Lessons from the Past: How Mark Carney and the Liberals Can Tackle Housing Challenges in First Nations with a Renewed Focus on Building Homes and Reconciliation

Jason Nichols

The 2025 Canadian federal election is over, and the Liberal Party of Canada has received a new mandate from Canadians. A significant aspect of the Liberals’ election platform involved a commitment to “get back into building homes,” with a pledge to construct over 500,000 new homes annually over the next ten years. There is a critical shortage of affordable housing throughout Canada, and this is particularly evident in many First Nations communities. Housing on reserves has faced chronic underfunding since the establishment of the first reserve communities in Canada, and this neglect persists, negatively impacting health and well-being in First Nations communities.

A 2023 report titled Closing the Infrastructure Gap by 2030, published by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), indicates that to satisfy the housing demands of First Nations communities, an additional 108,803 housing units must be constructed by 2030. The Indigenous and Northern Housing plan within Canada’s current National Housing Strategy is a good start, but it does not go nearly far enough to meet the long-standing housing needs of First Nations communities. With the new Liberal platform prioritizing the rapid development of affordable and sustainable homes, Prime Minister Mark Carney has a chance to begin remedying some of the historical and ongoing injustices that First Nations peoples encounter regarding housing on reserves. This can be accomplished by integrating the AFN’s proposal into the National Housing Strategy, providing a streamlined process for First Nations to benefit, and working directly with First Nations to meet the specific needs of each community, steering clear of the paternalistic dynamics that have largely fueled the housing crisis experienced by First Nations communities throughout Canada.

During my MA in history, I researched how the Canadian settler state used housing as a tool for assimilation on reserves in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, specifically in southern Alberta, or Treaty 7 territory. Reviewing the Liberals’ new housing strategy has prompted me to reflect on my historical research concerning First Nations housing, and I believe there are lessons that the new government can apply to avoid the same pitfalls that have plagued previous governments for over a century.  

In the early 1900s, Indian Agent H.E. Sibbald, who worked for the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA), introduced a program to improve housing on the Siksika reserve. After Treaty 7 was signed in 1877, the Siksika, like other First Nations communities on the prairies, were confined to reserves and encouraged to adopt log dwellings over tipis to assimilate them into Euro-Canadian culture and disrupt their social and cultural practices. Indigenous Peoples in Treaty 7 had mixed reactions to the adoption of log homes. For instance, the DIA built a log home for Isapo-muxika, or Crowfoot, hoping that he would embrace the Euro-style house over the tipi and encourage others to do so as well. However, historian Hugh Dempsey notes that Isapo-muxika continued to prefer the tipi and only sought shelter in his log dwelling when winter arrived, and his health declined.[1] At the turn of the 20^th century, the Indigenous Peoples of Treaty 7 still preferred tipis to log homes. However, with the bison, whose skins were required to construct tipis, nearly extinct, many reluctantly made the switch.

Early 20^th-century log homes on the Siksika reserve typically consisted of a singular room constructed from rough-hewn wood, featuring dirt floors and a mud roof. These structures exhibited inadequate ventilation, resulting in various health complications, including respiratory ailments such as tuberculosis. The unfavourable conditions of these log homes compelled Sibbald to formulate a housing initiative aimed at enhancing living conditions on the Siksika reserve. In 1905, he proposed a home financing plan that would allow individuals with significant cattle as collateral and a down payment of $100 to borrow $400 from band funds for the construction of a new residence.[2] By the conclusion of the year, the housing program secured approval from the federal government, and Sibbald conveyed optimism that it would lead to “an improved class of dwellings.”[3] The British Columbia Mills Timber and Trading Company designed the homes, and they consisted of a single bedroom, kitchen, and living room, along with a modest attic.[4] Within the initial year, two Siksika residents successfully constructed homes, and J.A. Markle, the Alberta Inspectorate for the DIA, characterized them as “comfortable and sanitary.”[5] Despite the completion of two homes, there is no substantial evidence indicating that the plan progressed further. The proprietors, James Appekoke and Paul Little Walker, were late on their first loan installment due to their cattle being deemed unfit for slaughter to generate the necessary funds, which may have prompted the DIA to cancel the housing program.[6] Furthermore, it is plausible that no additional individuals met or expressed interest in meeting the restrictive conditions required to construct homes under the program.

