Yellowknife’s Catholic school board is urging the territorial government to convert a one-time grant for inclusive schooling into permanent funding, saying the change is needed after federal cuts to Jordan’s Principle left schools unsure how to sustain supports for students.
Loss of federal block funding hit local services
In its 2026-27 budget the Government of the Northwest Territories included $30 million for inclusive schooling. The Yellowknife Catholic Schools (YCS) board says that money helped fill a gap after Ottawa altered eligibility for Jordan’s Principle in 2025, but the district is already worried about next year.
School boards across the territory relied on Jordan’s Principle to support inclusive services. In 2024-25 N.W.T. schools received $58.6 million through the program. YCS alone previously received $7.4 million in block funding under Jordan’s Principle, money the board says supported dozens of positions including education assistants, counsellors, social-emotional coaches and cultural programming for Indigenous students.
“So it's just always that game of are we going to get it? Are they going to be nice to us?”
The board chair argued that while Indigenous parents and children can still apply for federal supports to cover individual needs, the federal changes mean off-reserve schools are no longer eligible for block funding. That shift forced school divisions across the territory to reduce staff and cut services in the 2025-26 year.
Local consequences for students and staff
YCS officials say the loss of predictable, ongoing funding has had concrete effects on programming and staffing. Positions funded through the previous federal allotment included classroom and educational assistants and specialised roles that supported students with complex needs and helped deliver Indigenous-focused cultural programming.
While the territorial inclusive funding was intended to mitigate some of the shortfall this year, board members and school staff remain concerned about the sustainability of supports if the $30-million allocation does not continue into future budgets.
- Territorial inclusive funding (2026-27): $30 million
- Jordan’s Principle to N.W.T. schools (2024-25): $58.6 million
- Previous Jordan’s Principle funding to YCS: $7.4 million
School officials emphasise that block funding allowed districts to plan multi-year services and staff complements. Without it, administrators say they must plan on a year-by-year basis, making long-term programming and retention of specialist staff more difficult.
| Funding source | Year | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Jordan’s Principle (N.W.T. schools) | 2024-25 | $58.6 million |
| YCS — Jordan’s Principle (previous) | prior to 2025 changes | $7.4 million |
| Territorial inclusive funding | 2026-27 | $30 million |
Calls for stability and local planning
The board chair is asking the territorial government to treat the inclusive funding as an ongoing commitment so school districts are not forced into “guessing” each year. That request highlights a larger policy tension: who pays for inclusive supports and how those services are delivered across on- and off-reserve settings.
For Yellowknife families and school staff, the outcome will determine whether recently restored services can be retained and whether schools can rebuild positions lost after the federal eligibility changes. Board officials say predictable funding is essential for recruiting and keeping education assistants, counsellors and other specialists who contribute to student success and cultural programming.
As the school year proceeds, the conversation between territorial officials and school boards will centre on whether the $30-million allocation becomes a line in future budgets or remains a short-term measure. Until that question is resolved, Yellowknife schools say they will continue to adjust staffing and programming to serve students while monitoring the stability of funding streams.
