of the system of First Nation real property taxation, and to promote a common approach to First Nation real property taxation nationwide, having regard to variations in provincial real property taxation systems.

About FMB

The First Nations Financial Management Board is a First Nations-led non-profit organization that supports First Nations in developing sound financial and administrative governance practices. The FMB was created under the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (FMA) in 2006. Services offered are at no cost to First Nations.

About FNFA

FNFA is a First Nations-led non-profit, financial services corporation mandated under the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (2005) providing cost-effective financing, investment management, and capital advisory services to First Nations governments in Canada. FNFA does not rely on federal government funding and is self-sufficient.

About FNII

FNII is a centre of excellence that helps First Nations and Indigenous organizations plan, design, and deliver infrastructure projects that reflect their priorities and support long-term community wellbeing. It offers flexible, optional supports—from advisory services to workshops and tools—that help Nations lead their own innovative infrastructure solutions and close the infrastructure gap on their own terms.

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Westbank First Nation, British Columbia – First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) has issued its 15^th debenture, raising $485 million for First Nation governments in Canada to finance projects including new housing construction, construction of an LNG facility, investment in health services, and building critical infrastructure. With significant excess demand, the issuance was sold to 40 investors globally. FNFA secured a rate of 3.99 per cent for members, 0.46 per cent lower than bank prime rate of 4.45 per cent, keeping borrowing costs affordable results in more funds available for other community priorities.

“The interest in Indigenous bonds continues to grow, the investor community sees what FNFA is doing – the projects we are financing, and how an investment in FNFA debentures benefits First Nation communities across the country,” said Chief Derek Epp, Ch’íyáqtel First Nation, British Columbia, and FNFA Board Chair. “FNFA’s latest issuances are tagged by Bloomberg as “Sustainable” which represents many investors’ criteria. As we see more demand for financing for Indigenous-led projects and continued demand for our debentures from investors, we can secure the best rates for our members.”

FNFA operates a pooled-borrowing model to provide First Nation governments with access to affordable capital with favorable terms. Loans are fully supported by the members’ own source revenues. FNFA is a one-of-its-kind model showing the power and success of First Nations when they come together.

“Our success in raising capital is delivering real results: stronger communities and a stronger Canada,” said Ernie Daniels, President and CEO, FNFA. “With new legislative amendments set to permit FNFA lending to Indigenous‑owned Special Purpose Vehicles, our low‑cost financing will further advance Indigenous participation and leadership across the economy.”

FNFA’s loan portfolio now exceeds $4.3 billion in financing for its members, has created an estimated 41,000 job opportunities and contributed approximately $9.0 billion to Canada’s economic output.

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About FNFA

FNFA is a First Nations-led non-profit, financial services corporation mandated under the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (2005) providing cost-effective financing, investment management, and capital advisory services to First Nations governments in Canada. FNFA does not rely on federal government funding and is self-sufficient.

Media Contact:

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Westbank First Nation, British Columbia – First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) has successfully raised over $4 billion in financing for Nation-building projects in Canada contributing to the creation of an estimated 39,006 jobs and $8.47 billion to Canada’s economy.

“We are the only First Nation-led organization in the world leveraging private capital for a pooled-borrowing model, and this proves it’s working.” said Ernie Daniels, President and CEO, FNFA. “In 2014 we issued our first bond for $90 million, and without the leadership of our dedicated board of directors and team over the years, we would not have reached $4 billion in financing.”

FNFA raises capital through its successful bond issuances and a commercial paper program of $900 million to finance community priorities. FNFA’s innovative model strives to provide affordable interest rates and better financing terms, making them a national lender of choice for Nations in Canada who choose to work with them.

“First Nations have already demonstrated their ability to drive economic growth, create thousands of jobs and strengthen industries from clean energy to seafood,” said Chief Derek Epp, Ch’íyáqtel First Nation, BC and FNFA Board Chair. “This milestone represents our growing membership and the vision of leaders who are building economic wealth and improving quality of life in their communities.”

