In June 2026, the province launched the First Nations Equity Financing Program, a new $1 billion loan guarantee initiative designed to improve access to capital for First Nations-led commercial projects. The program will provide provincial loan guarantees to eligible Indigenous governing bodies and development corporations undertaking commercially viable projects in British Columbia.

By reducing financing risk and regulatory constraints for lenders, the program has the potential to increase private sector investment while supporting Indigenous economic reconciliation and community development. The initiative also creates new opportunities for financial institutions, including credit unions, to partner with Indigenous communities on projects in sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, energy, and natural resources.

CCUA welcomes initiatives that improve access to capital while leveraging private financing but notes that loan guarantees/credit enhancements for over 5 million dollars may exclude viable projects that have the potential to expand in the longer term, that don’t currently have the collateral to finance their expansion or the first phase of their project is under the 25 million dollar minimum but future phases of the project are materially higher.

Successful loan guarantee programs such as the First Nation Market Housing Fund (i.e., Credit Enhancement program) integrate financial institutions through the relationship-building process to the loan disbursement by supporting financial institutions, and First Nations with capacity support around financial governance mechanisms, such as modernizing First Nation housing policies and credit unions have shown flexibility by creating new products that adapt to First Nation funding cycles. CCUA notes that these relationships start small at first and once the governance frameworks are established, they accelerate and expand, as we have seen with Northsave Credit Union on Haidai Gwaii. In short, the goal is to support all First Nations in building governance capacity and to scale lending to their needs and capacity.

As community-based financial institutions with strong relationships across British Columbia with First Nations, credit unions are well-positioned to support Indigenous economic development and participate in financing projects that generate long-term benefits for First Nations and local communities.