Advance nation-building infrastructure projects through the recently doubled Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program from $5 billion to $10 billion and increasing the sectoral scope. • YouBetcha

Current Status

Status: Not Started The current government has not taken concrete action to double the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program from $5 billion to $10 billion or to expand its sectoral scope as promised.

Background

The promise to double the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program and broaden its scope emerged as a key plank in the federal government’s economic reconciliation agenda, aiming to empower Indigenous communities with greater access to capital for major projects. Announced as part of a broader vision to advance nation-building infrastructure, the commitment sought to address systemic financial barriers rooted in historical policies like the Indian Act, which have long restricted Indigenous access to credit and asset leveraging. Fulfilling this promise would require legislative or regulatory amendments to increase the program’s funding cap beyond the current $5 billion and to explicitly widen the range of eligible sectors beyond natural resources and energy. Such a move was framed as a pathway to shared prosperity in resource, infrastructure, transportation, and trade projects across Canada [1].

Evidence

The Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program was initially launched on December 17, 2024, by the Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Corporation, a subsidiary of the Canada Development Investment Corporation (CDEV), with a funding cap of $5 billion. This initiative, announced in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement, focused primarily on supporting Indigenous ownership in natural resource and energy projects, as a means to lower financial barriers and improve borrowing terms [1]. On May 15, 2025, the program marked its first tangible outcome with a $400-million loan guarantee facilitating a $715-million equity investment by 36 First Nations in British Columbia for a 12.5% ownership stake in Enbridge’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline system [2]. This action, while significant, operated within the existing $5 billion framework and sectoral focus established prior to the current government’s tenure.

Since the current government under Prime Minister Mark Carney took office following the most recent election, no specific steps have been documented to increase the program’s funding to $10 billion or to expand its sectoral scope. On July 17, 2025, Carney convened the First Nations Major Projects Summit in Gatineau, Québec, to discuss the Building Canada Act and the role of major projects in Indigenous prosperity, emphasizing partnerships but offering no updates on the loan guarantee program’s expansion [3]. Similarly, on August 7, 2025, a Métis Major Projects Summit in Ottawa reiterated the government’s intent to build infrastructure in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples, again without concrete measures to adjust the program’s funding or scope [4]. The Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, continues to list the program’s cap at $5 billion, with provisions for potential increases only if authorized by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance—a step that has not been taken as of March 9, 2026 [7].

Additional government documents, including Budget 2025 and the Building Canada Act, underscore a broader commitment to nation-building infrastructure and Indigenous partnerships, with the latter enacted on June 26, 2025, to accelerate national interest projects. However, neither provides evidence of specific action to double the loan guarantee program’s funding or widen its sectoral reach beyond the initial framework [5][8]. Reports on action plan implementation from the Department of Justice also show no progress tied directly to this promise [6].

Assessment

The promise to double the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program from $5 billion to $10 billion and expand its sectoral scope remains unfulfilled under the current government. While early actions, such as the program’s launch in late 2024 and the first loan guarantee in May 2025, demonstrate its operational capacity, these steps were either initiated before the current administration or confined to the original $5 billion cap and focus on natural resources and energy. No legislative, regulatory, or financial moves have been made since Prime Minister Carney’s government took office to increase the funding or broaden the program’s eligibility to include a wider array of infrastructure, transportation, or trade projects as pledged.

Summits and discussions with Indigenous leaders in 2025 signal an ongoing dialogue about economic reconciliation and major projects, but they fall short of the substantive action needed to advance this specific commitment. Without amendments to the funding cap or clear policy shifts to expand sectoral coverage, the government has yet to lay the groundwork for delivering on its promise. As of March 9, 2026, this initiative stands untouched in any meaningful way by the current administration, leaving Indigenous communities waiting for the enhanced financial tools they were assured.

Current Status

Background

Evidence

Assessment

Sources