First Nations youth across Treaty 7 territory are getting a boost toward steady careers, thanks to a new federal investment of just over $3.2 million. The money flows through Employment and Social Development Canada's Youth Employment and Skills Strategy and lands with Community Futures Treaty Seven, which will use it to run its Regional Skills Link Project — a program designed to reach 165 young people with practical skills, hands-on experience, and a stronger sense of confidence heading into the job market.

Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu framed the funding as a way to open doors while letting young people stay rooted in their home communities. Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty added that groups like Community Futures Treaty Seven are key to giving youth the tools to land real career opportunities, and said this round of funding will let the organization grow programs that are already working.

Community Futures Treaty Seven has run youth employment programming with the federal government since 2016, and its efforts have generated roughly 30 new job opportunities for Treaty 7 youth every year on average.

Nationally, the skills strategy behind this funding is a sizable one — more than $632 million earmarked between 2024 and 2028 to help at least 20,000 young Canadians break through employment barriers. Government data shows the approach works: three-quarters of past participants were still employed a year after finishing the program, and their wages had climbed by close to $9,400 on average within two years.

Community Futures Treaty Seven also draws on a separate, decade-long federal commitment worth more than $89 million through the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program. Since 2019, that funding has helped the organization work with more than 7,500 First Nations participants, with over 3,500 landing jobs and nearly 2,800 heading back to school.