Sovereignty, Truth & Reconciliation
Canada's promises to Indigenous peoples have a long history of being broken: breaking them has simply always benefited the politicians, the power brokers, and the corporations. The land was taken through treaties Ottawa never honoured, children were kidnapped by a residential school system created to erase Indigenous languages and cultures, and decades after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission handed down 94 Calls to Action, most remain unfinished.
Here in B.C., the land was never ceded by First Nations; politicians have known that and looked the other way anyway, because unceded land makes for very profitable resource deals, as long as nobody asks too many questions about who it actually belongs to. Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people go missing and are murdered at rates that would be declared a national emergency anywhere else in this country.
And government after government, Liberal and Conservative alike, has answered with the striking of new committees, commissioning of new reports, and drafting of advisory paperwork, all while refusing to take real action to uphold Indigenous sovereignty.
End Long-Term Drinking Water Advisories
In 2015, the Trudeau government promised to end every long-term drinking water advisory in First Nations communities within five years. It's been over a decade. As of mid-2026, roughly 38 long-term advisories are still in effect across 36 communities, some in place for more than 30 years. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has pegged the annual funding shortfall for maintaining First Nations water systems at $138 million a year, and Ottawa's own replacement legislation for the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act strips out the recognition of clean water as a human right, downgrading it to merely "aspirational." That's why New Democrats are fighting to end every remaining long-term drinking water advisory across the country. Government after government, Liberal and Conservative alike, keeps finding tens of billions for corporate subsidies while treating clean drinking water for First Nations as something Ottawa can get around to eventually. It's a choice about whose needs come first, and it's the wrong one.
Justice For Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, And Two-Spirit People
According to Statistics Canada, between 2009 and 2021, Indigenous women and girls made up 2 per cent and 3 per cent of the country's population, yet represented 5 per cent and 7 per cent of all homicide victims. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls called it a national crisis. Years later, the vast majority of the 231 Calls for Justice remain unfulfilled, and families are still waiting for answers that have never come. It's made worse by Ottawa's own choices: federal "nation-building" projects on Indigenous lands and in rural regions often bring man camps with them, and man camps have a long, documented history of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people. That's why Mission—Matsqui's New Democrats are calling for the immediate fulfillment of Call for Justice 1.7, and the creation of a Human Rights Tribunal and Human Rights Ombudsperson with the power to oversee enforcement of all 231 Calls for Justice.
A National
Reconciliation Trust
New Democrats have long called for full implementation of all 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It's been eleven years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its 94 Calls, yet since then, less than 15 per cent have been completed, while as of 2026, 41 per cent have either not started or have stalled. That's why Mission—Matsqui's New Democrats are calling for a National Reconciliation Trust to provide stable, permanent funding to the National Council for Reconciliation, and for that Council to be granted permanent statutory status, the power to subpoena evidence, and the legal standing of a quasi-judicial tribunal, so it can actually compel a government that's dragging its feet. Reconciliation can't depend on which party happens to be in office; it has to be the law.
Protect UNDRIP
Canada signed onto the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, an international human rights agreement that protects the cultural, self-determination, land, and survival rights of Indigenous peoples. Yet today, the future of UNDRIP remains uncertain, as the federal government battles with First Nations in courts over the recognition of Indigenous title. New Democrats will fight to uphold UNDRIP, ensuring the sovereignty of First Nations is no longer trampled by the federal government to make way for resource development corporations seeking to extract, exploit, and siphon off this country's wealth.
Enforce Jordan’s Principle
Born in 1999, Jordan River Anderson was a child from Norway House Cree Nation. Born with a rare and complex medical condition, he was cleared by doctors for home care by age two, but remained hospitalized for three more years. The federal government and the province of Manitoba argued over which should fund his in-home medical equipment and support, until he passed away, never having lived in a family home. The system failed Jordan, and continued to fail far too many others, which is why Jordan’s Principle was passed in 2007. Since then, however, the massive application backlog for applicants under Jordan's Principle has been allowed to reach crisis levels, as funding and services have been cut to the very community services that would have otherwise administered it. That is why we’re fighting to make federal law out of Jordan's Principle, to ensure that no child is ever denied a service or made to wait because of jurisdictional disputes between governments.
