The Urban Aboriginal Strategy (UAS) was first developed in 1997, to help respond to the needs facing Aboriginal people living in key urban centres. Through the UAS, the Government of Canada seeks to partner with other governments, community organizations and Aboriginal people to support projects that respond to local priorities.

In 2003 and 2004, the UAS was allocated $50 million over a four-year period to build on existing partnerships while providing additional funding to community pilot projects in a small number of cities to learn what works well and what does not.

In 2007, Canada's New Government decided to set priorities and make a long-term commitment on Aboriginal issues by investing $68.5 million over five years to help respond effectively to the needs of Aboriginal people living in key urban centres.

Improving opportunities through greater collaboration

The UAS is designed to increase coordination within the Government of Canada to maximize its investments and enable greater federal program alignment with provincial and municipal programming.

The UAS strives to better address issues facing urban Aboriginal Canadians. Through sustainable partnership policy development, program coordination at the federal level and with different levels of provincial, municipal, Aboriginal governments and private sector partners, the UAS is meant to address local priorities, develop innovative solutions to set priorities, involve partners and reduce the level of disparity that urban Aboriginal people face.

The enhanced UAS is making significant progress along the road to horizontal management as well as shared accountability. It represents a practical step which illustrates how Canada's New Government is moving in the right direction to ensure that Aboriginal Canadians living in cities across Canada have greater access to the skills and experiences they need to gain access to and succeed in an urban environment.

Long term commitment by Canada's Government

The Aboriginal population is projected to remain the fastest-growing segment of the Canadian population. In recent decades, the number of Aboriginal people living in Canada's urban centres has grown substantially.

Today, about 50 percent of the Aboriginal population lives in Canada's larger cities. The UAS operates in thirteen cities whose Aboriginal population represents more than 25 percent of Canada's total Aboriginal population. The thirteen designated cities include: Vancouver, Prince George, Lethbridge, Calgary, Edmonton, Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thompson, Toronto and Thunder Bay.

Although there is a wealth of opportunities, Aboriginal people continue to face significant challenges such as access to quality education, a meaningful job and adequate housing among others.

The aim of the UAS is to promote self-reliance and increase life choices for Aboriginal people in key centres across Canada. To accomplish this, UAS projects will focus investments in three priority areas:

Improving life skills: by working closely with partners (provinces, municipalities, school boards, Aboriginal communities and service providers and others) to encourage Aboriginal youth to stay in school, to facilitate the integration of Aboriginal learners who have relocated from other communities into urban schools, and to encourage learning enrichment initiatives outside of the formal educational system. Examples of activities include: mentorship programs, summer camps, transitional services for students and families, and leadership programs.

Promoting job training, skills and entrepreneurship: by bringing federal, provincial and municipal partners together, including Aboriginal Human Resource Development Agreement holders; filling gaps in programming; and removing barriers preventing an individual's access to quality, lasting employment. Examples of possible activities include: building on provinces' expertise in developing tools and training in areas like literacy and essential skills; building better linkages between Aboriginal service providers with municipalities and increasing the representation of Aboriginal employees at the city level.

Supporting Aboriginal women, children and families: by working in partnership with key stakeholders including the National Crime Prevention Centre: to reduce the number of families that are living in poverty; to provide transitional support to families that have moved into the city for whatever reason; and to prevent women, children and families from being victims of crime or from entering a life of crime. Examples of activities include: counseling services for Aboriginal women to rebuild self-esteem, encourage positive life choices through culture, education, and life skills training; and healing approaches to eliminate sexual exploitation.

Success stories

The UAS has proven effective in leveraging monetary and in-kind contributions. To illustrate, between 2003-2006, the Government of Canada invested $28.7M through the UAS, levered an additional $9.6 M from other federal departments and an additional $21.8M from partners outside of the federal arena ($9.2M from provincial governments; $1.6M from municipalities; $4.2M from Aboriginal organizations and $6.8M from other sources, non-profit sector, community foundations, private sector, etc).