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Dear John,
While federal spending on Indigenous affairs has almost tripled since 2015, the uptick in Indigenous living standards is due primarily to the Canada Child Benefit, an unrelated federal program for families with children.
From 2015 to 2025, the federal government will almost triple spending on Indigenous affairs, from $11 billion to a projected $32 billion.
The gap in Statistics Canada’s Community Well-Being Index (a broad measure of living standards) between First Nations and other Canadian communities shrunk from 19 to 16 points from 2016 to 2021.
But this was likely due to the federal Canada Child Benefit — which sends up to $7,787 per child to eligible families — introduced in 2016.
In other words, the improvement in Indigenous living standards relative to other Canadians is likely due to a federal program available to all Canadians, and not due to the massive increases of direct federal spending on Indigenous affairs.
If policymakers in Ottawa want to help Indigenous people, they should look closely at what types of spending produce the most tangible benefits.
Check out the full study here, and be sure to share this news with your friends and colleagues.
Sincerely,
Niels Veldhuis
President
The Fraser Institute
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