An Independent Process For Land Claims
Since the "Indian" Act of 1876, the federal government has cordoned off Indigenous peoples into parcels of what their lands once were, too often on land that wasn't even arable and contained far too little land to practice their traditional lifestyles on, thereby forcing these reserves to be reliant on government rations. All to move these nations out of the way, so the government could sell off their wealth and resources to the highest bidder. Over time, however, many of these nations have begun to reclaim ownership of their lands, aided by the "Addition of Lands to Reserves and Reserve Creation Act" passed in 2018. Even so, these land claims are often tied up over years or even decades, through lengthy negotiations with third parties and municipalities, which is likely why, according to the Assembly of First Nations, there exists a backlog of over 1,300 ATR submissions. Every year a land claim sits unresolved is another year a resource company can keep extracting from disputed territory without having to negotiate with the people who actually hold title to it. The slower the process moves, the more gets taken before anyone has to pay for it. That's why New Democrats are calling for a new, independent land claims process, one that respects Indigenous title and moves with the efficiency and fairness that a nation-to-nation relationship demands. For far too long, the federal government has sought to constrain the sovereignty and the freedom of First Nations through an open-air prison system of reserves. It’s time the federal government finally recognized their sovereignty, and allowed them to take ownership over their lands.
Resource Revenue Sharing And Indigenous Business Ownership
For far too long, the federal government cordoned off Indigenous peoples into reserves to allow corporations to extract, exploit, and siphon off this country’s wealth. Today, $2.6 trillion in assets is held by foreign-controlled enterprises; the big four oil corporations that control 80 per cent of oil sands production are collectively 73 per cent foreign-owned, and nearly a third of all mining and quarrying assets are owned by foreign corporations. While much of our forestry industry is Canadian-controlled, 66 per cent of it is sold off to foreign buyers. While our politicians sell us on the lie that a pipeline is our pathway to prosperity, the corporations, the shareholders who are actually making the money, don’t even live here; they are siphoning off this country’s wealth, and they are lobbying the federal government to do it. All the while, it is all of our land, air, and water that is being poisoned, it is our communities who will be stripped of their resources with nothing left to show for it, once the oil sands are dry, once the forests are felled, once the mines are depleted, and it will be First Nations who are hit first, and it will be First Nations who are hit hardest. That's why New Democrats are calling for real resource revenue sharing with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, real participation in decisions over resource development on their territories, and access to capital for Indigenous business development, so Indigenous communities aren't just consulted about their own land; they own a piece of what's built on it. No longer can we allow predominantly foreign corporations to siphon this country’s wealth, corrupt our government, and trample over Indigenous sovereignty to do it; we must ensure the wealth remains in the hands of those to whom the resources belong.
Implement A For Indigenous, By Indigenous Housing Policy
The housing crisis affecting First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities is a national emergency; nearly one in six Indigenous people live in homes needing major repairs; another one in six live in housing unsuitable for the number of people living there. On reserve, infrastructure deficits have accumulated for decades as the federal government underfunded First Nations housing. According to a 2023 report from the Assembly of First Nations, more than 157,000 new homes were required to address the housing crisis on reserves across the country. Communities like Sts’ailes, Leq’á:mel, and Sq’ewlets are facing a housing crisis that is distinct and far more severe than what others across the riding are facing. New Democrats are fighting to allocate at least 20 per cent of all federal housing investments to Indigenous communities, work with Indigenous leadership to develop and fund a national For Indigenous, By Indigenous housing strategy, and fund First Nations and housing authorities to develop the culturally relevant housing their communities need. There can be no reconciliation without housing justice for Indigenous communities.