Reconciliation requires truth, transparency, accountability and sustained action. The National Council for Reconciliation was created to monitor progress, report on outcomes, and support accountability across all levels of government, sectors, and Peoples in Canada.
While the Council has a national monitoring and reporting role, reconciliation is lived every day in the places where people access services, build relationships, and experience belonging. The Council’s role is to connect those everyday realities to national accountability by monitoring, evaluating, and publicly reporting on progress across the country.
The path toward the National Council for Reconciliation grew from the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). From 2008 to 2015, the Commission documented the history and ongoing legacy of residential schools by listening to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Survivors, families, and communities across the country.
In 2015, the TRC issued 94 Calls to Action, making clear that reconciliation must be backed by ongoing public accountability, not one‑time commitments. Calls to Action 53 to 56 called for an independent, permanent, Indigenous-led National Council for Reconciliation. Its role is to provide that accountability by monitoring, evaluating, and publicly reporting on progress towards reconciliation across government and sectors of society, independently from government.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada laid the groundwork for a permanent, independent body to monitor progress towards reconciliation in Canada. From 2008 to 2015, its work and the 94 Calls to Action made clear that reconciliation would requires sustained public accountability, not one‑time measures. In December 2017, the Government of Canada appointed a First Nations, Inuit, and Métis-led Interim Board to begin designing this Council, marking the first step toward implementing Call to Action 53.
In June 2018, the Interim Board delivered its final report, informed by research, consultations and engagements with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and organizations. The report proposed a uniquely Canadian vision for a National Council for Reconciliation grounded in independence, permanence, and public transparency.
An Indigenous‑led Transitional Committee was established in 2021 to carry the Interim Board’s work forward and support the development of legislation, ensuring continuity with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s vision. In June 2022, legislation to establish the National Council for Reconciliation—Bill C‑29: An Act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation—was introduced in Parliament.
The National Council for Reconciliation Act received Royal Assent on April 30, 2024, and came into force on July 2, 2024. In doing so, it fulfilled Call to Action 53 by creating the legislative framework for the Council.
In March 2025, the National Council for Reconciliation was incorporated under the Canada Not‑for-profit Corporations Act, moving from legislation to day‑to‑day operation. An Indigenous‑led inaugural Board was jointly selected by the Minister of Crown‑Indigenous Relations and the Transitional Committee, as required for the first Board under the National Council for Reconciliation Act, marking an important step in establishing the governance and organizational foundation needed for the Council to begin its work.
At the National Council for Reconciliation, we listen carefully and report honestly on how reconciliation commitments are being met across Canada.
We monitor and evaluate progress towards reconciliation, including how governments and institutions are responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action. We share what we find openly and publicly, so that progress, and where work is needed, is visible to everyone.
Our work is grounded in the rights of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples, including the right to self-determination, as set out in the legislation that supported the establishment of this Council.
We also support dialogue, public education and partnerships across sectors to help turn reconciliation commitments into action.
