The Government of Canada invests in Indigenous leadership in arts, culture and reconciliation spaces across southern Vancouver Island
VICTORIA, BC, Sept. 26, 2025 /CNW/ - Canada's strength is rooted in the distinct histories and identities of its peoples. First Nations, Inuit and Métis voices, rights and worldviews are central to building a stronger, more united Canada--and to shaping our shared future with strength, pride and resilience. By strengthening leadership through access to training and equitable opportunities, we can empower communities in building lasting, positive change.
Today, the Honourable Stephanie McLean, Secretary of State (Seniors) and Member of Parliament (Esquimalt–Saanich–Sooke), announced an investment of $245,000 for new leadership programming at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre (VNFC). She made this announcement on behalf of the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages.
The funding, provided through the Anti-Racism Projects component of the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program, will support the VNFC's Indigenous Leadership Project, a one-year initiative running from April 2025 to March 2026.
Through this new investment, the VNFC will expand pathways for Indigenous leadership in arts, culture and community reconciliation by offering wraparound supports, skills training and culturally grounded learning opportunities. Participants will gain tools to step into decision-making roles within the VNFC, at local reconciliation tables, and across arts and culture organizations in southern Vancouver Island.
The project will also train 10 new Indigenous facilitators through VNFC's Community Learning Program, a grassroots, peer-based learning initiative rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing that promotes cultural fluency from pre-contact history to the present. In addition, it will assist arts organizations in developing tailored access plans to foster more inclusive and decolonized workplaces.
Quotes
"Our investment in the Victoria Native Friendship Centre is helping develop the next generation of Indigenous leaders by combining cultural knowledge with practical skills that will have an impact far beyond the arts and culture sector. This investment is about strengthening community capacity, opening new pathways for leadership and ensuring that reconciliation is woven into the fabric of our institutions for years to come. I am proud that Canadian Heritage is a partner in this project."
--The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages
"For more than fifty years, the Victoria Native Friendship Centre has been a cornerstone of our community, empowering Indigenous voices through meaningful opportunities for learning, cultural expression and connection. This investment provides Indigenous community members with the knowledge, guidance and confidence to step into leadership roles and amplify their voices, shaping the spaces where arts, culture and reconciliation come together in southern Vancouver Island. This project reflects our government's commitment to working in partnership with Indigenous peoples to build strong and healthy communities with thriving cultures."
--The Honourable Stephanie McLean, Secretary of State (Seniors) and Member of Parliament (Esquimalt–Saanich–Sooke)
"We celebrate being able to continue offering and expanding this journey towards reconciliation in our community. This experiential program enhances abilities for both urban Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in decolonizing and empowering safer arts and leadership environments. The Victoria Native Friendship Centre has worked very hard to place itself in a place of reciprocity and community-building. We understand the power of coming together, the need to be something bigger than yourself, a part of the circle, and it's so important to what we do here. The outcomes can be profound, not just about knowing things, but about feeling things, which helps us to understand them."
--Ron Rice - Wush'q, M.G.C., Executive Director, Victoria Native Friendship Centre
Quick Facts
The Victoria Native Friendship Centre is a non-profit organization established in 1969 to promote the well-being of Indigenous people in southern Vancouver Island by strengthening individuals, families and communities.
The Indigenous Leadership Project will provide training in governance, leadership, public speaking, project management, grant writing and facilitation for Indigenous community members.
This project builds on the Victoria Native Friendship Centre's established leadership in reconciliation, which has brought together community, health, government and education leaders to develop concrete plans for meaningful change within their organizations. It will also leverage the Friendship Centre's expertise in cultural safety training to engage arts partners in experiential learning with Indigenous Peoples, helping these organizations advance their own decolonization.
The objective of the Anti-Racism Projects component of the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program is to enhance access to and inclusivity within Canada's arts, culture and heritage organizations and institutions and creative industries by addressing systemic racism and discrimination in workplaces faced by Indigenous peoples, Black communities, and other racialized and religious minority communities, while considering intersectionality.
Associated Links
Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program
Victoria Native Friendship Centre
SOURCE Canadian Heritage
Contacts: For more information (media only), please contact: Hermine Landry, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, [email protected]; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, [email protected]
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