Indigenous claims – Frontier Centre For Public Policy
January 28, 2026
Ottawa’s refusal to test Indigenous claims in court is fuelling a billion-dollar wave of settlements and legal copycats
First Nations led the charge. Now the Métis are catching up. Ottawa’s legal surrender strategy could make payouts the new national policy.
Indigenous class-action litigation seeking compensation for historical grievances began in earnest with claims related to Indian Residential Schools. The federal government eventually chose negotiation over litigation, settling for about $5-billion with “survivors.” Then–prime minister Stephen Harper hoped this would close the chapter, but it opened the floodgates instead. Class actions have followed ever since.