Over half of the 634 First Nations in Canada are voluntarily scheduled to the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (2005) allowing those members access to affordable financing and investment services through FNFA.

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About FNFA

FNFA is a First Nations-led non-profit, financial services corporation mandated under the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (2005) providing cost-effective financing, investment management, and capital advisory services to First Nations communities in Canada. FNFA does not rely on federal government funding and is self-sufficient.

Media Contact:

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Westbank First Nation, British Columbia – First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) welcomes measures in Budget 2025 with the intent to amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (2005) to enable FNFA to lend to Indigenous-owned special purpose vehicles. This will expand access to affordable capital for Indigenous participation in economic and resource development projects.

“Every Nation, large or small, will now have access to affordable financing to accelerate building to close the infrastructure gap, enhance their communities, and increase quality of life,” said Ernie Daniels, President and CEO, FNFA. “It sends a strong signal that Indigenous Nations are significant drivers of the Canadian economy, and FNFA is ready to implement.”

Furthermore, the government’s intention to explore a bonding and surety backstop pilot project for First Nations contractors on reserve—enabling them to competitively bid on infrastructure projects—alongside a standalone pilot to monetize federal transfers to support on-reserve infrastructure financing, reflects a clear recognition of the systemic inequalities that exist. More importantly, it signals a commitment to addressing these disparities through meaningful policy reform and by empowering First Nations-led institutions.

“This model is an innovative way to address housing and infrastructure needs and support First Nations in the prioritization of their own projects while creating jobs in the Canadian economy.” said Chief Derek Epp, Ch’íyáqtel First Nation, BC and FNFA Board Chair. “Monetization will work to close the widening $349.2 billion infrastructure gap quicker and build more for less, today.”

For over a decade, FNFA’s pooled, investment-grade borrowing model under the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (2005) has provided more than $4 billion in financing to member Nations, generating approximately 39,000 jobs and $8.5 billion to Canada’s economy.

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About FNFA

FNFA is a First Nations-led non-profit, financial services corporation mandated under the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (2005) providing cost-effective financing, investment management, and capital advisory services to First Nations communities in Canada. FNFA does not rely on federal government funding and is self-sufficient.

Media Contact:

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Westbank First Nation, British Columbia – First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) has issued its first 5-year bond which enables a 3.08 per cent rate for FNFA Borrowing Members. This marks FNFA’s 14^th debenture, including the attraction of new institutional investors, raising an additional $435 million for First Nation governments in Canada to build projects that increase quality of life.

“Providing growing access to low-cost capital for First Nation governments is essential to help close the estimated $349 billion infrastructure gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada,” said Chief Derek Epp, Ch’íyáqtel First Nation, BC, and FNFA Board Chair. “This issuance supports more communities getting shovels in the ground and building their priorities faster than ever before.”

Scaling its innovative and tailored model, FNFA operates under the successful First Nations Fiscal Management Act and lends directly to First Nation governments who choose to access these tools. To date, FNFA financing has created an estimated economic impact of over $8 billion to Canada’s economy through critical infrastructure and economic development projects.

“This is about access to affordable financing for our members and supporting their journey to self-determination,” said Ernie Daniels, President and CEO of FNFA. “We are supporting First Nations to create generational wealth and opportunity that flows right back to our people and many other Canadians.”

FNFA’s debentures continue to be a sought-after investment for investors globally. Due to prudent risk management, revenue-intercept mechanisms, and AA credit ratings, FNFA bonds have consistently been oversubscribed. Underscored by the types of projects financed, such as water treatment plants, schools, housing, green energy, and economic development projects, FNFA bonds demonstrate First Nations ability to build critical infrastructure and major projects while contributing to the GDP of Canada.

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About FNFA

FNFA is a First Nations-led non-profit, financial services corporation mandated under the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, 2005, providing cost-effective financing, investment management, and capital advisory services to First Nations communities in Canada. FNFA does not rely on federal government funding and is self-sufficient.

