Funding cuts taking effect April 1, 2026, will drastically reduce the Kingston Native Centre and Language Nest’s (KNCLN) ability to serve the urban Indigenous community unless the federal government reverses its decision.
“These cuts undermine trust that has taken time to build,” said Brandon Maracle, Executive Director of KNCLN. “When funding disappears, community members don’t experience it as a line item. They experience it as the Centre no longer being able to help their grandmother, their child, or their family.”
Friendship Centres are Indigenous‑run cultural and social service hubs. The funding being cut provides the operational backbone that allows Ontario’s 31 Friendship Centres to deliver essential programs and supports in cities, towns, and rural areas — where the vast majority of Indigenous people now live.
The national Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples (UPIP) budget, administered by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), is being reduced by $240 million, dropping from $267.5 million to $27.5 million. As a result, Ontario’s Friendship Centres will receive a combined total of just $5.8 million this year.
For decades, Friendship Centre core funding remained essentially flat, even as Friendship Centres grew significantly to meet demand for services. In response, the federal government provided a temporary two‑year funding enhancement in the 2024 federal budget.
That enhancement allowed Friendship Centres to operate with adequate core funding for the first time in decades. Because KNCLN opened in 2023, it has only ever operated with adequate core funding. Under the new funding scenario, however, KNCLN will not only lose the enhancement — its remaining core funding will be cut by 55 per cent.
“The uncertainty alone has caused me a great amount of stress,” said Maracle. “Being left in limbo creates chaos. Without stable funding, we can’t plan responsibly or guarantee that the services people rely on every day will continue.”
KNCLN is a highly collaborative organization in a municipality genuinely committed to reconciliation. KNCLN staff deliver in‑school cultural and wellness programming, support Indigenous clients navigating mental health systems, and provide culturally safe navigation for Indigenous community members experiencing homelessness and housing precarity.
Cuts will not only threaten reduction of services at the Centre itself, but will ripple outward, placing additional strain on already overstretched community systems across Kingston.
The Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC) has called on Indigenous Services Canada to work collaboratively with Friendship Centres to develop a stable, long‑term funding model that reflects the true operational costs of Friendship Centres and preserves the gains achieved during the enhancement period.
Decisions at the Kingston Native Centre and Language Nest are guided by seven‑generation stewardship. Relationship‑building is understood as a form of horticulture — requiring patience, care, and time. Sudden funding cuts sever those roots, undo years of careful work, and shift the consequences onto future leaders and generations.
“These aren’t short‑term impacts,” said Maracle. “They shape what our children inherit. We are asking the federal government to reconsider.”