2024-2025 Highlight report: Inuit

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Reporting on progress made to address violence against Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people

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Introduction

In response to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls' Final Report and Call for Justice 1.1, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan (National Action Plan) was released on June 3, 2021. The Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People (Federal Pathway) is the federal government's contribution to the National Action Plan and represents the Government of Canada's commitment to addressing violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. The federal government recognizes the need for urgent action to address the crisis of MMIWG2S+ and that distinctions-based and population-specific approaches are taken into consideration, as the needs and priorities of Indigenous families and survivors, women, girls, urban, 2SLGBTQI+, First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples vary. Toward this aim, the Inuit Highlight Report will communicate federal progress made on the priorities and needs of Inuit, as identified in the National Inuit Action Plan on Missing and Murdered Inuit Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people (National Inuit Action Plan), jointly published by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Pauktuutit.

In its Final Report, the National Inquiry states that Inuit families, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers often spoke of "ilagiinniq"—an Inuktitut word defined as "being family"—as a concept that has historically kept Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people safe from violence in the rural, remote, and northern communities where they lived. The disruption to the Inuit way of life resulting from structural racism, forced resettlement, residential schools, child apprehensions, and other colonial policies has weakened or broken the kinship and bonds represented by ilagiinniq. As a consequence, Inuit culture, language, and traditions have been harmed, many Inuit have been forced to move to urban centres, and, most importantly, Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people have become extremely marginalized and exposed to violent victimization.

Redressing the harm that has been done to Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people and their communities must be an Inuit-informed process supported by federal resources and investments. The following report, which is a part of the 2024–25 Federal Pathway Annual Progress Report, discusses Federal Pathway initiatives that have made progress in 2024–25 towards the priorities identified by Inuit Tapiirit Kanatami, Pauktuutit, and the Inuit-specific Calls for Justice.

Shelters, housing and infrastructure

As the National Inuit Action Plan states, a housing crisis has been ongoing in Inuit Nunangat for more than 50 years, directly contributing to high rates of family violence and housing insecurity. The lack of adequate shelter space has only compounded this issue, as many Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people often have nowhere to go to flee violence. Further, the infrastructure gap between Inuit Nunangat and the rest of Canada has made services less accessible, significantly increased the cost of living, and forced many Inuit to relocate to urban centres, more often than not a significant distance from their communities and Inuit Nunangat (Inuit traditional homeland). The federal government acknowledges that housing, shelters, and infrastructure are essential needs for Inuit communities, and are crucial to prevent violence against Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people and to keep them safe.

As part of the Distinctions-Based Housing Initiative, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada continues to provide direct investments to modern treaty and self-governing Indigenous governments, including Inuit treaty organizations, to support them to deliver self-determined housing programs based on the Inuit Nunangat Housing Strategy. In 2024–25, funding provided to Inuit treaty organizations saw approximately 60 new Inuit housing units constructed and repairs to a further 40 Inuit housing units undertaken. In addition to addressing housing insecurity and living conditions in the immediate term, this initiative strives to support Inuit leadership and control over housing development, advancing distinctions-based governance, capacity-building, and long-term self-determined housing strategies.

The National Housing Strategy (NHS) is an over 10 year, $115 billion plan led by Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada with several programs delivered by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The NHS aims to provide safe, affordable, and sustainable housing for all Canadians, including Inuit. These investments support immediate-term housing gaps, as well as long-term, self-determined housing strategies aligned with Inuit governance.

The Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy (URN) works to narrow the housing gap and address the critical disparities in housing conditions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous households across urban, rural, and northern communities. Complementing existing distinctions-based approaches, this strategy aims to ensure that Indigenous partners, including Inuit, receive targeted, culturally relevant, and Indigenous-led housing solutions. In 2024–25, under the URN strategy funding flowed to Inuit via an existing agreement with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) directly to Inuit Treaty Organizations who will determine their own housing plans and priorities. The URN Strategy provides funding over 7 years to help those in greatest need.

Also in 2024–25, the government began negotiating a service agreement to establish a National Indigenous Housing Centre, which will aim to narrow housing gaps and needs for Indigenous people living in urban, rural and northern areas.

The Indigenous Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative (ISTHI), jointly funded by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), has allocated funding to support the construction and operation of new shelters across Canada. As of 2024–25, ISTHI is funding 18 projects with Inuit partners. ISTHI enables Indigenous governance over shelter systems, strengthens community-led violence prevention infrastructure, and integrates culturally relevant models of care, representing a fundamental shift toward self-determination and improved Inuit oversight on housing decisions.

