Exploring Economic Development Strategies for Canadian Indigenous Communities Post-Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted the Indigenous Canadian economy. Indigenous enterprises exist in every industry, from small proprietorships to major organizations employing thousands of people. The research concerning the effects of such peculiarities on Indigenous corporations is sparse. This research aimed to examine how the pandemic affected development companies by comparing pre-epidemic forecasts to the trajectory of Indigenous-owned firms after two years of the pandemic and analyzing its singularities. The study was conducted by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) and supported by mixed methods techniques such as surveys, interviews, and non-participatory observations obtained from ten distinct Canadian Indigenous Economic Development Corporations, revealing a reality in which Indigenous businesses confront significant challenges in terms of access to public finance, human resources, community well-being, company diversification, and innovation. The result compared pre-pandemic forecasts and analyses that found Indigenous enterprises failing to recover and move ahead on company diversification and innovations, public finance, human resources, and sustainable development.