Canada needs to be the partner it keeps claiming to be – Policy Options

December 10, 2025

Awareness of reconciliation has risen, but Canada still resists what real reconciliation demands: sharing power with Indigenous nations.

In one of his final acts as prime minister, Justin Trudeau signed the Big Tide Haida Title Lands Agreement. It was momentous. For the first time, Canada was handing back land through negotiations with an Indigenous community.

With the agreement, Canada recognized Haida authority over much of Haida Gwaii in the form of aboriginal title. The agreement – Chiix̲uujin/Chaaw K̲aawgaa in Haida – marks a new chapter in a generations-long fight for Haida self-determination over their homelands and waters. Many expect it to be transformative for the Haida Nation.

Read More: https://policyoptions.irpp.org/2025/12/reconciliation-canada-partner/