The Inuit component of the Indigenous Community Infrastructure Fund (ICIF) provided infrastructure funding to Inuit Treaty Organizations for the purposes of supporting self-determined community infrastructure projects. Some examples of infrastructure funded through this initiative include:

In addition to supplying communities with basic infrastructure in the short term, this initiative also shifts control of infrastructure development to Inuit governance bodies, reflecting self-determination into program design and establishing a long-term, Inuit-led model of infrastructure access.

Reaching Home aims to prevent and reduce homelessness by providing support and funding directly to communities by giving them the flexibility to respond to local challenges and priorities through a range of interventions, including programming designed to meet the needs of vulnerable populations (for example, women and/or families fleeing violence, Indigenous people, 2SLBTQI+ communities). Of the over $52 million invested in Reaching Home's Distinctions-based Approach stream, $8.3 million is Inuit-specific funding.

Economic security

As the National Inuit Action Plan reports, financial insecurity can often harm the physical safety of Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people as they lack the means to leave dangerous situations. This is especially true in Inuit Nunangat, where the cost of living is dramatically higher than the rest of the country. Improving economic security will also improve the health and wellbeing of Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people. Economic insecurity can lead a number of negative consequences, including precarious employment, homelessness, addiction, food insecurity, and poor physical and mental health, each of which is a contributing factor in the crisis of MMIWG2S+. Therefore, as a means of improving their safety, health, and wellbeing, it is important to act to improve the economic security of Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people.

Collaboration with Inuit partners continued to support the implementation of Employment and Social Development Canada's Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program. The Inuit stream of funding has co-developed Terms and Conditions aligned with Inuit priorities for skills, training, and supports needed to pursue and achieve long-term career goals, while also reducing barriers to labour market participation and attachment.

The First Nations and Inuit Youth Employment Strategy, implemented by ISC, is part of Employment and Social Development Canada's Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS). It provides First Nations and Inuit youth, aged 15 to 30, with opportunities to develop essential skills, gain work experience, and explore potential career opportunities. By supporting Indigenous-led employment pathways through investments in community-based service delivery, the First Nations and Inuit Youth Employment Strategy contributes to transforming the broader system of youth employment support. Further, it aims to reduce geographic and systemic exclusion, particularly for rural, and remote youth, and strengthens Indigenous economic participation over time.

The Local Food Infrastructure Fund, coordinated by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, supports projects that strengthen community food security and increase the availability and accessibility of local, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food through food production-focused activities for equity-deserving groups, particularly Indigenous and Black communities. Examples of Inuit projects funded by this initiative include:

The Inuit Post-Secondary Education (PSE) Strategy, administered by ISC, was launched in 2019 as a distinctions-based initiative developed in collaboration with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) and the four Inuit land claim organizations. Its objective is to close the post-secondary education attainment gap between Inuit and non-Indigenous Canadians through distinctions-based and regionally delivered strategic support. In 2024–25, $21.8 million was allocated to support academic and living expenses for Inuit students pursuing a post-secondary education, non-academic programs and service supports for students, community engagement for community-level activities focused on the benefits of post-secondary education, and national coordination for staffing, information and physical infrastructure necessary to meet local and regional needs. The Strategy reflects the government's commitment to a renewed relationship with Inuit, one that is framed by principles of reconciliation, including recognitions of rights, respect, cooperation, partnership and self-determination. This transformational approach includes direct financial supports for Inuit students, complementary programs and services, and governance capacity to support service delivery.

Language and culture preservation

Inuktut is the primary language for a majority of Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat, and is a foundation for Inuit culture and society. The erosion of Inuktut is an erosion of Inuit culture as a whole, and erases a way of life that has kept Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQI+ safe for millennia. The federal government recognizes the importance of providing access to language and culture for Inuit—and that it represents a protective barrier against violence—and that they must be revitalized, maintained, and promoted.

As part of the Indigenous Languages Program, Canadian Heritage is supporting Inuit Land Claim Organizations to build and implement programs and services that advance Inuit self-determined language priorities. The Indigenous Languages Program replaces short-term calls for proposals with long-term, distinctions-based funding models that embed Indigenous control over language revitalization. Each of the four Inuit Land Claim Organizations—the Nunatsiavut Government, Makivvik Corporation, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.—are funded directly through 5-year agreements that support the implementation of multi-year strategies focused on strengthening and maintaining Inuit languages. As an example of this work, the Makivvik Corporation's 5-year plan is supporting strategies to develop and implement programs and services for Nunavik Inuit, including determining their own partnership and mechanism for funding the preservation, revitalization, promotion and strengthening of Inuktitut. As part of this project, Makivvik funds the Avataq Cultural Institute to establish and operate an Inuktitut Language Authority, a central institution for implementing Illirijavut's report on the state of Inuktitut in Nunavik.

