Overview of the Promise

During the 2025 federal election campaign, Mark Carney, as leader of the Liberal Party, promised to protect K-12 education on-reserve. The specific outcome highlighted was to ensure that more First Nations children can attend school surrounded by their language, culture, and communities. This commitment aimed to address longstanding gaps in Indigenous education, building on previous efforts to support culturally relevant schooling and improve funding and infrastructure for on-reserve schools.

Actions Taken by the Carney Government

Since taking office as Prime Minister on April 28, 2025, Mark Carney has engaged in several meetings with First Nations leaders, including discussions on broader Indigenous priorities. For instance, Carney met with Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak in March 2025 to discuss First Nations priorities, and participated in a virtual forum hosted by the Assembly of First Nations in April 2025. These engagements covered reconciliation and Indigenous issues but did not specifically address or advance initiatives related to on-reserve K-12 education.

Further interactions, such as the July 2025 summit on Bill C-5, focused primarily on major infrastructure projects and economic development, with First Nations leaders expressing concerns about consultation and consent. However, no public announcements, funding allocations, or policy developments have been reported that directly target the protection or enhancement of K-12 education on reserves, including measures to integrate language and cultural elements into schooling.

Legislation Proposed or Passed

No legislation has been proposed or passed by the Carney government specifically related to protecting on-reserve K-12 education. The most notable legislative action during this period has been Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act, which passed in June 2025 and grants the federal government powers to fast-track nation-building projects. While this bill involves collaboration with Indigenous Peoples, it centers on economic and infrastructure initiatives rather than education. Concerns from First Nations about inadequate consultation on Bill C-5 highlight ongoing tensions, but these do not pertain to educational reforms.

Prior governments, including under Justin Trudeau, had introduced measures like increased funding for Indigenous education through budgets and the Indigenous Languages Act of 2019, but Carney's administration has not yet built upon or introduced new legislation to fulfill this campaign promise.

Progress on Specific Outcomes

The promise emphasizes enabling more First Nations children to attend school immersed in their language, culture, and communities. To date, there have been no reported initiatives, such as new funding programs, curriculum reforms, or infrastructure investments, to achieve this. Engagements with First Nations have been general in nature, focusing on other priorities like resource projects and reconciliation, without concrete steps toward educational protections or expansions.

Overall Status