Program directory · Department of Indigenous Services
Jordan's Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative
- Department
- Department of Indigenous Services
- Program code
- BYP06 (INDSC)
- Core responsibility
- Indigenous Well-Being and Self-Determination
- In Departmental Plans
- 2023-24 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
Jordan’s Principle Profile:
In 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) found that Canada was discriminatory in its application of Jordan’s Principle, a child-first principle aimed at resolving jurisdictional disputes that impeded First Nations children from accessing government services. Jordan’s Principle is a legal obligation ordered by the CHRT, that responds to the unmet needs of First Nation children, regardless of where they live in Canada. The demand-driven initiative supports families in accessing products, services and supports for First Nation children and youth to help with a wide range of health, social and educational needs.
The Inuit Child First Initiative Profile:
The Inuit Child First Initiative was established in September 2018 to address unmet needs of Inuit children and ensure they have access to essential government-funded health, social and educations products, services and supports, regardless of where they live in Canada. The Inuit Child First Initiative (ICFI) follows the same delivery model as Jordan’s Principle.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2023-24. 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 | Earlier program (name match, high confidence) | 2019-20 – 2024-25 | $2.84B |
| Jordan's Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative | This program | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | Appears to replace Jordan's Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
| 2024-25 | Indicators added: Number of approved products, services and supports for First Nations and Inuit children | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Indicators dropped: Number of approved requests for products and services to support First Nations children under the Jordan’s Principle | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Spending $2.35B, against $1.82B in 2023-24 (+29%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2027-28 | Planned employees (FTEs) 242, against 467 in 2026-27 (−48%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2027-28 | Planned spending $772M, against $1.68B in 2026-27 (−54%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2028-29 | Planned employees (FTEs) 4, against 242 in 2027-28 (−98%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2028-29 | Planned spending $121K, against $772M in 2027-28 (−100%). | 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
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | — | 0 | 2,754,804 As this initiative is demand-driven and responds to the unmet needs of First Nations children, a stable projection estimate cannot be established. As more First Nations become aware of Jordan’s Principle and current CHRT orders impede redirecting of requests to established programs, the number of approved products, supports and services are expected to increase at rates that cannot be forecasted. | No result reported |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | — | — | 2,779,886 products, services, and supports Data extracted from the Jordan’s Principle Case Management System July 11, 2024, which presents results until March 31, 2024. The total number of approved products, services and supports in 2023-24 was the result of 146,407 approved requests. | No result reported |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Qualitative | 2027 | — | Planned |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | $882M | $1.82B |
| 2024-25 | $1.61B | $2.35B |
| 2025-26 | $1.93B | — |
| 2026-27 | $1.68B | — |
| 2027-28 | $772M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $121K* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 343 | 485 |
| 2024-25 | 443 | 484 |
| 2025-26 | 463 | — |
| 2026-27 | 467 | — |
| 2027-28 | 242* | — |
| 2028-29 | 4* | — |
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 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 plan | $882,270,495 | $344,637,349 | $12,728,849 | |||
| 2024-25 plan | $1,607,837,724 | $783,406,706 | $783,835,911 | |||
| 2025-26 plan | $1,927,295,121 | $783,629,333 | $771,873,875 | |||
| 2026-27 plan | $1,676,182,186 | $772,112,666 | $121,077 | |||
| Actual | $1,823,814,766 | $2,346,230,295 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
