AFN draft for upcoming meeting with prime minister, premiers, calls for a First Nations-controlled wealth fund

A draft position paper prepared by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) for the upcoming First Nations-First Ministers Meeting (FNFMM) asks Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canada’s premiers to jointly develop a new First Nations-controlled sovereign wealth fund, financed in part by ongoing contributions from projects of national interest. The paper, entitled Building Prosperity for All, and obtained by APTN News, says the fund should reach every First Nation, whether or not a project is near them and whether or not they consent to a project that proceeds. No nation’s settlement money or own-source revenue would be used. No nation would be required to join. At the moment, Canada has established the Canada Strong Fund, an arm’s-length Crown corporation seeded with $25 billion and open to retail investors, focused on energy, critical minerals, infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, the paper says. The fund has no First Nations component in its design so the AFN is proposing two options. Add a dedicated First Nations piece inside the existing fund, or create a separate institution that First Nations control. How money will flow into the fund would be set by a National Benefits Sharing Framework, which First Ministers are also being asked to develop. The money would be reinvested and left in the fund rather than being paid out right away. Each year, a set share of the investment returns – not the original money put in – would go to First Nations infrastructure priorities. “Canada cannot build projects without First Nations territories,” the paper says. “The question this paper aims to answer is how all First Nations come to benefit from that development, through a National Benefit Sharing Framework and Sovereign Wealth Fund.” Current arrangements do not do that, the draft argues. Impact-benefit agreements, loan guarantees and revenue-sharing deals all follow the geography and location of the project, leaving out other Indigenous communities across Canada who do not live near the project. “Canada’s major projects agenda distributes benefits and impacts unevenly by design. Proximate First Nations can negotiate impact benefit agreements, while distant First Nations have no comparable route to the benefits Canada asserts are national.” A national sovereign wealth fund, unconnected to any agreement, would carry no such implication, the paper says. Receiving a benefit “would not cure an infringement, settle a disagreement or relieve the Crown of its duties.” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at a press conference in Ottawa. Photo by: APTN The paper ties the fund to closing the First Nations infrastructure gap, which it calls the largest unbuilt project in the country. Work done with Indigenous Services Canada put the cost of closing the gap by 2030 at $349.2 billion. The figure now stands at $376.1 billion. If action slips to 2040, the paper says, it reaches an estimated $527 billion. According to the brief, National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has framed closing the gap as a major project inside Canada’s infrastructure agenda. First Nations are already building community and regional sovereign wealth funds, the paper notes. Fisher River Cree Nation’s trust is designed so that only income is distributed and capital is protected, is cited as a model. The Ontario First Nations Sovereign Wealth Fund and the North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council’s Nikutik LP are others. The national proposal is meant to sit alongside that ecosystem, not replace it. Nations could hold their own fund, join a regional one, or do neither, and could change their minds. APTN reached out to the AFN about the paper but did not hear back. The meeting with the prime minister and Canada’s premiers is scheduled for Oct. 26. No details have been shared from the Prime Minister’s Office yet. When Carney met with First Nations in 2025, the meeting was closed to media and only the prime minister’s speech was public. Read More: First Nations along Pacific Link route denounce lack of consultation Carney designates Pacific Link pipeline in the ‘national interest’ According to the brief, First Nations have four “specific asks” of the prime minister and premiers, including the sovereign wealth fund. “Jointly develop a First Nations National Benefits Sharing Framework that protects consent, preserves Nation specific benefits and ownership to First Nations,” plus “Recognize closing the First Nations infrastructure gap as a nation-building priority” and “bring to fruition, establish a permanent First Nations – FPT political and officials process to design and implement the framework, with progress reported at the next FMM.” Canada committed in 2019 to such a framework as a tool for economic reconciliation, distinct from royalty sharing, which is mainly provincial and territorial, according to the paper. The AFN paper says a framework that binds only the federal government would cover only part of the activity it is meant to address, because resource development falls mainly under provincial and territorial jurisdiction. AFN Resolutions 07/2026 and 08/2026 record opposition to reforms that weaken environmental protections, compress review timelines or circumvent free, prior and informed consent, but add that First Nations are not opposed to development. They affirm that development on their territories must reflect their rights and move with consent. The document is marked “Draft for Discussion” and prepared for consideration by First Nation chiefs. It does not set a size for the fund, a contribution rate from projects, or claim that First Ministers have agreed to any of the asks. With files from Fraser Needham. Tags: Assembly of First Nations AFN, economics, First Minister Meeting, First Nations First Ministers meeting, National, Ontario, Ottawa, Parliament Hill, Premiers, Prime Minister Carney, sovereign wealth fund Continue Reading