Media Contact:

Jennifer David, FNFA

Director of Communications and Marketing

Email: jdavid@fnfa.ca

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As originally published in the Hill Times on Monday October 20, 2025

It’s time to correct a common misconception: granting First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) the ability to finance Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) is not about giving First Nations a competitive edge—it’s about leveling the playing field.

Under the current framework, municipalities and other public entities routinely use SPVs to finance infrastructure and economic development. First Nations, however, are constrained by outdated provisions of the Indian Act, which limit their ability to participate in these same opportunities. FNFA’s capacity to finance SPVs simply allows First Nations to access the same tools others already use. This is not preferential treatment, it’s parity.

More broadly, this issue underscores the critical role of the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (FNFMA) institutions. These institutions—FNFA, the First Nations Tax Commission, the First Nations Infrastructure Institute, and the First Nations Financial Management Board—are not only pillars of Indigenous fiscal empowerment, but also models of good governance, accountability, and economic development. Their success benefits all Canadians by fostering stronger, self-sustaining communities and reducing reliance on federal transfers.

Ironically, these institutions exist precisely because of the limitations imposed by the Indian Act. They were created to fill the gaps, to offer First Nations the tools to build their own futures. Supporting their evolution—including enabling FNFA to finance SPVs—is not just a policy decision, it’s a commitment to reconciliation, equity, and shared prosperity.

Let’s move past the notion of advantage and focus on fairness. Empowering First Nations through the FNFMA is a win for everyone.

Canada’s economy and resource potential stands at a crossroads: Indigenous communities are prepared to be part of nation building and contribute towards economic progress, but governments continue to struggle to meaningfully (and legally) consult and engage Indigenous rights holders on decisions that impact their territories.

Since time immemorial, Indigenous Peoples shared the land, our traditional knowledge, and developed robust trade networks that made survival possible for new settlers.

Today, our people remain burdened and oppressed by the Indian Act legislation, paternalistic Ottawa, and various legislative impediments to otherwise wanted and much needed economic progress. Indigenous Peoples do not simply want to be “consulted”, we want to contribute to the development of projects to build Canada, and at the same time, contribute to increased productivity and real GDP growth.

FNFA created by federal legislation, the FNFMA, 2005, allows the participation of member Nations in economic projects. Over the past 20 years, FNFA has delivered more than $4 billion in financing, raised through capital markets, for First Nations projects—supporting the creation of an estimated $8.35 billion in national economic output, created an estimated 38,500 jobs, and helped to build critical infrastructure like housing, schools, and water systems. From the Haisla Nation’s $1.4 billion majority stake in Cedar LNG, to the Mi’kmaq Coalition’s $700 million investment in Clearwater Seafoods, First Nations are actively leading and partnering in Canada’s energy and resource economy on a global stage.

Yet despite our success, our legislative act still prohibits us from providing financing to Nations who wish to come together to support major projects through SPVs—legal partnerships which First Nations can use to pool resources for major projects—even when federal or provincial guarantees are in place.

Private companies, Crown Corporations and banks face no such restrictions, leaving Canada’s First Nations, who are members of FNFA, shut out of opportunities to access affordable capital at preferred rates from an Indigenous-led financial organization. The very reason we were created.

According to Chief Derek Epp Ch’íyáqtel (formerly Tzeachten First Nation), “The Stonlasec8 deal is a prime example of an Indigenous-owned SPV, comprising 38 First Nations in British Columbia who are investing $736 million for a 12.5 per cent equity stake in the project. If FNFA was the lender of choice in that deal, we could have obtained more affordable financing, and those funds could have been reinvested into our communities.”

If Prime Minister Carney and Finance Minister Champagne truly want to get our economy moving, they need to ensure First Nations are part of more projects. Concrete and immediate actions are necessary to empower First Nations to invest in and become full partners in projects.

First Nations across Canada already realize the strategic benefits of entering into SPVs when exploring innovative solutions to economic opportunities. Not only can they secure lower rates of financing for projects, but they can also de-risk their investments by working together.

