Unlocking Indigenous Prosperity through Procurement: The First Nations Procurement Authority
Enter the First Nations Procurement Authority (FNPA), a new not-for-profit corporation created by five national Indigenous economic organizations on May 1, 2025. Its purpose is simple yet transformative, to certify, support, and connect genuine First Nations businesses with government and corporate buyers.
Not just another organization, the FNPA is Canada's best chance yet to ensure that First Nation businesses can share in the over $23 billion that government spends on procuring goods and services annually.
The status quo isn't working.
At the recent Indigenous Prosperity Forum in Gatineau, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak was clear: "We're calling for transformative change," she said, "a dedicated agency, led by First Nations, to certify and support genuine First Nation entrepreneurs."
Why the urgency? First Nations businesses owners have been shut out of the larger Canadian economy for generations, now finding themselves new entrants in procurement processes that are complex and rigid. Worse, bad actors have been using fraudulent claims to Indigenous identity, preventing First Nation businesses from accessing opportunities intended for them.
Indigenous quotas and set-asides are a welcome beginning. On their own, though, they do not suffice. For far too long, outdated vendor lists, absent relationships, and cumbersome processes have prevented authentic First Nation businesses from connecting with government and corporate buyers.
The FNPA will aim to reverse this trend—by offering a tried, trusted, and accessible solution to this stubborn inequity.
A trusted, First Nation-led solution
The solution is simple, elegant even, with a mandate to maximize procurement opportunities and outcomes for First Nations businesses and communities. The FNPA will offer a primary access point for First Nation businesses to government and corporate buyers, helping ensure First Nations people receive safe, inclusive, and equitable procurement opportunities.
Tried. The FNPA was founded by five national Indigenous economic institutions that have changed the landscape in their respective spheres. The inaugural board includes a member from each of the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA), AFOA Canada, the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (CANDO), the First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA), and the First Nations Financial Management Board (FNFMA). The FNPA is also modelled on successful Indigenous procurement institutions in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
Trusted. The FNPA received its mandate from the Chiefs in Assembly of the Assembly of First Nations, which sends one representative as an observer to its board. An apolitical organization, it will have a primary purpose to verify, certify, and support First Nation businesses. It will also help potential buyers navigate issues and opportunities in procuring in First Nation communities. This singular focus on the First Nation procurement environment builds clarity, confidence, and trust.
Accessible: National in scope, regional in operation, the FNPA will offer outreach, training, and support to all businesses it certifies. Government and corporate members will have access to its single, trusted First Nation business registry, training, and services for a reasonable fee. The goal here is not to check boxes, but to generate real and mutually beneficial opportunities.
An investment in shared prosperity
The FNPA is ready to begin. Over the first five years, it will require an investment of $25 million to build up and maintain operations. In return, the FNPA offers a solution to one of Canada's most persistent gaps in economic reconciliation: the exclusion of First Nation entrepreneurs from procurement.
Now is the time. With a new session of Parliament and a cabinet with a mandate to build, expand, and trade across the country, the FNPA is a tailor-made institution to ensure that First Nation entrepreneurs can finally participate fully in Canada's economic future.
We welcome this government's investment in the FNPA—to unlock the contribution of First Nation business to our shared prosperity, one contract at a time.
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