How Indigenous communities partner with private businesses
Indigenous businesses and First Nations communities are powerful contributors to Canada’s economy. According to The National Indigenous Economic Development Board, there are more than 50,000 Indigenous-owned businesses in our country, contributing $31 billion to our GDP annually.
Despite this, Indigenous businesses continue to navigate barriers at home to operating successful businesses, from accessing supply chains, financing, skilled talent, and training, to challenges with regulation, remote locations, and infrastructure. They earn about 2.7% less, on average, compared with non-Indigenous-owned businesses, according to a Statistics Canada report. Adding to this complexity is the ongoing Canada-US trade dispute where the effects of constantly changing US tariffs and Canada’s retaliatory tariffs are magnified.
Tariff obstacles
Ongoing tariff directives are creating uncertainty for Canadian businesses, disrupting supply chains, pricing strategies, and international competitiveness. But the impacts aren't the same across the board. According to a report by the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business and Global Affairs Canada, export obstacles like intellectual property protections, market knowledge, financing, and administrative barriers in Canada were more pronounced for Indigenous small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who were exporters than the national average. In fact, the same report said the gap in export propensity between Indigenous SMEs and the average Canadian SME is significant: only 7.2% of Indigenous SMEs export, while 12.1 % of Canadian SMEs export. Border obstacles were also noted as being more difficult for Indigenous SME exporters at 40.3% compared to the national average of 31.2%.
Many Indigenous and First Nations communities in Canada have specific governance and financial structures that make it complex to run a commercial business because there’s different frameworks for strategic oversight and accountability to community members. A First Nations community can operate different businesses within different industries, but the governance and strategic oversight for each may not align, creating more layers of complexity. Additionally, the businesses that First Nations communities have invested in are heavily impacted by tariffs, including construction, infrastructure, marine, fisheries, and utilities. Nearly 1 in 5 Indigenous-owned businesses operate in construction, according to a Statistics Canada report. Many of these industries are experiencing an evolutionary period due to tariffs, leaving Indigenous business owners with fewer, if any, alternative options for supply sources and critical materials not available in Canada.
Geographic factors also play a role in determining or exacerbating the obstacles to Indigenous-owned businesses being able to participate in the global economy as importers and exporters. According to a Statics Canada report, 90% of Indigenous-owned businesses are small businesses with about 31% located in remote areas. Remote locations have existing challenges including physical and digital infrastructure, and access to business advisory and financing.
It may appear that the business landscape is welcoming to all, but Indigenous-owned businesses are continuously challenged by the mere opportunity to participate equally. That’s because there are perceived conflicts and misconceptions since they have different processes than a non-Indigenous business. For example, many Indigenous and First Nations communities take a long-term view of opportunity and success, often taking multi-generational impact and sustainable prosperity into consideration. This includes following community-driven protocols like connecting with Elders, understanding different perspectives, and gathering community opinions which all require certain communication protocols. The perception is that these processes take too much time, causing First Nations communities to be excluded from commercial opportunities, for example, because the business landscape requires quick responses and action. It also sets Indigenous-owned businesses and First Nations communities up to be slightly disadvantaged when tariff issues demand rapid response.
What can Indigenous business owners and First Nations communities focus on to help deal with tariff challenges?
As trade policies continue to shift, whether through new trade agreements, retaliatory measures, or adjustments in duties, Indigenous businesses will need to navigate and adapt. Here are a few recommendations:
- Stay on top of your financial records: Without a clear view of finances, you may not be able to see the impact or areas where you could adjust if you’re not using updated information. Having a reliable financial reporting system will help you make informed decisions.
- Strengthen your knowledge of your industry: Become more informed about the industry your business operates in so that you have a stronger ability to understand the risks you’ve invested in and can better manage that risk internally.
- Lean on your community: Indigenous community members have the greatest knowledge of how to work with governments as well as different perspectives when looking at tariff challenges. Inviting members to the table helps strengthen the conversation with a diverse way of thinking about problems and solutions, including valuable lived experiences and curiosity for identifying similarities that can’t be seen from the surface.
- Build relationships with industry partners: Tariff challenges highlight the importance of having a strong voice with government relations and additional capital. Partnering with industry also allows you to gain access to more resources like alternative suppliers, think differently about business problems, and create more solutions together. These relationships are increasingly grounded in shared economic objectives, long-term value creation, and community-led priorities.
Indigenous business owners and First Nation communities have a long history of being collaborative, innovative, and resilient. They have unique investment criteria because they don’t consider how an investment will perform in just five years—they consider how it’ll impact multiple generations. As a result, Indigenous businesses can have a longer runway to respond to some of these challenges, based on how they invest.
We can help
Business challenges are never something you have to face alone. Partnering with our team means we prioritize building a strong relationship based on trust and work to understand what’s most important to you. We’ve supported many Indigenous business owners and First Nations communities from coast-to-coast and are committed to creating a sustainable and prosperous future for generations to come.
Reach out to one of our advisors below—we’d love the opportunity to get to know you, your business, and work together.
