Program directory · Department of Indigenous Services
Jordan's Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative
- Department
- Department of Indigenous Services
- Program code
- BXM01 (INDSC)
- Core responsibility
- Health and Social Services
- In Departmental Plans
- 2019-20 – 2022-23 · Appeared and later dropped
What it does
Jordan's Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative aims to make sure all First Nations and Inuit children living in Canada can access the products, services and supports they need, when they need them. Funding can help with a wide range of health, social and educational needs including, but not limited to: speech therapy, medical equipment, education supports and mental health services. Jordan’s Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative collaborates with Healthy Child Development programming to assist families of children with special needs to access specialized services, and with the Home and Community Care Program to provide homecare nursing and respite care services. Jordan’s Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative works directly with the Supplementary Health Benefits Program to provide eligible First Nations children with the services they need.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2019-20. 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).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child First Initiative – Jordan's Principle | Earlier program (name match, high confidence) | 2018-19 – 2020-21 | $392M |
| Jordan's Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative | This program | 2019-20 – 2024-25 | $2.84B |
| Jordan's Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative | Later program (name match, high confidence) | 2023-24 – 2028-29 | $4.17B |
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 | Appears to replace Child First Initiative – Jordan's Principle | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
| 2020-21 | Renamed from “Child First Initiative – Jordan’s Principle” to “Jordan's Principle”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2021-22 | Employees (FTEs) 221, against 170 in 2020-21 (+30%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Employees (FTEs) 360, against 221 in 2021-22 (+63%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Renamed from “Jordan's Principle” to “Jordan's Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2022-23 | Spending $1.04B, against $658M in 2021-22 (+58%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Planned employees (FTEs) 9, against 360 in 2022-23 (−98%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Appears to be replaced by Jordan's Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
| 2023-24 | Planned spending $57.4M, against $1.04B in 2022-23 (−94%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2024-25 | Planned spending $656K, against $57.4M in 2023-24 (−99%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2025 | Budget 2025 measure “Continued Support for Jordan's Principle”: $1,033M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2025, PDF page 284 |
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
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | ≥ 334,166 | 2021 | 339,654 The target and date to achieve have since been revised as unspecified (from 344,166) in the 2021-22 Departmental Plan to unspecified. As this initiative is demand-driven and responds to the unmet needs of First Nations children a stable target projection estimate cannot be established. As the eligibility criteria broadens and as more First Nations become aware of Jordan’s Principle, the number of… | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
No indicators in the 2026-27 plan.
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | $0 | $562M |
| 2020-21 | $436M | $582M |
| 2021-22 | $454M | $658M |
| 2022-23 | $823M | $1.04B |
| 2023-24 | $57.4M* | — |
| 2024-25 | $656K* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 0 | 147 |
| 2020-21 | 161 | 170 |
| 2021-22 | 161 | 221 |
| 2022-23 | 252 | 360 |
| 2023-24 | 9* | — |
| 2024-25 | 0* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 plan | $0 | $0 | $0 | |||
| 2020-21 plan | $436,391,110 | $446,375,682 | $49,459,875 | |||
| 2021-22 plan | $454,373,737 | $57,435,903 | $57,419,596 | |||
| 2022-23 plan | $822,874,510 | $57,422,034 | $656,069 | |||
| Actual | $562,149,602 | $582,080,333 | $658,493,671 | $1,039,779,570 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