Earlier this month, at a conference on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, Chief Kelly LaRocca shared, “SPVs are de-risked, tariff-proof funding – spreading out the risks and minimizing delays of a project.” 

What is standing in the way of FNFA lending to SPVs is an outdated legislative barrier that should be amended as part of Minister Champagne’s November 4^th Budget. This will be a genuine test and opportunity for the Prime Minister to demonstrate his government’s commitment to the participation of Indigenous Peoples in economic projects.

Across all federal political parties, there is support that amending the legislation would enable FNFA to finance Indigenous-owned SPVs, and that this amended legislation would be a practical, non-partisan step towards economic Reconciliation.

If private lenders can finance SPVs, often at a higher rate than FNFA, why should FNFA be prohibited from doing the same?

Making such a move costs nothing and in fact saves the government money in the short and long term and carries no risk to FNFA’s borrowing pool. It levels the playing field within the broader Canadian economy. It opens the door for multi-Nation ownership in major projects, creating lasting economic benefits for First Nations communities across Canada.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has doubled the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program, and these tools compliment his priorities and his understanding of what is at stake. Without SPVs, these commitments remain half-measures. With SPVs, they become real and financially impactful.

The Prime Minister should ensure that the Budget Implementation Act, which accompanies the federal budget, amends the FNFMA to allow FNFA to finance SPVs, thereby unlocking billions in investment, creating thousands of jobs, and ensuring profits flow into housing, water, and health services.

This proposal to unleash Indigenous capital and investments is a high-impact, low-cost plan, rooted in true partnerships between the Canadian Government and Indigenous Rights and Title Holders. This is an Indigenous-led solution resulting in meaningful Reconciliation, for the benefit of all Canadians, and the time is now.

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Clint Davis never thought he would live to see an Indigenous-owned investment dealer launch in Canada.

Today, the 54-year-old Inuk from Labrador is chief executive officer of Cedar Leaf Capital, an investment dealer majority-owned by three Indigenous shareholders: Nch’kay’ Development Limited Partnership, Des Nedhe Financial LP and the Chippewas of Rama First Nation. Cedar Leaf received regulatory approval to begin operations in October, meaning it can start connecting companies and governments that are looking to sell securities with investors who are looking to buy them.

Sitting in the conference room of his new offices on the 16th floor of Scotia Plaza in downtown Toronto, Mr. Davis said Cedar Leaf will serve as a bridge between Indigenous communities and capital markets. His goal is to ensure those communities can access the financing they need to buy meaningful ownership stakes in projects being developed across Canada.

“I didn’t think that was going to happen in my lifetime,” Mr. Davis said. “I have been pleasantly surprised to have been proven wrong.”

Years of empty promises and false starts have left many Indigenous Canadians skeptical that any new initiatives will translate to real progress toward economic reconciliation. Yet Cedar Leaf is simply the latest member of a rapidly expanding network of Indigenous-led organizations that, together, are gaining real, sustained momentum that is impossible to deny.

Their activities have already started making progress toward closing what the Assembly of First Nations estimates is a $349.2-billion infrastructure gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities across Canada. The investments go well beyond infrastructure for those communities themselves. Many are helping communities acquire stakes in projects of critical importance to the Canadian economy that are being built on Indigenous territory. One of the biggest, the US$4-billion Cedar liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Kitimat, B.C., is majority-owned by the Haisla Nation and received a positive final investment decision in June.

Cedar Leaf’s launch counts among a recent flurry of Indigenous deal-making. At least 111 Indigenous communities across Canada either obtained or announced an equity interest investment in a major infrastructure project between the start of 2022 and April, 2024, according to a report from law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. Of the 135 energy and related infrastructure projects that were partially or wholly purchased by Indigenous communities over the past 15 years, the report found 28 per cent of those investments occurred just in the past two years.

In a commentary released on Sept. 30 to coincide with Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS cited “significant growth potential for Indigenous-related financings in the coming years.”

