Federal spending tied to Indigenous peoples and communities in British Columbia and Alberta has become a major issue in recent years, with new figures and federal budget data showing the scale of the money involved and the different ways it is tracked. A recent Aristotle Foundation analysis says federal transfers to Indigenous peoples in B.C. reached $27.2 billion over 23 years, while federal Indigenous spending nationwide has climbed sharply since 2015.

In British Columbia, the Aristotle Foundation says the $27.2 billion total works out to nearly $1.2 billion a year in 2025 dollars and includes funding to First Nations and individual Indigenous British Columbians. The group says much of that money went to communities without treaties, and argues the figures should be part of any serious discussion about reconciliation, governance and land in the province. The report also says annual federal transfers to Indigenous peoples in B.C. rose sharply in recent years, reaching $2.74 billion in 2022/23, well above the long-term average, while Indigenous Services Canada’s Community Well-Being measures still show a gap between B.C. First Nations communities and the Canadian average.

For Alberta, the most recent verified population data show 115,020 First Nations people with Registered or Treaty Indian status in 2021, with 36.2% living on reserve and 63.8% living off reserve. That means about 41,680 people lived on reserve and about 73,340 lived off reserve. The Alberta on-reserve share is below the national rate of 40.6% for the same group.

Federal Indigenous spending has also risen quickly at the national level. Spending on Indigenous priorities increased by 181% since 2015, with 2023/24 estimated at more than $30.5 billion and 2024 planned spending around $32 billion. Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) together accounted for about $63 billion in fiscal 2024, and 93.1% of that was transferred directly to Indigenous communities. Within that total, Indigenous Services Canada accounted for about $46.48 billion and CIRNAC for about $16.35 billion.

Indigenous Services Canada’s spending spans a wide range of mandate areas, including health services, education, child and family services, income support, housing, water and wastewater, infrastructure, governance, emergency management, environment and natural resources, economic development, treaty and estate services, and residential schools-related support. The department’s 2026/27 plan puts ISC’s planned spending at about $24.1 billion, underscoring how large the department remains even apart from the broader federal Indigenous envelope. In short, ISC focuses on delivering services to First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, while CIRNAC handles relations, treaties and governance files.

Taken together, the figures point to a federal funding system in which very large sums continue to flow to First Nations through direct transfers, program spending and community-level support. In fiscal 2024 alone, most of the $63 billion tied to Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada was transferred directly to Indigenous communities,