Toronto, Treaty 13 Territory, and traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples, and home to many First Nations, Inuit and Métis, Ontario - Indigenous Services Canada
Today, the Honourable Mandy Gull‑Masty, Minister of Indigenous Services, joined the President of the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, Armand Jourdain Sr, and the CEO of the National Association of Friendship Centres, Jennifer Rankin, in Toronto to announce federal investments of nearly $1.4 billion to support urban Indigenous populations, mental health and trauma support programming, and assisted living services on reserve. This funding will ensure Indigenous Peoples receive stable, distinctions‑based, and culturally grounded services that improve health and wellness outcomes.
First, the federal government is investing $168 million over 5 years in Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples. This funding supports the Friendship Centre movement as part of the department's shift toward the transfer of service delivery to Indigenous organizations. It will be provided to the National Association of Friendship Centres and the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres to support local services through their affiliated friendship centres across Canada. These organizations help address the critical needs of over 1 million Indigenous Peoples in urban centres each year, including the most vulnerable and at-risk demographics, including women, girls, youth, seniors, 2SLGBTQI+ peoples, persons with disabilities, and persons with addictions. This investment is in addition to the $27.5 million in annual funding the federal government provides to support these operations.
Second, we will invest $630 million over two years to support the availability, accessibility, quality, and effectiveness of mental wellness services for Indigenous Peoples across the country. This investment includes the renewal of the Trauma‑Informed Health and Cultural Support program, which provides culturally relevant mental health counselling and emotional and cultural supports to individuals, families, and communities healing from Indian Residential Schools, Indian Day Schools, the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people, related settlement processes, and other colonial harms.
The funding further supports programs that connect communities with healing supports that are trauma-informed, and grounded in culture, ceremony, and community knowledge, including:
- wraparound services at 83 opioid agonist therapy sites across the country;
- 77 community‑led Mental Wellness Teams serving 385 First Nations and Inuit communities; and,
- continued access to crisis lines for Survivors and Intergenerational Survivors of Residential Schools and Day Schools, and families impacted by Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
Third, the federal government will invest $592.4 million through 2034 in the Assisted Living Program for non-medical social support services for low-income individuals ordinarily resident on-reserve, including seniors, people with disabilities, and those with chronic health conditions or activity limitations. Funding will flow to communities through First Nations, provinces, and the Yukon, who are best placed to provide access to essential in‑home and long‑term care services so community members can maintain their independence, remain close to family, and stay in or near their home communities.
Together, these investments are part of Canada's commitment to delivering strong health, wellness, and community supports for Indigenous Peoples across the country.
