N.S. grant cuts will harm Mi'kmaq programs that address historic inequities: chiefs

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston speaks to a colleague as he attends the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention in Toronto on Monday March 2, 2026.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

The partial reversal of some of Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston’s controversial budget cuts will still result in the loss of Mi’kmaq programs that were built to address systemic and historic racism, says the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs.

Amid public outcry, Houston said earlier this week he would restore some of the cuts included in the budget tabled Feb. 23, including to programs that help the most vulnerable Nova Scotians. His government will reinstate $53.6 million to programs for people with disabilities and seniors, and for African Nova Scotian and Indigenous students.

Of that, $83,000 will return to a program that works to increase Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotian representation at the Schulich School of Law and $50,000 to the Unama’ki College at Cape Breton University.

Sidney Peters, chief of Glooscap First Nation and co-chair of the assembly, said these represent only two of 21 Mi’kmaw specific programs affected by the cuts have been restored.

“Many of these programs were built to address deep, historic inequities, and cutting them tears away safety nets no one else provides,” Peters said in a statement to The Canadian Press.

None of the other 48 restored programs or services are aimed directly at Mi’kmaq communities.

Peter said that this partial budget reversal “made one thing unmistakably clear: when the province said it was restoring $53.6 million to `protect some of the most vulnerable,’ they did not mean the Mi’kmaq.”

The Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre issued a statement on social media this week to “clarify” to the community that a number of its services are still impacted by cuts despite the partial reversal.

It says funding has not been restored to its youth outreach and family resource programs, as well as an after-school program for students five to 18-years-old.

“We are grateful to see support reinstated for organizations and services that are important to many L’nu & Nova Scotians generally. However, our program funding has not been reinstated. Critical preventative supports for Indigenous youth and families -- including justice system navigation, family support services, and work that helps address and prevent domestic violence -- still remain in question and at risk,” reads the statement.

The centre says it will have to deal with staff layoffs and reduced capacity as a result of the cuts, which will put additional strain on its remaining programs. It says it will keep advocating for funding to be restored to all of its critical services.

Leah Martin, Minister of L’nu Affairs, said in an interview Thursday she’s spoken with leadership at the centre and told them that the government still supports their work.

“These are really, really, really tough decisions … When we had our conversation, it very quickly shifted from acknowledging that these impacts hurt, and they do, and that’s very real. But it also pivots very quickly to: how can we continue to support one another?” Martin said of her recent conversation with the centre’s executive director Pam Glode Desrochers.

The minister said the friendship centre receives close to $5 million annually after the cuts to its programs.

Overall, she noted that funding for L’nu affairs under the Progressive Conservative government has increased by more than $21 million in the five years since they were first elected in 2021.

“Because there may be a scale back, does not mean that (funding) is gone or decimated or doesn’t exist,” Martin said.

Among the funding reductions is $260,000 cut from the $1.3 million fund designated for Mi’kmaw language revitalization. This language strategy was announced in March 2025 as a guide to preserve, promote and protect the language for future generations.

“Nova Scotia declared Mi’kmaw the original language of this province; this week they’re cutting a quarter-million dollars from keeping that language alive. That is not reconciliation,” Peters said.

“If reconciliation is real, Mi’kmaw programs cannot be the ones consistently left behind.”

Premier Houston said Thursday his government is committed to making significant investments in Mi’kmaq communities.

“We’ve done some great work together. That budget is up pretty significantly under our government’s time,” he said when asked to respond to concern from First Nations leaders about the cuts.

Martin said L’nu Affairs is set to receive $31.4 million out of about $19 billion in overall government spending announced in the provincial budget.

By Lyndsay Armstrong

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2026.