Equity Bridge

Current Initiative

Creating mechanisms to unlock a shift from debt-based solutions to shared equity, empowering Indigenous communities to obtain meaningful ownership in early-stage energy projects and benefit from sustainable growth

PART OF THE 2025-26 FELLOWSHIP SOLUTION PORTFOLIO

Overview

Despite advances in Indigenous economic participation, most communities still face significant barriers to securing meaningful equity ownership in energy projects – especially in the high-risk, early stages where the greatest long-term value and capacity-building opportunities exist.

Current programs like the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) and federal loan guarantees reduce borrowing costs and de-risk late-stage projects, but don’t incentivize companies to involve Indigenous communities early or temporarily carry Indigenous equity during initial development.

These debt-based tools help communities that can service loans but don’t address structural barriers like limited collateral, uncertain revenues, or corporations' reluctance to dilute ownership.

By creating a mechanism that aligns corporate incentives with early co-development, we can expand Indigenous equity opportunities—unlocking greater economic sovereignty, higher early-stage returns, and accelerated community capacity building.

Why It Matters

$98B

Research by Royal Bank of Canada estimates the potential value of Indigenous equity ownership in major Canadian projects over the next decade to be roughly $98 billion.

39%

According to the Canada Energy Regulator, among renewable-energy projects on Indigenous traditional territories in 2020, 39% were wholly or partially Indigenous-owned.

20%

Indigenous partners or beneficiaries are involved in almost 20% of Canada’s electricity-generating infrastructure – highlighting both progress and the scale of the remaining opportunity.

Hypothesis

If we establish a federal tax incentive that rewards companies for offering Indigenous partners discounted or shared equity during early-stage project development, then the number and value of ownership opportunities for Indigenous communities will increase—because the tax benefit will offset corporate costs and encourage early engagement.

This would lead to greater financial rewards from entering projects earlier, stronger co-development relationships, and accelerated community capacity building, creating a more equitable, scalable, and reconciliation-aligned model than debt-based solutions alone.

Our Approach

This initiative will:

Bring together stakeholders, Rights and Title holders connected to this issue to better understand the strengths and shortcomings of current Indigenous engagement processes and how early-stage equity participation might bolster these efforts
Investigate mechanisms employed in other jurisdictions that could offer insight and instruction into how a Canadian federal tax incentive might work