Population: 1,807,2501
Number of K-12 Schools: 5352
Number of K-12 Students: ~120,1802
.
Number of K-12 Distance Learning Programs: 4+
Number of K-12 DistanceLearning Students: ~5,000

1 2021 Census data from Statistics Canada
2 refers to those reporting a 2024-25 nominal roll directly to ISC

Note that these profiles are taken from the most recent edition of the report, please review additional annual profiles below.

Governance and Regulation

In response to Resolution No. 16/2016 passed by the Chiefs Council on Education (CCOE), Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) engaged with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in response to Resolution No. 16/2016 passed by the Chiefs Council on Education (CCOE),which called upon the Government of Canada to engage in an Honourable Process to Develop Recommendations to support First Nations Education Reform. The Government of Canada responded to the Resolution by partnering with First Nations to design and implement an inclusive and comprehensive engagement process aimed at developing recommendations for strengthening First Nation student success (see First Nations Education Transformation: Engagement 2016-2018). On April 1, 2019, ISC implemented a new co-developed policy and funding approach for elementary and secondary education to better meet the needs of First Nations students on reserve and improve outcomes.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Program funding replaces the outdated proposal-based programs and provides First Nation students resident-on-reserve with funding allocations that are comparable to what students at provincial schools receive. The formulas are updated annually to account for student population growth and considerations such as teachers’ salaries and benefits, remoteness and school size. Consistent with the policy proposal endorsed by the Assembly of First Nations, on top of this base funding ISC also  provides additional funding enhancements that respond to the unique needs of First Nation students. This additional funding includes a common investment of $1,500 per student per year for First Nations language and culture programming; new resources to support full-day kindergarten in First Nations schools for children aged four and five, regardless of how kindergarten is offered in the respective provincial education system; and ongoing investments in special education, over and above comparable funding levels in provincial education systems. Furthermore, ISC is working in partnership with First Nations to develop Treaty-based, regional and local education agreements that respond to the education goals and priorities set by First Nations. These agreements are co-developed at a regional level through discussion tables to reflect First Nations’ needs and priorities.

It should be noted that the department, previously known as Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), is currently the department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and the department of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC). ISC houses key First Nation services such as: Regional Operations; Child and Family Services Reform; Strategic Policy and Partnerships; First Nations and Inuit Health Branch; Lands and Economic Development; and, Education and Social Development, Programs and Partnerships. This structure is designed to position the programs and services to more effectively collaborate with First Nations, developing and delivering holistic approaches to social, healthcare and infrastructure services for Indigenous partners. The two continue to be responsible for meeting the Government of Canada’s legal obligations and commitments to Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), and for fulfilling the federal government’s constitutional responsibilities in the North.

K-12 Distance and Online Learning Activity

During the 2024-25 school year, ISC reported the following K-12 distance and online learning activity:

  • distance education – 867
  • home schooled – 61
  • virtual (internet) – 162

This data was based on the Nominal Roll Student and Education Staff Census Report and was current as of March 31, 2025. Data for First Nations with self-government agreements may not be included in this data.

At least four K-12 distance/online learning programs designated as Indigenous programs have been identified: Keewaytinook Internet High School and Wahsa Distance Education Centre (Ontario), Wapaskwa Virtual Collegiate (Manitoba), and SCcyber E-learning Community (Alberta). It is not known whether students enrolled in these four programs are captured in the ISC data described above.

K-12 Blended Learning Activity

For funding purposes, ISC does maintain indicators related to blended learning. During the 2024-25 school year, ISC reported the following K-12 blended learning activity:

  • Blended: Classroom and Distance Education –1,807
  • Blended: Classroom and Virtual (Internet) – 1,517

This data was based on the Nominal Roll Student and Education Staff Census Report and was current as of March 31, 2025. Data for First Nations with self-government agreements may not be included in this data.

Previous Provincial Profiles

History of K-12 E-Learning

The history of K-12 e-learning focused specifically upon First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) populations is inextricably connected to developments at the provincial level.  For example, recognizing the need for a community-based secondary option that would help deal with issues students faced when they had to leave their communities, sometimes as early as thirteen years of age, the Keewaytinook Okimakanak – a chiefs’ council the Nishnawbe Aski Nation  territory in Northwestern Ontario -established the Keewaytinook Internet High School (KiHS) as a pilot project in 1999.  The project initially focused on course offerings in grades 9 and 10, but in 2006 expanded their offerings to include grades 9 through 12 that lead to an Ontario Secondary School Diploma.  The program currently operates as a regulated private secondary school in the province.

In 2000, the Sunchild E-learning Community (now SCcyber E-learning Community) was established in Alberta as an attempt to address the poor graduation rates of Aboriginal students.  Similarly, in 2004, the Prince Albert Grand Council in Saskatchewan outlined a similar concern and created Credenda Virtual High School and College (which eventually would become a not-for-profit, registered charitable First Nations and Métis educational institution).  More recently, the Wapaskwa Virtual Collegiate was established by the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre in 2009 with funding under the federal New Paths for Education program.  Finally, based on the SCcyber E-learning Community model, the Niagara Peninsula Aboriginal Area Management Board Inc. established the Gai hon nya ni: the Amos Key Jr. E~Learning Institute as a regulated private secondary school in Ontario for the 2010-11 school year (although this program ceased operations around 2014-15).

In 2013, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (now Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada) made the decision to no longer enter into service agreements directly with e-learning programs. Instead funding would be provided to the regional authorities (i.e., First Nations) to make the decisions on the nature of educational opportunities that should be funded within their jurisdiction. While this change had little impact on e-learning programs such as KiHS and Amos Key, which were funded through a nominal roll process by the Ontario Ministry of Education, it did cause the closure of the Credenda Virtual High School in Saskatchewan following the 2012-13 school year due to a lack of funding.

Also, in 2013 Manitoba Education began investigating options to support the formation of virtual collegiate(s) that would be granted Ministry identification codes and able to offer distance education throughout the province.  The first of these virtual collegiates was the Wapaskwa Virtual Collegiate, after Manitoba Education and the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a three-year pilot collaboration beginning in the 2014-15 school year.

Vignettes

Brief Issue Papers

Individual Program Survey Responses

Program Most recent response  Medium  # of Students  # of Teachers  # of Courses 
Credenda Virtual High School (Saskatchewan)* 2012-13 Online 478 6 full time
3 part time		 32
Gai Hon Nya Ni: The Amos Key Jr. E-Learning Foundation/Institute (Ontario)** 2012-13 Online 75 4 full time
2 part time		 36
Keewaytinook Internet High School (Ontario)
www.kihs.knet.ca		 2021-22 Online 600 27 full time 86
SCcyber E-learning Community (Alberta)
www.sccyber.net		 2023-24 Online 300 1 full time
5 part time		 100+
Wapaskwa Virtual Collegiate (Manitoba)
www.wapaskwa.ca		 2021-22 Online 96 12 full time 60

* Credenda Virtual High School ceased operations following the 2012-13 school year.
** Gai Hon Nya Ni: The Amos Key Jr. E-Learning Foundation/Institute ceased operations around 2014-15.

To update this information, visit http://tinyurl.com/sotn-program-survey

Inter-provincial and International

AANDC requires that online courses be taught by a teacher that is provincially/territorially certified and that online programs be accredited by the province/territory that they are located in to be eligible for First Nations students.  AANDC does not have any policy on the transfer of online credits taken from programs in jurisdictions other than the one that the student resides in, and defers to the ministry guidelines for the provincial/territorial in which the student resides.  However, AANDC does recommend that individual First Nations consult with their provincial/territorial Ministry of Education to determine equivalency prior to enrolling the student.