Canada has long cultivated an image of itself as a global beacon of progressive values, multicultural tolerance, and moral leadership. Its leaders speak with polished conviction on climate justice, gender equity, and the rules-based international order. 

However, beneath this carefully managed international image lies a national disgrace, one that has persisted through political cycles, public apologies, and photo-op reconciliations. The truth is that Canada’s Indigenous peoples, the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, remain trapped in conditions that more closely resemble those of a neglected colony than of equal citizens in a prosperous democracy.

For over a decade, successive Canadian governments have promised a “new relationship” with Indigenous peoples. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power in 2015 on a platform of historic reconciliation. He pledged to end long-term drinking water advisories in all First Nations communities within five years, acknowledging that it was unconscionable for children in a G7 country to grow up without safe tap water. 

Yet, as of 2025, that promise remains broken. According to Indigenous Services Canada, 33 long-term boil water advisories remain in effect across 29 communities, with some, such as the Neskantaga First Nation in Ontario, having been in place for over 30 years.

This crisis goes beyond infrastructure. It extends to Canada’s criminal justice system, where Indigenous people are imprisoned at staggering rates. According to the Office of the Correctional Investigator, they

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