As First Nations, we must stop waiting on Ottawa and start working towards our dreams – The Hub
12 January 2026
This past fall’s federal budget triggered a predictable round of frustration from some First Nations leaders. As a former elected chief councillor of the Haisla Nation, I understand that reaction well; for years, we’ve watched federal budgets more often announce cuts than commitments to Indigenous affairs. But if there’s anything I learned over 16 years of serving the Haisla Nation Council in various capacities, it’s that our future will not be built by the federal budget.
Despite Budget 2025 committing $141.4 billion in new spending over the next five years, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) called it a “missed opportunity.” The AFN’s issue: Budget 2025 came billions of dollars short of the investments required to close the infrastructure gap in First Nations by 2030. The Liberal government has also taken heat for delivering the first budget in over a decade without a dedicated Indigenous section, and its perceived shift away from social programs and towards economic reconciliation.
