New Report Warns Canada’s Progress on MMIWG2S+ Is at Serious Risk as Federal Funding Set to Collapse

Press Release

June 3, 2026

OTTAWA, ON – Federal progress on implementing the 231 Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls is at risk of being undone by expiring funding and inadequate long-term commitments, warns new analysis from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

On the seventh anniversary of the release of Reclaiming Power and Place, the landmark 2019 national inquiry, the new report tracks federal action on the Calls for Justice and finds that while significant investments have been made, much of the progress remains brittle and in danger of reversing.

Fragile Progress: Analysis of past spending and future commitments on MMIWG2S+ calls for justice, co-authored by CCPA and The National Family and Survivors Circle Inc. (NFSC), finds that nearly half of all federal initiatives launched in direct response to the Calls for Justice have already ended or are at risk of expiring in the coming years.

Since 2019, the federal government has spent or committed to spend $146.3 billion from 2019 to 2031 on programs linked to the Calls for Justice. Yet despite the scale of that investment, the report finds that a significant and growing share of it is now at risk of disappearing.

Annual funding for new initiatives is projected to drop from a peak of $3.7 billion in 2024–25 to approximately $1.8 billion by 2028–29. This is a 51 per cent reduction that could dismantle recently developed social infrastructure and reverse critical progress.

“The Calls for Justice were never intended to be symbolic commitments, they were intended to save lives,” said Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, President of the National Family and Survivors Circle Inc. “Real change means addressing root causes and investing in prevention for the long term. Families and survivors deserve a clear path forward.”

The report describes this trend as “austerity through expiration,” in which governments avoid explicitly cutting programs by allowing funding commitments to lapse over time, weakening services and undermining accountability.

The authors of the report call on the federal government to urgently:

• Recognize the implementation of the Calls for Justice as a core human rights obligation
• Renew and stabilize core MMIWG2S+ funding and establish a permanent funding framework grounded in Indigenous rights and reconciliation
• Prioritize Indigenous-led and community delivered services
• Accelerate investments in Indigenous housing, shelters, and safe infrastructure
• Strengthen Indigenous-led health, mental wellness, and trauma supports

“Reconciliation cannot depend on temporary pilot projects and expiring funding agreements. Long-term funding must be sustained to see action on the Calls for Justice,” said Niall Harney, Senior Researcher and Errol Black Chair in Labour Issues, at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. “Implementation of the Calls for Justice is not optional policy work, but a constitutional and human rights obligation requiring permanent, accountable federal action.”

Fragile Progress is available at:  https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/fragile-progress-analysis-of-past-spending-and-future-commitments-on-mmiwg2s-calls-for-justice/

We recognize that this subject matter may be distressing for some. For immediate support, please contact the national, independent toll-free, 24/7 support line at 1-844-413-6649 to speak with a counsellor in English, French, Cree, Anishnaabemowin (Ojibway), or Inuktitut.

About NFSC Inc:

The National Family and Survivors Circle Inc. (NFSC Inc.) is a legally incorporated, non-profit organization of Inuit, Métis, and First Nations women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people with diverse lived experiences. NFSC Inc. works to ensure that families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, survivors of gender-based violence, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people are at the center of all efforts to implement the 231 Calls for Justice, the National Action Plan on MMIWG2S+, and the Federal Pathway.

About CCPA:

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is an independent, non-partisan research institute. Founded in 1980, the CCPA is one of Canada’s leading progressive voices in public policy debates. CCPA experts work on issues related to social, economic and environmental justice.

Contact Data

Colton Praill
spark* advocacy
613-875-4320
colton@sparkadvocacy.ca

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