Indigenous Partnerships

Canada’s oil and natural gas industry respects the unique rights of Indigenous peoples and continues to make great strides toward learning, developing relationships based on trust, and sharing benefits from resource development. The industry acknowledges the importance of Indigenous reconciliation in Canada and believes natural resource development can play a role in the broader Canadian reconciliation process.

The industry plays a significant role in advancing “economic reconciliation” — identifying feasible ways to include Indigenous peoples in economic opportunities arising from resource development. Economic reconciliation enables prosperity and resilience, supporting Indigenous self-determination and community priorities such as economic development, education and training, health and wellness services, and cultural preservation.

The industry works with Indigenous communities, organizations, and businesses in a variety of ways to meaningfully engage and to share in the economic opportunities from oil and natural gas development. These include consultation, procurement (buying goods and services), equity partnerships, consultation capacity funding, business and other agreements, community investment, training and skills development, and employment.

Economic opportunities are only one part of industry’s engagement with Indigenous peoples. For example, the industry acknowledges the strong role traditional Indigenous knowledge can play in environmental management.

For more information about Indigenous reconciliation, see the Government of Canada website.

Indigenous peoples participate in Canada’s oil and natural gas industry in a variety of ways, including through direct employment and through Indigenous‑owned and Indigenous‑affiliated companies that provide goods and services to the sector. Indigenous participation has increased over time as the industry offers well‑paying jobs and opportunities to work close to home and community. From 2021 to 2023, Indigenous‑affiliated vendors delivered more than $14 billion in goods and services to the oil and natural gas sector nationwide, capturing up to 18% of supply‑chain spending in Alberta. In British Columbia, Indigenous‑vendor activity represented more than 13% of sector spending between 2022 and 2024, with participation concentrated in high‑value construction, technical, and equipment services. Since 2017, billions of dollars of Indigenous equity positions have been taken in oil and gas projects. These projects include pipelines, tank farms, power plants, LNG terminals and more.