To be eligible for Jordan's Principle in Canada, a child must be under the age of majority in their province or territory of residence and they must permanently live in Canada.
As well, they must meet one of the criteria below:
- The child must be registered or be eligible to be registered under the Indian Act, or have a parent or guardian who is registered or eligible to be registered under the Indian Act.
- The child must be recognized by their nation for the purposes of Jordan's Principle.
- The child must be “ordinarily resident” on reserve, which means that they:
- live on reserve
- normally live on reserve even if they or a member of their household has to spend some time away from the community temporarily to access services such as healthcare or education
- are dependents of a family that maintains a primary residence on reserve
- return to live on reserve with parents, guardians, or caregivers during the year, even if they live elsewhere while attending school or receiving medical care or other services
- meet student eligibility requirements in Yukon Territory
Note that a child in the care of a child and family services agency or in a kinship or informal agreement is ‘ordinarily resident’ on reserve if their parent or guardian lived on reserve at the time the child was taken into care, or if the child goes into the care of a guardian who lives on reserve.
Requests for Inuit children can be made through the Inuit Child First Initiative.
To apply for Jordan's Principle you can contact the Jordan's Principle Call Centre or one of the regional focal points across Canada.
It is important to note that the Jordan's Principle Call Centre and regional focal points are intended to help with requests for products, services, and supports, and not for requests related to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's ruling on compensation for certain individuals under Jordan's Principle. For more information on this ruling and the government's assessment of it, you can contact the Government of Canada.
To confirm the child’s eligibility, you may be asked for one of the following:
- To request funding for a product, service, or support, or to get copies of forms, seek reimbursements, or start an appeal, you can contact the Jordan's Principle Call Centre or a regional focal point. You can also contact local service coordinators for First Nations communities.
- name, date of birth or registration number of a First Nations child or parent who is registered under the Indian Act
- name and date of birth of a First Nations child or parent who is not registered but is entitled to Indian status under the Indian Act
- documents confirming a child ordinarily lives on a reserve
- confirmation that your child is recognized by their First Nation for the purposes of Jordan's Principle – visit Confirmation of recognition for more information