Invest $500 million over 2015 to 2018 for building and refurbishing First Nations schools.

Liberals taking new approach for First Nations on-reserve education funding

CBC News January 21, 2019

The Trudeau government is changing how Ottawa allocates nearly $2 billion in annual funding for First Nations education to help ensure on-reserve students benefit from support comparable to what's offered in provincial school systems.

Starting in April, the federal government will take a new approach it says will mean a more predictable base of money for First Nations elementary and secondary schools. In a statement, AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde credited the new approach as a significant move toward closing the education gap, saying it will enable First Nations to plan and build quality school systems that address their needs.

In the 2016 federal budget, the Liberals promised to spend an additional $2.6 billion over five years to improve education for First Nations children living on reserves. Ottawa is expected to spend $1.89 billion in 2018-19 on First Nations elementary and secondary education. The annual commitment is set to increase each year until it rises slightly above $2 billion in 2020-21.

The money spent so far seems to exceed the promised $500 million over the 2015-2018 timeframe.

2016 Federal Budget

2016 Federal Budget March 22, 2016

Chapter 3 > A Better Future for Indigenous Peoples

Budget 2016 proposes to invest $8.4 billion over five years, beginning in 2016–17, to improve the socio-economic conditions of Indigenous peoples and their communities and bring about transformational change.

The 2016 federal budget makes significant investments in Indigenous-related projects (on average $1.68 billion per year). This promise status will be updated accordingly as the scale of these investments are translated into specific amounts and programs.