Collaboration also continued on the Inuit stream of the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care (IELCC) Transformation Initiative, led by Employment and Social Development Canada. Inuit partners in IELCC are leading programs integrating Inuktitut and other Inuit languages, Inuit values, priorities and culture in early childhood education. An example of a project funded by this initiative, includes the Nunavummi Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Society, which received $656,861 from IELCC's Quality Improvement Projects fund for their Improving Early Learning and Child Care Quality for Inuit Children with Disabilities in Nunavut project. This funding supports efforts to:

ISC's Inuit Cultural Education Centres Grant Program supports Inuit individuals and communities in expressing, preserving, developing and promoting their cultural heritage while promoting cross-cultural awareness between Inuit and non-Inuit communities.

Health and wellness

As the National Inuit Action Plan reports, the lack of basic healthcare services in Inuit Nunangat creates barriers toward addressing the root causes of violence against Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people. As a result of gaps in health systems, many Inuit are forced to seek care in urban centres. Whether they permanently relocate away from their communities, traditions, language, and culture, or undertake long and costly journeys, Inuit encounter difficult personal decisions to meet their basic healthcare needs. The federal government is acknowledges that Inuit must have accessible healthcare services, and would benefit from culturally safe healthcare services in their communities.

ISC is working collaboratively with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners to co-develop distinctions-based Indigenous health legislation that improves access to high-quality, culturally relevant health care. This work is grounded in the recognition of Indigenous Peoples' inherent right to self-determination in health and wellness, and supports the development of legislative and policy frameworks that reflect Indigenous rights, perspectives, and priorities. The co-development process includes Inuit land claim organizations, Inuit outside of Inuit Nunangat, and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. In 2024–25, based on significant feedback from Indigenous partners, ISC received authority to proceed on separate, distinctions-based tracks with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners to co-develop legislative and/or policy options.

Through their Health Services Integration Fund, ISC is also working with provincial and territorial governments and First Nations and Inuit organizations to:

In 2024–25, the Health Services Integration Fund continued to support ongoing projects focused on improving health system integration and advancing reconciliation in health care.

Aqqusariaq, the Nunavut Recovery Centre, is a territorial initiative led by the Government of Nunavut and supported by ISC which provides in-territory addictions treatment and trauma healing services grounded in Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) principles—a unified system of Inuit knowledge, values, and beliefs. The initiative is designed to serve Nunavummiut in a culturally safe and linguistically relevant environment. In 2024–25, ISC contributed to the continued development of Aqqusariaq, including construction and culturally specific program planning. Engagement with Inuit communities supported the integration of IQ principles, land-based healing, and Inuit language services into the centre's operational framework. Aqqusariaq represents an model of how addictions and trauma care can be delivered in Nunavut. By embedding Inuit governance, knowledge, and language into the territorial health infrastructure, the initiative demonstrates how wellness care can exist in a framework that is rights-based, culturally grounded, and community-led.

The Indigenous Health Equity Fund, administered by ISC and CIRNAC, is an Indigenous-led initiative that seeks to improve access to equitable, high-quality, and culturally safe health services for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. Announced in 2023 as a $2 billion commitment over 10 years, the initiative recognizes the ongoing and systemic health disparities experienced by Indigenous Peoples and the urgent need for distinctions-based, community-driven solutions. In 2024–25, ISC and CIRNAC worked closely with Indigenous partners to finalize funding agreements and support the early implementation of funded projects.

Conclusion

As both the National Inquiry and the National Inuit Action Plan have clearly communicated, centuries of colonialism has negatively impacted a way of life that had historically kept Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people safe. Insufficient and inadequate housing, infrastructure, healthcare services, and economic opportunity has resulted in many Inuit leaving their Inuit Nunangat in favour of urban centres. The dispersion of Inuit communities has impacted the transmission of Inuit language and culture. Efforts that recognize and respect an Inuit way of life are necessary for its revitalization and protection, as Inuit culture itself acts as a safety barrier for Inuit women, girls, and LGBTQI+ people. The federal government remains steadfast in its commitment to immediate and long-term action to address the MMIWG2S+ crisis.

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