Trudeau Under Fire Over Pace of New Indigenous Funding

  • Government has delivered just 1% of budgeted commitments
  • Disillusionment brews despite PM’s marquee campaign pledge

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Photographer: Clement Sabourin/AFP via Getty Images
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Six months after his debut budget, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has delivered just one percent of his hallmark funding commitment for Canada’s indigenous communities -- a pledge that had been lauded as a milestone.

In his March 22 budget, Trudeau committed C$8.4 billion ($6.5 billion) in funding over five years for the country’s indigenous population, aimed at reversing a long-widening gulf in living standards that has been condemned by the United Nations.