As Indigenous-led capital-markets institutions expand, their success helps to ensure the process of economic reconciliation is led by Indigenous Canadians themselves.

“Self-determination is saying it is great that you have found a way to help us with some economic reconciliation, but we are taking control of it now and we are going to move that ball forward in a way that makes sense to us,” Bill Lomax, CEO of the First Nations Bank of Canada, said in an interview from his office in Saskatoon. “Economic reconciliation is not really economic reconciliation if it is imposed on you or if you have to do it the way other people want it done. So, there have to be mechanisms like these institutions.”

The bank plans to launch institutional wealth-management services in late 2025 that will help First Nations manage the tens of billions of dollars in settlements that have been reached with various levels of government over the past two years (and others that are still being negotiated).

“It is very similar to the kind of work I did when I was at Goldman Sachs. We were in the business of building mini-sovereign-wealth funds for nations in the U.S.,” he said. “We are just really starting to get to that same place where they were 20 years ago. It is a scary place to be, as well, because you don’t want to get it wrong; but it is an opportunity to start moving forward.”

One big bottleneck in the path forward is the fact that Indigenous Canadians, under the federal Indian Act, do not own their land. Because reserves are technically Crown land that has been designated for Indigenous use, those communities have very little collateral to pledge for loans. As a result, many of them often struggle to access loans with reasonable interest rates for major investments.

A decade ago, when a group of 15 First Nations in British Columbia were offered the opportunity to buy 30 per cent of a $5-billion natural gas pipeline project going through their territories, that struggle was on full display.

The First Nations Major Projects Coalition, which had just been established in 2015, contacted approximately 70 institutional investors to seek financing, but the borrowing rates the First Nations were offered ranged from 12 per cent to 15 per cent a year. Given that the expected annual return from the pipeline project was between 8 per cent and 10 per cent, the group had to abandon its efforts to acquire an ownership stake in the project.

Since that time, however, the coalition has grown from a few dozen members to 175 elected councils, hereditary chiefs, tribal councils and development corporations that represent roughly one-third of all Indigenous nations in Canada. Its members have so far purchased equity stakes or started investment discussions in 19 infrastructure projects across the country that are collectively worth more than $45-billion.

And coalition members believe they have found a solution in the form of a federal loan guarantee program. That program, which is currently being developed by the Canada Development Investment Corporation (CDEV), would allow financial institutions to issue loans to Indigenous governments at interest rates comparable to those that have long been available to other public entities in Canada by having the federal government guarantee the borrowed funds.

The coalition estimates Indigenous communities will need access to $585-billion over the next 20 years to meet the demand for projects at various stages of development on their lands. While Ottawa’s loan guarantee program is expected to total just $5-billion, Mark Podlasly, the coalition’s chief sustainability officer, says it would be a good start.

When then-finance minister Chrystia Freeland promised that Ottawa would finally deliver the long-requested loan guarantee program at the coalition’s most recent conference in April, 2024, “it was a rapturous response,” Mr. Podlasly recalled. “People were thrilled because this is the one issue that always blocks us from being able to co-invest in these projects.”

“The coalition members are not asking for a handout. They are asking for creative solutions to get around these policy barriers,” he said. “Once that bottleneck is relieved, you will start to see the returns will then flow to the nations and to the project proponents and to the Canadian taxpayer. We see it as all coming down to being able to make those co-investments, to getting access to capital, to getting over that hump.”

Russ Wenman, head of execution and advisory for CDEV, declined to comment on when the program would be ready.

Lisa Raitt, a former federal cabinet minister under then-prime minister Stephen Harper, is now vice-chair of global investment banking at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, and she expects the loan guarantee program launch to be announced soon.

“I am extremely optimistic that you will be seeing announcements coming out in the near future, and my answer there is political in nature because this government needs a win before the next election,” Ms. Raitt said. “There is going to be pressure from Ottawa on CDEV to get something out the door.”

