Capacity-building funding to support First Nations, Inuit and Métis child and family services
Funding to support Indigenous communities and groups to establish their own child and family laws and services, and prepare to exercise jurisdiction over child and family services.
Deadline for 2026-2027 funding
The call for proposals to apply for capacity-building funding this fiscal year is open until June 15, 2026. Proposals received after this date will still be considered, but may not be approved.
On this page
About the call for proposals
Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) recognizes that not all Indigenous groups, communities or peoples have the same readiness or resources to exercise their inherent jurisdiction in relation to child and family services under the Act. As part of our commitment to supporting the implementation of the Act, funding is available to support Indigenous groups, communities or peoples that hold rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 or their Indigenous governing bodies wishing to:
- explore readiness to exercise jurisdiction over child and family services, and
- develop Indigenous child and family service legislation, service delivery models and programs prior to entering into coordination agreement discussions
This funding is for recipients who are within five years of exercising jurisdiction over child and family services, to support them in advancing core jurisdictional development activities for representative section 35 rights-holding collective(s). These include:
- designing and ratifying their Indigenous child and family services law
- developing a service delivery model that sets out how services will be delivered
- developing an implementation budget aligned with the service delivery model that identifies required funding, staffing, and, where applicable, capital resources to support implementation
Section 35 rights-holding collectives can access funding for a maximum of five years, either as a direct applicant or by designating an Indigenous governing body to receive funding on their behalf. The five years do not need to be consecutive.
Preparatory work like:
- community engagement
- needs and capital assessments
- collaboration with service providers
- data collection
- initial costing
strengthens an Indigenous governing body's readiness to exercise jurisdiction by enabling them to:
- clearly articulate how their law and service delivery model will operate
- engage more effectively with provincial or territorial partners
- negotiate implementation funding during coordination agreement discussions
All capacity-building funding proposals submitted will be assessed based on eligibility conditions provided in this call for proposals.
We are committed to evolving this process based on lessons learned and feedback from Indigenous communities, Indigenous governing bodies and national Indigenous organizations.
Proposals for capacity-building funding will not be interpreted as a notice of intent to exercise jurisdiction under subsection 20(1) of the Act or as a request to enter into a coordination agreement under subsection 20(2) of the Act. An Indigenous governing body acting on behalf of an Indigenous group, community or people can submit their notice of intent to exercise jurisdiction and their request to enter into coordination agreement discussions by email to Partenariats.Partnerships@sac-isc.gc.ca.
Who can apply
- Indigenous groups, communities or peoples that hold rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982
- Indigenous governing bodies, as defined under the Act
- national Indigenous organizations, in order to advance culturally appropriate reform of child and family services
Your eligibility will be assessed before your proposal submission is reviewed.
Deadlines
Funding submissions for the 2026-2027 fiscal year will be accepted continually until June 15, 2026. The submission deadline has been advanced as a result of feedback from internal assessments and funding recipients. This change will:
- streamline the assessment and approvals process
- ensure funding decisions are made earlier in the fiscal year
- better support the timely implementation of funded activities
- provide recipients with more predictability and clarity for their internal planning
While proposals submitted after June 15 will be considered, they face a greater risk of not being approved.
How to apply
Contact us by email and include:
- your proposal (also known as a work plan)
- a detailed budget outlining expenditures linked to workplan activities
- records supporting the authorization of the Indigenous governing body, if applicable
Only proposals submitted electronically will be considered. Please do not send links to files in the Cloud or on Internet servers, as ISC cannot access them.
ISC will confirm receipt of your proposal via email and may contact you for additional information during the review and assessment process, as required. For Indigenous governing body applicants, ISC may communicate with the representative section 35 rights-holding collective(s) for more information. You will be notified whether or not your proposal is approved.
Selection criteria
To be approved for capacity-building funding, applicants must demonstrate that they:
- meet eligibility requirements outlined on this page and in the guidelines
- want to explore exercising jurisdiction or intend to do so within five years of receiving funding, and
- practice sound administrative and fiscal management
Applicants should submit capacity-building proposals that prepare and establish the following core jurisdictional development pieces:
- an Indigenous child and family services law
- a service delivery model
- an implementation budget
ISC will determine sound administrative and fiscal management by:
- reviewing any existing financial agreements between the applicant
- ensuring that applicants who have received capacity-building funding previously are up to date on their reporting and have accounted for all disbursed funds
Proposal guidelines
To help you prepare your application, please see the guidelines page with information on:
- application tools
- what to include in your proposal
- proof of authorization
- eligible activities
- funding information
- reporting requirements
- collaborative information sharing
Terms and conditions
- Contributions to Support Service Transfer and Transformation for First Nations applicants
- Contributions for the Purpose of Consultation and Policy Development for Inuit applicants
- Federal Interlocutor's Contribution Program for Métis applicants
Contact us
Your regional ISC or Northern Affairs office is your primary contact and will be able to assist you with your capacity-building funding proposals.
You can also reach out to the national team by email: Partenariats.Partnerships@sac-isc.gc.ca.