Program directory · Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

Negotiation of Treaties, Self-Government Agreements and Other Constructive Arrangements

Department: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Program code: BWM02 (INAC)
Core responsibility: Crown-Indigenous Relations
In Departmental Plans: 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan

What it does

This Program supports Canada’s commitment to recognizing and affirming the rights of Indigenous Peoples, as outlined in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, and reflected in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). It primarily advances this commitment through the negotiation of treaties, self-government agreements, and other constructive arrangements with Indigenous partners that implement their Aboriginal and treaty rights, including the inherent right of self-government.

Through rights-based negotiations with Indigenous groups across Canada, the Program facilitates the co-development of proposals for future agreements that reflect shared priorities. These negotiations aim to build a common understanding of how jurisdictional responsibilities will be coordinated across different levels of government in specific contexts. The ultimate outcome of this Program is for Indigenous Peoples to exercise their right to self-determination, laying the foundation for a more equitable and sustainable society.

Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.

History and lineage

First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).

Bars: spending by fiscal year (dark: actual; light: actual restated on the 2017-18 program structure; outlined: the latest plan's forecast; grey: related programs). Bands: each program in the lineage over the years it has data. The line at the bottom shows this program's names over time.

Program	Relation	Years with data	Actual spending over those years
Negotiation of Treaties, Self-Government Agreements and Other Constructive Arrangements	This program	2018-19 – 2028-29	$2.26B

No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.

Significant changes in scope and budget

Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.

Year	What changed	Source
2019-20	Spending $1.09B, against $171M in 2018-19 (+537%).	Actual spending (GC InfoBase)
2020-21	Indicators added: Number of treaties, self-government agreements, and other constructive arrangements that have been concluded; Number of communities where treaties, self-government agreements, and other constructive arrangements have been concluded	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2020-21	Indicators dropped: The number of active Indigenous rights and self-determination processes underway	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2020-21	Spending $178M, against $1.09B in 2019-20 (−84%).	Actual spending (GC InfoBase)
2022-23	Renamed from “Negotiations of Claims and Self-Government Agreements” to “Negotiation of Treaties, Self-Government Agreements and Other Constructive Arrangements”.	GC InfoBase program names by year
2022-23	Spending $272M, against $173M in 2021-22 (+57%).	Actual spending (GC InfoBase)
2023-24	Indicators added: Percentage of Indigenous people with whom treaties, self-government agreements and other constructive arrangements have been concluded	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2023-24	Indicators dropped: Number of communities where treaties, self-government agreements, and other constructive arrangements have been concluded	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2023-24	Spending $198M, against $272M in 2022-23 (−27%).	Actual spending (GC InfoBase)
2024	Budget 2024 measure “Section 35 Negotiations”: $96M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match).	Budget 2024, PDF page 312
2024-25	Indicators added: Number of Indigenous groups involved in discussion tables related to treaties, self-government agreements and other constructive arrangements	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2024-25	Indicators dropped: Percentage of Indigenous people with whom treaties, self-government agreements and other constructive arrangements have been concluded; Number of treaties, self-government agreements, and other constructive arrangements that have been concluded	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2025-26	Indicators added: Percentage of active Recognition of Indigenous Rights and Self-Determination tables where a preliminary-type agreement has been signed	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2025-26	Indicators dropped: Number of Indigenous groups involved in discussion tables related to treaties, self-government agreements and other constructive arrangements	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2026-27	Planned employees (FTEs) 248, against 332 in 2025-26 (−25%).	FTEs (GC InfoBase)
2026-27	Indicators added: Percentage of Indigenous people with whom treaties, self-government agreements and other constructive arrangements have been concluded	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2027-28	Planned spending $130M, against $175M in 2026-27 (−26%).	Latest Departmental Plan

Success criteria

The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.

Historical: targets against results

Percentage of Indigenous people with whom treaties, self-government agreements and other constructive arrangements have been concluded

Expected result: Indigenous peoples determine their political, economic, social and cultural development