AMC News

Partnership with Indigenous Peoples from the beginning of the CUSMA review would be a clear step towards economic reconciliation.

November 12, 2025 – Long before anyone drew borders on a map, First Nations in these lands had expansive trade routes that connected our peoples from coast to coast to coast. Copper from Lake Superior, buffalo hides from the Plains, shells from the coasts—all moved freely through nations that governed, travelled, and traded without passports or customs booths.

This continent-wide economy is thousands of years old. It is the foundation on which the modern North American economy was built. Yet, today, we are shut out of the very trade systems that sit on top of our traditional networks.

The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA)—the successor to NAFTA—shapes $2-trillion in trade every year. It influences everything from farm exports and energy corridors to the price of food, and how quickly goods cross the border.

And yet, when CUSMA was negotiated, First Nations governments were not invited. Our rights to trade and move across borders were not considered. Our voices were not at the table. There is one small clause in the entire agreement that references Indigenous Peoples—and it doesn’t guarantee anything. It’s discretionary. It’s symbolic, not structural. If you are invisible in the rules, you are excluded from the benefits.

Yet there were efforts to change this. During his tenure as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations from 2014 to 2021, Perry Bellegarde was invited by then–foreign affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to serve on the CUSMA Council—the first time an AFN national chief was formally asked to advise Canada in international trade negotiations. He pressed for the inclusion of an Indigenous Peoples chapter to affirm First Nations rights, title, and jurisdiction, and to align the agreement with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Bellegarde described CUSMA as the “most inclusive trade agreement to date for Indigenous peoples,” but also cautioned that inclusion on paper must be followed by implementation. That is where Canada continues to fall short.

CUSMA is only part of the story. Canada is now pushing major economic initiatives like the One Canadian Economy Act, a new Major Projects Office, and efforts to speed up permits and interprovincial trade. We are told these changes will make Canada more competitive. But they could also give provinces more control over projects and decisions happening on Treaty and ancestral lands without First Nations consent.

That’s a recipe for more political fights, more court cases, and more delays. There is a better way: partnership from the beginning. The border dividing Canada and the U.S. is only a couple of centuries old. It was drawn long after our nations were here, long after our people traded freely and travelled freely.

Canada’s own courts have confirmed this. Cases like Desautel and Montour show that First Nations mobility and trade rights still exist, regardless of where a colonial line was drawn. A First Nations business owner shouldn’t be stuck at a border crossing explaining 200 years of history to a customs agent.

When First Nations lead economic development, everyone benefits. We are leading clean energy projects that will power North America. We manage lands and waters that contain critical minerals Canada needs. We are growing First Nation-owned companies ready to export to global markets. In Manitoba, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has proposed a First Nations Trade Commissioner Office—a practical solution that would bring our governments directly into trade missions and negotiations. Imagine Canada going into CUSMA renewal talks with First Nation diplomacy and expertise beside them, instead of behind them. That is what economic reconciliation can look like.

CUSMA is up for its first major review in 2026. Canada should use that moment to say:

• First Nations are at the decision-making table;
• First Nations Treaty rights and inherent rights to trade and mobility will be enforced;
• Projects affecting First Nation territories require their consent;
• First Nations knowledge will strengthen environmental standards; and
• First Nation citizens will cross the border with rights, not hassles.

This isn’t about symbolism. This is about constitutional law, economic certainty, and basic fairness. If CUSMA doesn’t respect the first economies of North America, then it is not working for Canada, either. We are asking Canada to negotiate:

• A First Nations Trade Chapter, not just a one-off reference in CUSMA;
• A role in dispute resolution because we have a right to be in the room when rules are enforced;
• Recognition of cross-border rights because mobility built this continent; and
• A trade secretariat so First Nations can work with U.S. tribes and Mexican Indigenous Peoples.

Canada says it is serious about reconciliation. Here is a real, tangible place to prove it. First Nations built the first economy of this continent. 

As Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, I stand ready to work with Canada—and with partners in the U.S. and Mexico—to ensure the future of North American trade reflects the nations who have always been here, and always will be.

Grand Chief Kyra Wilson is Anishinaabe from Long Plain First Nation, and was elected as the second woman and youngest Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs in January 2025.

Read this article on the Hill Times website here.