The Indigenous Skills Training Program provides $1.852 million in funding each year and is managed nationally. The program focuses on distributing funding across regions as there aren’t any regional budget allocations.

Projects that take a comprehensive approach to skills and capacity development – and address the housing needs of many communities – will be prioritized. Activities should promote long-term, efficient and impactful approaches to building skills and capacity.

Thematic Priority Areas 2026-2027

Explain how your project supports one or more of the following priorities:

Professional Housing Managers

Investing in skilled housing managers:

• strengthens governance
• helps meet requirements
• keeps daily operations running smoothly

It also enables staff to better plan and deliver projects, use resources effectively and provide good value for money.

Regional Housing Industry Professionals

Supporting regional housing professionals — like inspectors, technical advisors and other specialists — helps build shared skills that many projects and communities can use. These investments make:

• the housing system more consistent
• housing quality higher
• operations more efficient
• benefits that go beyond any single project

Housing Strategy Development

Creating a housing strategy helps communities plan for current and future housing needs. A clear, forward-looking plan:

• simplifies decision-making
• helps investments work together
• leads to stronger long-term results

It is also a low-cost way to create broad benefits.

Effective Home Maintenance

Investing in good home maintenance and asset management means putting strong systems, planning and professional support in place to protect housing over time. These efforts:

• improve housing quality and safety
• extend building lifespans
• reduce long-term operating and maintenance costs

Funding is available for skills development activities that include:

• planning
• designing
• building
• inspecting
• renovating
• managing housing

Eligible groups include:

• First Nations
• Tribal Councils
• Indigenous organizations
• Indigenous capacity organizations and associations
• technical services groups

Other entities may apply, but capacity development must directly support an on-reserve community.

Some examples of ELIGIBLE capacity activities include but are not limited to:

• Housing-focused training and capacity building programs, which may include:
  • creation and facilitation of courses, training sessions, workshops and webinars
  • venue fees, content creation, facilitation and needs assessments
  • development of trainers such as train-the-trainer programs
  • development of technical housing staff such as inspectors or planners
• Development of housing-focused resources, which may include:
  • content creation, needs assessments, physical media and knowledge mobilization
• Organizational capacity development, which may include:
  • process design, resource creation, training on tools and processes and strategic planning
  • implementation of systems and processes for housing management
• Community consultations and charrettes to support housing-focused projects, which may include:
  • interviews, data collection and information synthesis to inform housing capacity needs
• Mentorships, which may include:
  • development of coaching and mentorship resources, learning sessions and similar initiatives
• Housing conferences and events, which may include:
  • planning and executing events like housing conferences and hosting sessions and similar
  • venue fees, content creation, facilitation and physical media

Some examples of INELIGIBLE activities include but are not limited to:

• Operations, including:
  • salaries
  • building operations and maintenance
  • hardware, tools and equipment
  • software licences
• Hospitality, including:
  • food
  • travel
  • accommodations
  • door prizes
  • honorariums

  Note: While honorariums are generally ineligible:

  • speaker fees for panelists, elders and similar are eligible
  • steering committee compensation for providing professional expertise to a working group or project is eligible
• Other examples of ineligible activities include:
  • unspecified contingency funding
  • individual participation in conferences or related travel

• Fact sheet (PDF)
• Indigenous Skills Training Program: Quick Start Reference Application Guide (PDF)
• How to Create a Profile and Start an Application (PDF)
• Thematic Priority Areas for 2026–2027 (PDF)

To apply to the Indigenous Skills Training Program, you’ll need to:

• Create an account in CMHC’s Online Application Portal (PDF) if you don’t already have one.
• Complete your application in the Online Application Portal.

Note: A PDF version of the application form is available. Contact: capacityrelationships@cmhc.ca to request your copy.

We will review applications and contact applicants about our funding decisions.

Multi-year projects are welcome to apply to the program. Only one year of funding will be approved if the project is successful. Future years will require new applications.

Your proposal will be evaluated based on the following criteria using a point scoring system:

• relevance to First Nation priority areas for skills development needs
• potential for impact and sustainability of knowledge for target audience
• knowledge exchange and/or dissemination
• feasibility
• activity objectives and format