Message from the LAB Chairman

Message from Rebecca Alty, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations

30th Anniversary: Historical Photo Montage

Honouring 30 Years of the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management

In 2026, the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management marks 30 years of First Nation-led re-establishment of land governance. For over three decades, the Agreement has supported First Nations in reclaiming decision-making authority over their reserve lands, reshaping land governance in ways that reflect enduring community connections to the land.

A Landmark Agreement Led by First Nations

Signed on February 12, 1996, the Framework Agreement was created through the vision and leadership of a groundbreaking group of First Nation leaders who came together to create a way for their own communities to restore governance authority over reserve land. Through intensive government-to-government negotiations with Canada, they established a voluntary, flexible agreement grounded in First Nations laws, values, and ways of governing. The signing of the Framework Agreement was the first of its kind and established a solid pathway to self-government over lands.

As news of this initiative spread, interest grew across the country, and these same leaders worked to enable other First Nations to join. Again, they were successful in their negotiations. By First Nations, for First Nations, the Agreement currently supports over a third of First Nations across the country who have reclaimed or are working to reclaim authority over their lands.

By choosing to move beyond the land management sections of the Indian Act, signatory First Nations implement community-driven governance approaches that emphasize local decision-making, environmental stewardship, cultural protection, and long-term sustainability.

The Framework Agreement is not a treaty and does not affect treaty or constitutional rights. Instead, it provides a practical and enduring governance framework for First Nations to exercise their inherent right to govern their First Nation lands.

What the Framework Agreement Makes Possible

The Framework Agreement offers First Nations the option to replace federal administration of reserve lands by developing and ratifying a community-approved land law – a Land Code. Until a land code is in place, land management continues under the Indian Act.

Through land codes, First Nations are:

  • Exercising greater control over reserve lands
  • Streamlining land and resource management processes
  • Strengthening environmental stewardship
  • Protecting and revitalizing culture
  • Advancing economic development aligned with community priorities

Thirty Years of Progress

Over the past 30 years, the Framework Agreement has remained grounded in community leadership and national participation:

  • More than 200 First Nations across 11 provinces and territories have signed the Framework Agreement
  • Hundreds of communities are at various stages of land code development or implementation
  • Land codes are being used to plan infrastructure, protect the environment and cultural sites, support community-led economic development, and strengthen land use planning and environmental management

Looking Ahead

As the Framework Agreement enters its fourth decade, its continued growth reflects a clear and shared understanding that when First Nations govern their own lands, decisions are stronger, more responsive, and rooted in responsibility to future generations. Its next chapter is not just about what has been achieved, but about the lasting systems of governance being built by First Nations, for First Nations, now and into the future.

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