Finding someone to run the program, however, could prove challenging.

“I wouldn’t want to be in the federal government’s position on this now,” Jaimie Lickers, CIBC’s senior vice-president of Indigenous markets, said in an interview. “I know the recruitment process is under way for a candidate to lead the program at CDEV. That is not going to be an easy job for them to find someone who is both capable and skilled on the actual program and everything that goes along with financing major projects, but also someone who is credible in the Indigenous community.”

“The pool is not that large to choose this person,” she said.

Until the new federal program is established, smaller, more specialized programs are making progress. The Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corp., for example, was established in 2019 and can provide up to $3-billion in loan guarantees. The range for a loan guarantee for a single, qualified project is a minimum of $20-million up to $250-million.

And in November, 2023, the Canada Infrastructure Bank unveiled a new program that would loan money directly to Indigenous communities to buy ownership stakes in projects that the bank was already financing. That program made its first loan in February, 2024, of up to $18-million to a group of 13 Mi’kmaq communities in Nova Scotia for them to invest in a battery-storage project being developed by Nova Scotia Power Inc.

“That was our first, but right now there are active procurements for new renewables projects in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick,” Ehren Cory, CEO of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, said in an interview, “The bids have been coming in on those and every bid has meaningful Indigenous ownership of between 25 and 50 per cent, usually based on our loan.”

He sees the establishment of Cedar Leaf and other Indigenous-led capital markets organizations as “just scratching the surface of the potential” for Indigenous communities to finally obtain affordable access to financing.

“We are at the beginning of this upswing, this constellation is coming together and there is real momentum that never existed before,” Mr. Cory said.

Because of that momentum, the distance that has long existed between the Indigenous community and the financial community has finally started to shrink.

“You are now finding a whole layer in the middle, the Cedar Leafs, that are necessary, absolutely critical,” he said. “What they are solving is a market failure, a market failure of understanding, where you’d hope that you get to a place where a deal with an Indigenous community will be no different than giving a loan to the City of Medicine Hat or Calgary or Toronto.”

Issuing loans to Indigenous communities in exactly the same manner as Canada’s largest cities borrow money is exactly the mission of First Nations Finance Authority.

Modelled off of the Municipal Finance Authority of B.C., FNFA functions much like a provincial government by issuing debentures (a type of bond) to finance infrastructure “It took us six years to get to $1-billion, another two years to reach $2-billion and it is going to take us only one year to get to $3-billion,” FNFA CEO Ernie Daniels said. (FNFA surpassed the $3-billion threshold in total financing to First Nations in Canada in early December, 2024).

“We are the only pool borrowing model for First Nations governments in the world that exists. We have other countries that want to mimic what we are doing because of the success that we have had – Australia and New Zealand in particular,” he said.

Investors around the world are buying FNFA debentures, including central banks in Europe and Asia, Mr. Daniels said. The debentures have AA ratings from S&P Global Ratings, Moody’s Ratings and Morningstar DBRS, meaning they offer a similar risk profile to bonds issued by the Ontario government.

The proceeds from the debentures are then used to finance loans to individual communities under the Indian Act, with fixed interest rates and terms as long as 30 years. For context, the current interest rate on 10-year loans is roughly 4 per cent.

Before FNFA existed, Mr. Daniels said Indigenous communities looking to borrow money were forced to pay interest rates of 10 per cent or more during periods when rates generally were at historic lows.

Loans made by FNFA are used for a variety of purposes, from infrastructure to social and governance investments. One community in Manitoba used an FNFA loan to buy real estate in Winnipeg.

“They built student housing there so their young people could go and stay there while they go to university,” Mr. Daniels said.

The authority’s highest-profile deal to date was a $250-million loan to a coalition of Mi’kmaq First Nations in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador that allowed them to purchase 50 per cent of Clearwater Seafoods in 2020. But it is often the smaller loans that have had the largest impact on individual communities.

Perhaps the best example of that is school construction.

