Some of 2025’s big stories in Indigenous politics could heat up in 2026

For First Nations, in at least one key area, 2025 ended the same way it started: with the Canadian government fighting Indigenous people in court, trying to limit Ottawa’s legal duty to provide Indigenous kids with essential services. And losing, again.

On Dec. 20 2024, one of the Trudeau government’s last acts of the year was to start a court challenge against the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, aiming to overturn a legal order requiring Canada to tackle a backlog of requests at the Jordan's Principle initiative.

A year later, on Dec. 15, 2025, the Carney government found itself on the losing end of a precedent-setting Jordan’s Principle case at the Federal Court of Appeal. The decision only further entrenched Ottawa’s legal obligations.

While those two cases bookended an arguably familiar situation — as a long-standing legal battle continues — 2025 also saw some major shifts in the Indigenous political world. 

Here is a look back at some of those events.

The trouble at the Jordan’s Principle program was constant.

Amid the growing backlog of requests, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) was implementing a contentious new operational bulletin that limited the services eligible for funding.

An official with the Cree community of Kashechewan told me they had to pause a suicide-prevention program due to the changes. A family in southern Ontario called it a nightmare, as their autistic son was poised to lose funding for his education. The nightmare soon became all too real when Canada did indeed pull funding for eight-year-old Ethan Maracle's schooling.

Other Jordan’s Principle users fought their denials in court and won, culminating in Canada’s loss to First Nations grandmother Joanne Powless at the Federal Court of Appeal in December.

The battle continues, mainly over the future of the on-reserve child welfare system.

And then you had Mark Carney.

The newly elected prime minister instituted tectonic political shifts in the capital — and earned some early rebukes from First Nations leaders.

Amid election talk of imposing a pipeline on Indigenous nations, Indigenous leaders demanded inclusion. Some even threatened an Idle No More 2.0 protest movement should Carney forge ahead on fast-tracking projects without their consent.

Cue the damage control. The government hastily organized a series of summer summits to try to ease the concerns. I spoke to dozens of leaders and heard everything from unwavering resistance to eager support.