Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty is defending the government's spring economic update's lack of Indigenous-specific funding.
She says Indigenous Peoples need to look beyond the sections specifically labelled for them, pointing to measures to crack down on financial crimes as one example.
"This is something that elders are a victim of," Gull-Masty said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "This is how we're protecting elders in community. This totally applies to them."
Funding for sports is another area Gull-Masty said Indigenous people should flip to in the document, and efforts to protect the environment.
Her office has repeatedly told journalists a table of zeros in the fall budget was nothing for Indigenous communities to be concerned about. She said her office was conducting a review of spending to see what was working and what needed to be scrapped or modified ahead of the spring economic statement, where more funding would appear.
But communities were left wanting after that document's release last week, with many of those zeros remaining, including for clean water in First Nations communities.
Gull-Masty promised again in the interview that those zeros will be filled.
"What they're going to look like, I'm still working with my colleagues," she said.
"I'm working with communities, I'm getting that feedback. We're trying to find the best possible way to have the maximum impact in community. That means a lot of work is being done, but I'm encouraged with where we're at overall."
The document promises $4.3 billion for First Nations education, Inuit food security and Indigenous child welfare. Much of the funding cited in the statement has already been announced, while funding to build more homes in Indigenous communities is being reallocated from other areas of government.
The federal government is setting aside $601 million this year for on-reserve elementary and secondary education “that meets the needs of students so that First Nations youth can participate fully in Canada’s skilled workforce.”
Asked whether that means the federal government is shifting away from encouraging First Nations youth to pursue post-secondary educations, where they still remain far behind non-Indigenous people, and into the trades, Gull-Masty said: "people need to understand the country is trying to build 'Canada strong.'"
"It's not just about consultations. It's about getting people ready to take advantage of the opportunities that will come from these projects — being employed, being a skilled labourer, being a trades person, I'm encouraged with that," she said.
"We're trying to create as much opportunity as possible and I think contributing to how we are doing economically is something that First Nations and Métis leaders have to prepare for."
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak speaks at the annual First Nations Major Projects Coalition conference in Toronto, on Thursday, April 30, 2026.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has repeatedly said Canada relies too much on outside labour while First Nations youth are waiting for opportunities to enter the skilled trades.
But she has also raised concerns about a lack of First Nations students obtaining post-secondary degrees and diplomas, and wants the federal government to invest more to boost those numbers.
"Education got us into where we are now, and education will get us out," she said.
"We really have to push for post-secondary funding and investments into that."
The document leaves out funding for clean water in First Nations communities. Gull-Masty said that's because the federal government is still working to introduce legislation on the issue, which they have promised to do this spring.
She said she's "in the queue waiting for legislation," and that their new-found majority government will be subject to less "political games" with the legislation.
The Canadian Press asked if that means her government will ensure First Nations have the ability to protect source water in their territories — as was available in previous legislation on the issue co-developed with First Nations leaders that died when the government was prorogued last year, but was opposed by Ontario and Alberta. Gull-Masty said "there's some bigger conversations that I'm just kind of mulling and trying to go through."
"We have to have a strategy in place so we are harmonizing our approach to water across the different provinces — including First Nations people in that space — because water is not just present in communities. Water is present throughout Canada," she said.
Minister of Finance and National Revenue Francois-Philippe Champagne responds to questions from the floor as he participates in a panel discussion with Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty, second from right, and Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Rebecca Alty, right, at the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa, on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Woodhouse Nepinak said First Nations leaders "worked really hard" on the previous legislation, and that Gull-Masty should take that bill into consideration.
"If they want to be on the right path, there's a draft already," she said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
The federal government is also promising $8 million for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and $1 million to support the National Family and Survivors Circle.
NDP MP Leah Gazan said that funding is nowhere near enough to help combat the problem of violence targeting Indigenous women and girls in an era where the federal government is looking to ramp up resource extraction projects.
Gull-Masty said while the government has a role to play in keeping Indigenous women and girls safe, companies do too.
"How are companies going to be held accountable? … What are we going to set as standards in collaboration with community?" Gull-Masty said.
"These are the concerns that people have, and being sure that is part of the consultation process that's going on with major projects, we're also building in the reality of what it means to be Indigenous in this country. Sometimes that can be a different reality."
Woodhouse Nepinak said while some of the funding in the spring economic update is encouraging, a lack of Indigenous-specific funding harms communities.
"I'm sure the minister's intentions are good, but at the same time if there's no specific carve-outs, we know how detrimental that is toward First Nations," she said.
"And, unfortunately, Canada's proposed path to building 'Canada strong' does not appear to involve First Nations. And that means Canada's economy will only get weaker if we're not part of it."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2026.
By Alessia Passafiume | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.