First Nations Finance Authority leader calls for meaningful partnership and equity as Canada accelerates major projects
First Nations are ready to lead on building major projects, but meaningful partnerships and time to prepare are essential, says Ernie Daniels, President and CEO of the First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA).
“Indigenous Nations are already significant drivers of the Canadian economy, and they want to participate in more of these major projects, but they need to be consulted in a meaningful way,” he said.
Speaking from years of experience leading an organization that has transformed how First Nations access capital, Daniels emphasized that “a bit of runway” for consultation needs to be incorporated into the timelines for any major project impacting Indigenous communities.
Speaking about how to deepen engagement and advance economic reconciliation, Daniels emphasized that while “First Nations do want to participate in these projects,” governments and industry must “start talking with First Nations right away to create this longer runway.”
“…it's important that government and industry start talking with First Nations right away to create this longer runway and to really … offer equity ownership into these projects.”
Ernie Daniels, President & CEO, First Nations Finance Authority
With Bill C-5 aiming to shorten project timelines from conception to production, Daniels cautioned that Indigenous consultation can’t be an afterthought. “If I look at the Cedar LNG project, that was probably more than maybe eight to 10 years in discussion. That these project timelines are going to be much less from the government's perspective, it's important that government and industry start talking with First Nations right away to create this longer runway and to really … offer equity ownership into these projects.”
FNFA’s success has gained international attention. “We’re the only institute of this type that exists in the world for First Nations,” Daniels noted. “We’re working with international Indigenous peoples on sharing our experiences. I just got an email from someone in New Zealand wanting to talk about how they can model themselves after what we’re doing.”
From a single A credit rating in 2012 to AA+ today, FNFA’s progress speaks volumes, Daniels said.
Born and raised in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Daniels is a proud member of the Salt River First Nation, a Dene Cree community. A Chartered Professional Accountant and Certified Aboriginal Financial Manager, he has led the FNFA since 2011. Daniels is also the first First Nation person to be appointed to the Bank of Canada’s Board of Directors.
The FNFA, he explained, is a First Nation-led institution that operates under federal legislation called the First Nation Fiscal Management Act (2025). Its mandate: to provide financing, investment and advisory services to First Nations governments across the country with a mission to help “First Nation communities build their own futures on their own terms.”
Under Daniels’ leadership, FNFA bonds are now “bought and sold on the capital markets pretty well all over the world.” The organization has helped over 190 First Nations access financing for housing, infrastructure and major economic development initiatives.
These successes are unfolding within a shifting national framework for resource and infrastructure development. In June 2025, Parliament passed Bill C-5, legislation that enacts the Building Canada Act. The new law also established the Major Projects Office (MPO), headquartered in Calgary and led by Dawn Farrell, a veteran of Canada’s energy and infrastructure sectors.
The MPO is designed as a single window for project proponents, streamlining federal regulatory approvals, coordinating financing and shortening review timelines for projects deemed in the national interest to a maximum of two years. Importantly, the legislation explicitly commits to advancing Indigenous participation in major projects, emphasizing that partnership and consultation with Indigenous Peoples are central to its mandate.
Against this backdrop, Daniels’ call for genuine collaboration carries even greater weight. As Canada accelerates large-scale infrastructure and resource development, ensuring early, meaningful engagement and equitable participation for First Nations is not only a matter of reconciliation, but a prerequisite for long-term success.
Additionally, sustainability and inclusion, pillars of FNFA’s work, are also integral to long-term success, Daniels said.
“We want to build a better future for our kids, like we all do in Canada. We want to have a good place to live. And so protecting the environment is really important. So that needs to be taken into consideration,” he said, noting that each project the FNFA helps to finance is tagged using the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to ensure sustainable growth.
For Daniels, enabling First Nations to generate and manage their own wealth is key to achieving that future. “If they have revenue streams that they can securitize and finance themselves, they’re going to build new infrastructure in their communities. They're going to take that on, they're going to invest in other projects that they think are going to be worthwhile for them. And so, for First Nations, being part of the economic fabric of Canada is really important,” he said.
“By allowing First Nations to really be involved in a lot of these economic development projects, we're going to increase our GDP and our contribution to Canada. So it's in the best interest of all Canadians that the First Nations are a part of the economic development future of this country and are at the table, discussing this and being a true partner with Canada.”
Ernie Daniels, President & CEO, First Nations Finance Authority
The impact, he said, extends far beyond individual nations. “We’re about two and a half percent of the population, but our contribution to GDP is less than that. By allowing First Nations to really be involved in a lot of these economic development projects, we're going to increase our GDP and our contribution to Canada. So it's in the best interest of all Canadians that the First Nations are a part of the economic development future of this country and are at the table, discussing this and being a true partner with Canada,” he said, adding, “Investors that are going to invest in these projects want to know that they are sustainable, and so that's what's really important.”
A decade of growth
This year marks the 10th anniversary of FNFA’s first bond issuance. “In 11 years, we’ve issued 14 bonds successfully into the capital markets, growing from annual issuances in the early years to multiple issuances per year that are oversubscribed," he said.
That oversubscription is more than a financial milestone, it’s a signal of trust. “It’s a message to our First Nation governments that we can access the capital markets for the financing they need,” he said.
Looking ahead, Ernie hopes to see First Nations “in a position where they’re managing their wealth, in control of their own destiny, and creating a better quality of life for their people.”
“That’s what I really look forward to,” he said. “To be part of the Canadian fabric for economic development and be at the table as a major partner in projects that are going to affect Canada and the world.”
When asked why it was important for FNFA to join the Coalition for a Better Future, Daniels said it was because “our goals align.”
For Daniels, that shared purpose is what makes the Coalition meaningful. “The Coalition wants a better future for Canadians, and if you just think about that sentence — ‘a better future for Canadians’ — there’s a lot under that,” he said. “We are aligned. I listened to people like Lisa Raitt and Anne McLellan speak, and we’re talking about the same thing. I really appreciate it.”
He added: “We’re trying to do the same thing—they’re just doing it in a different way—but we’re going in the same direction.”