“Schools are really the responsibility of the federal government, but because of the current funding models in Canada some nations would have to wait 70, 80 or 100 years before they get a school,” Mr. Daniels said.

In the decade that FNFA has issued debentures, its loans have supported the building of four new schools: Chief Kahkewistahaw Community School in Kahkewistahaw First Nation of Saskatchewan, Maupeltuewey Kina’matno’kuom in Membertou First Nation of Nova Scotia, Chief Crowfoot School in the Siksika Nation of Alberta and the Mistawasis Nehiyawak School in Mistawasis First Nation of Saskatchewan.

While guarantee programs and FNFA loans serve communities, there are also rapidly expanding resources to help Indigenous-owned private businesses and entrepreneurs.

Three years ago, the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA) – an industry group for Indigenous financial institutions across Canada – launched a $150-million Indigenous Growth Fund. Similar to a private debt venture capital fund, the IGF has so far funded $75-million in loans to more than 300 Indigenous businesses, which run the gamut from an oyster farm on Vancouver Island, to various construction-related businesses, to a bakery in Duncan, B.C.

“When we launched the IGF we were at average loan sizes of about $80,000 and that has crept up to about $100,000. And those accessing the IGF specifically have at times doubled the average loan size,” said Frank Richter, the fund’s managing director. “We are seeing more and more demand from the business community for financing.”

NACCA is also planning another $150-million fund to help finance mortgages on First Nations reserves and has no plans to stop there.

“We are just at the very beginning of a lot of different funds being created and new entities being created,” said Shannin Metatawabin, CEO of NACCA. “We are under capacity right now and there is room for additional funds and additional players. I think we are just at the very beginning of that taking place.”

Kamloops-based All Nations Trust Co. (ANTCO) – a NACCA member – signed a partnership in November with the Bank of Montreal that will allow businesses owned by any of the 121 Indigenous communities the financial institution serves to access significantly enhanced financial resources.

“Right now, ANTCO offers smaller-sized loans, forgivable loans and other types of funding, but by partnering with BMO, they now have access to the ability to do larger-sized loans,” said Clio Straram, head of BMO’s Indigenous banking unit. “The example I use when I talk about it is ANTCO could easily do a $250,000 loan and BMO could easily do a $10-million loan, and we could basically syndicate the loan and do a co-lending agreement.”

BMO’s Indigenous banking unit has been one of the bank’s fastest-growing lines of business, with revenues rising at a compound annual rate in the double digits since the unit was established in 1992.

“And our growth has been a byproduct of the growth of the communities,” said Mike Bonner, head of Canadian personal and business banking at BMO and co-chair of the bank’s Indigenous Advisory Council.

The best way to demonstrate the rise of Indigenous-owned businesses is to track the meteoric rise in membership at the Canadian Council for Indigenous Businesses. When Clint Davis was the organization’s CEO from 2008 through 2012, he remembers surpassing 100 members as a major cause for celebration.

Today, CCIB membership stands at 2,743, with more than 700 of them joining in 2024 alone.

“There is momentum and change happening,” said Tabatha Bull, who became CEO of the CCIB in March, 2020, when membership stood at roughly 1,000. “For sure there is a lot left to do but we are on the right path.”

Roughly one-third of CCIB members are non-Indigenous, Ms. Bull said, and join the organization to foster better relations with Indigenous communities, establish connections with Indigenous suppliers and contractors, and recruit more Indigenous talent.

The number of businesses that have signed on to the CCIB’s Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations (PAIR) has gone from less than 100 five years ago to more than 250 today, Ms. Bull said.

Despite all the recent progress, much work still needs to be done, especially on the issues of basic infrastructure on Indigenous lands and the lack of representation of Indigenous people in the banking and financial services sector.

“How can a business be run in a community without clean water or broadband? We need to have all of that infrastructure to be able to build businesses,” said Ms. Bull. “We have a long way to go still. [There are] significant socioeconomic gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in this country.”

