Report

Estimating First Nations and Inuit police services funding gap

Feb 25, 2026

In response to a request by the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, this report provides an estimate of the operational funding gap for First Nations and Inuit police services supported by the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program. It also projects the value of one-time costs to meet provincially estimated service needs.

Highlights

PBO estimates the federal cost of the annual operational funding gap for First Nations and Inuit communities served by self-administered police services under the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program to be $232.5 million as of 2026-27, which represents 103.0 per cent of projected federal funding under self-administered agreements. This gap is primarily driven by the need for 841 additional funded officers, equivalent to an increase of 54.8 per cent relative to projected levels under self-administered agreements.
Based on the resource needs estimated by provinces, all self-administered First Nations and Inuit police services are estimated to have an operational funding gap as of 2026-27, ranging from 1.4 per cent to 572.3 per cent of projected funding.
In addition, PBO estimates the value of federal one-time costs to meet provincially estimated service needs to be $946.6 million as of 2026-27. These one-time costs include induction training, equipment, and infrastructure that could be incurred over multiple fiscal years.