Education

The Government of Canada's overarching goal is to provide First Nation students with quality education that provides them with the opportunity to acquire the skills needed to enter the labour market and be full participants in a strong Canadian economy.

In 2011-2012, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) invested approximately $1.55 billion in First Nation K-12 education and more than $322 million in post-secondary education to support First Nation and Inuit students across Canada. This funding was in addition to the approximately $200 million to support infrastructure costs for education facilities. This funding supported approximately 116,400 students in kindergarten to grade 12 and about 22,000 post secondary students.

Update on Progress to Date on First Nation education

The Government has now concluded the first phase of consultation on a proposed framework for legislation on First Nations elementary and secondary education. As the consultation process moves forward, the Government has released a Blueprint for Legislation which sets out the Government of Canada’s proposed approach to a First Nation Education Act and has been informed by the work of the National Panel on First Nation Elementary and Secondary Education, and recent consultations undertaken between December 2012 and May 2013. The Blueprint has been shared with First Nation Chiefs and Councils, First Nation organizations, provincial governments and others with an expertise or interest in First Nation education for feedback. Visit the consultation page to read the Blueprint and to learn more about how to submit your ideas for consideration. We also encourage you to review the progress to date or view the Discussion Guide that was used during the first phase of consultations.

For further information on completed school infrastructure projects (over $1.5 million from 2010-2014) funded by Canada's Economic Action Plan and the Gas Tax Fund, please view this detailed chart. Also, please take the opportunity to view school projects across the regions in this photo gallery.

Following the Crown-First Nations Gathering and as part of Economic Action Plan 2012, and Economic Action Plan 2013, the Government committed to develop new legislation for First Nation elementary and secondary education that would establish the structures and standards to support strong and accountable education systems on reserve. Economic Action Plan 2012 also invested $100 million over three years to help ensure readiness for the new First Nations education system to be outlined in legislation by September 2014. The budget also committed $175 million to new school projects.

In December 2012, the Government launched consultations on a proposed legislative approach to First Nation education. These initial consultations with First Nations and other stakeholders included in-person regional sessions held across the country, video and teleconference sessions, in addition to online consultation activities. After careful examination of input received to date, a proposed outline for a First Nation Education Act has been developed and shared with First Nations, provinces and others, for feedback. In addition, a draft bill will be shared with every First Nation community across the country provincial governments, and others, for further input prior to legislation being introduced in Parliament.

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