That is even true of Indigenous Canadians working in the banking and financial services sector. According to 2022 data from Employment and Social Development Canada, Indigenous peoples’ average hourly pay was 9.9 per cent less than non-Indigenous people in the sector.

And while the total number of Indigenous people employed in banking and financial services nearly doubled over 20 years – from 2,086 in 2002 to 3,913 in 2022 – they continue to account for a tiny proportion of the sector’s overall work force. Just 1.4 per cent of people employed in Canadian banking and financial services identified as Indigenous, even though 1.7 per cent of people available for hire in that sector identified as Indigenous.

Bank of Nova Scotia believes Cedar Leaf, with its goal of hiring as many Indigenous employees as possible, can help close that gap.

“One of my failures as a leader in diversity has been the hiring of Indigenous peoples,” said Paul Scurfield, Scotiabank’s executive vice-president of global capital markets. “If I look at it, I haven’t seen the pipeline come through. So now, instead of complaining about the lack of a pipeline, we are helping to create the pipeline.”

The bank helped launch Cedar Leaf and still owns 30 per cent of the business. But Loretta Marcoccia, Scotiabank’s chief global operations officer and chair of Cedar Leaf’s board of directors, said the bank plans to divest its stake within the next three years.

“If this is done right, and we think we have done this right, once Cedar Leaf is completely independent, it is going to change the face of what we think capital markets looks like,” Ms. Marcoccia said.

The progress achieved over the past decade has been undeniable and Cedar Leaf specifically has already landed two major deals: joining the dealer syndicate for Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the bond underwriting syndicate for the government of Alberta. But Mr. Davis said much more work still needs to be done before the face of Canadian capital markets will truly start to look different.

“I think we are still behind,” Mr. Davis said. “Even though we have a remarkable growth of Indigenous entrepreneurialism, we are still embarking upon the first-that-exists in industries, including Cedar Leaf.”

Indigenous equity investments

• US$4-billion Cedar LNG terminal in Kitimat, B.C., that is majority-owned by the Haisla Nation and 49.9 per cent owned by Pembina Pipeline Corp.
• $1-billion deal for TC Energy Corp. to sell a stake in its Western Canadian gas transmission network to a consortium of 72 Indigenous communities in three provinces. The deal hit a recent snag but is still potentially among the largest Indigenous equity agreements in Canadian history
• $250-million deal for a group of Mi’kmaq First Nations to acquire half of Clearwater Seafoods Inc.
• $200-million Tu Deh-Kah Geothermal project in B.C. that is fully owned by the Fort Nelson First Nation
• $7-billion LNG project in Newfoundland with 5-per-cent stake going to the Miawpukek First Nation
• Two First Nations in Southern Ontario purchased a 50-per-cent stake in Hydro One’s Chatham to Lakeshore transmission line
• $18-million loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank to a group of 13 Mi’kmaq communities in Nova Scotia to invest in a battery-storage project that Nova Scotia Power is developing
• $20-million convertible note deal from the Taykwa Tagamou Nation, a Cree First Nation in the Cochrane District of Northern Ontario, to help develop Canada Nickel Co. Inc.’s Crawford nickel-cobalt project near Timmins, Ont.
• $1.1-billion deal for a consortium of 23 First Nation and Métis communities in the Athabasca region of northern Alberta to acquire an 11.57-per-cent non-operating interest in seven pipelines operated by Enbridge Inc.
• $93-million for a consortium of six First Nations to buy an equity stake in the $1.5-billion Cascade Power Project near Edson, Alta. The natural gas-fuelled plant commenced operations in 2024 and has the capacity to provide more than 8 per cent of Alberta’s average electricity demand

Photo: The shared learning hall at Chief Kahkewistahaw Community School in Kahkewistahaw First Nation of Saskatchewan. The school and three others across Canada were built with loans from the First Nations Finance Authority, which functions much like a provincial government by issuing debentures to finance infrastructure projects for the communities under its purview. Jamie Woytiuk/The Globe and Mail

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