The issue of underfunding housing within First Nations communities has been a persistent systemic issue, but how can a 120-year-old housing program provide lessons for today?  The first thing worth noting is that the newly elected federal government must ensure that future First Nations housing initiatives receive adequate investment. This necessitates long-term governmental funding to effectively address the housing shortage and enhance existing housing conditions in First Nations communities. According to Sibbald’s housing plan, all financing for loans was to come from band funds, with no funding provided by the government. It held that Indigenous Peoples ought to be self-sufficient, and the government was not inclined to issue ‘hand-outs,’ despite its systematic efforts to curtail economic opportunities for First Nations peoples. The Canadian state continues to perpetuate the ongoing housing shortage through a paternalistic relationship with First Nations communities. The AFN reports that it will require $135.1 billion to bridge the housing gap in First Nations communities by the year 2030. While this figure is substantial, it has reached this extent primarily due to the federal government’s historical underfunding and neglect of housing within reserve communities since their establishment. It will take a bold and multi-year financial commitment by the Liberals to meet the required housing needs.

Sibbald’s housing plan imposed overly restrictive requirements for those wanting to build homes, creating high barriers for most Siksika Nation residents. A $100 deposit and cattle as collateral excluded many. Moreover, loans came from band funds, placing all financial risk on the band if defaults occurred. Economic conditions in many First Nations have not improved compared to broader Canadian settler society since the early twentieth century. Thus, for housing initiatives to succeed, the Liberal government must avoid unnecessary barriers and red tape. The government must ensure housing needs are not hindered by bureaucracy, underfunding, anti-competitive practices, and exclusionary programs that have troubled First Nations housing.

Lastly, the Liberal government must allow First Nations communities to direct their own housing strategies. Sibbald recognized the need for better housing on the Siksika reserve but did not include the community in decisions about design, builders, materials, or funding. He created the plan and chose candidates based solely on his criteria, excluding the community’s input on their needs. The DIA’s paternalistic approach determined what was deemed to be in the ‘best interest’ of First Nations Peoples regarding housing. In 2021, Canada committed to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), with part of Article 23 emphasizing Indigenous Peoples’ rights to participate in housing development and manage it through their institutions when feasible. It will be imperative that the Liberals continue to uphold and recognize UNDRIP regarding housing initiatives by First Nations communities.

A 1973 documentary by the National Film Board highlights the Kainai community’s ingenuity in addressing housing needs through the establishment of Kainai Industries, an Indigenous-led business that manufactured prefabricated homes for the community and the greater Canadian market. Kainai Industries not only provided essential housing units but also reduced unemployment, employing dozens of community members at its peak. Despite operating until the early 1990s, Kainai Industries was not without its challenges, some due to the colonial state itself. The DIA faced allegations that it sought to bankrupt Kainai Industries by promoting a competing settler prefabricated housing business. Kainai Industries serves as a reminder of the fractured relationship and distrust that has existed between First Nations peoples and the colonial state. Any new housing initiatives for First Nations reserves should emphasize collaboration, partnership, and good faith with all government levels.

The AFN’s infrastructure report should mark the beginning, not the end, of First Nations’ involvement in housing on reserves. If Mark Carney and the Liberals are serious about reconciliation and improving housing for all Canadians, First Nations peoples should have an equal seat at the table, determining what that process will look like and how their communities will be directly involved. The Liberals have been given a fourth consecutive term, something uncommon in Canadian politics. The government must work proactively, collaboratively, and respectfully, while learning from the past to ensure First Nations communities are a significant part of the government’s bold and ambitious housing plan.

Jason Nichols, a Settler Canadian residing in Treaty 18, has an MA in History from Lakehead University and is beginning his PhD History in the fall at York University, focusing on settler colonialism in Canada. Follow him on Bluesky.

[1] Hugh Dempsey, Crowfoot: Chief of the Blackfeet (Halifax: Formac Publishing Company Limited, 2017), 208.

[2] H.E. Sibbald to J.D. Maclean, 5 September 1905, file 163163, vol. 3983, RG10, Library and Archives Canada (LAC).

[3] Orders in Council, 29 December 1905., H.E. Sibbald to J.D. Maclean, 7 July 1906, file 163163, vol. 3983, RG10, LAC.

[4] Blueprints for interior, n.d. file 163163, vol. 3983, RG 10, LAC.

[5] Canada, Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs 1906. Report by J.A. Markle, Alberta Inspectorate, 183.

[6] H.E. Sibbald to J.D. Maclean, 17 January 1907, file 163163, vol. 3983, RG10, LAC.