Housing for Métis communities does not run on the on-reserve system. On Alberta's Métis Settlements, provincial law puts land in the hands of the Metis Settlements General Council and gives settlement councils the planning and bylaw powers, while on reserve the Indian Act, Indigenous Services Canada and CMHC shape how land, money and loans work. Federal Métis housing money also flows through its own channel: Métis governments delivering a Métis-specific sub-accord, not band housing formulas.
This post is for settlement administrators, Métis housing staff and anyone who works across both systems. It explains who holds the land, who decides, where the money comes from and what that means for financing and planning. It is general information, not legal or program advice. Confirm current rules with your settlement land office, the General Council, your Métis government, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) or CMHC before you commit to a project.
Why does the Métis and First Nations distinction matter for housing?
Federal housing policy is now organized by distinctions. CMHC's page on the Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy says that strategy will complement "the 3 existing distinction-based housing strategies": the First Nations Housing and Related Infrastructure Strategy, the Inuit Nunangat Housing Strategy and the Métis Nation Housing Sub Accord. In practice, that means a Métis housing project and a First Nation housing project usually start from different laws, different landholders and different funding doors.
Mixing them up costs time. A housing manager who has worked on reserve will expect a band council resolution, certificates of possession and an ISC ministerial loan guarantee. On an Alberta Métis Settlement, none of those is the starting point. The questions are the same (who owns the land, who approves, who pays), but the answers come from different places.
Who governs land and housing on Alberta's Métis Settlements?
The Metis Settlements Act (consolidated as current to December 18, 2025) establishes eight settlements as corporations and, in its own words, each settlement "consists of the persons who are settlement members of that settlement." Alberta's Metis Settlements page describes the Act as providing "a structure and system for local government" on the eight settlements, and says the settlements "cover 1.25 million acres" across northern and central-eastern Alberta.
Three layers matter for a housing project:
- The Metis Settlements General Council holds the land. The Act defines "patented land" as "land held in fee simple by the General Council under letters patent." The General Council is made up of the councillors of all the settlement councils plus its officers.
- The General Council sets land-allocation rules. Under section 222, the General Council, after consultation with the Minister, may make General Council Policies on matters such as "the allocation of patented land", "the eligibility of persons to be allocated rights or interests in patented land" and how rights in patented land are created and who may acquire them.
- Each settlement council runs local planning. Schedule 1 of the Act lets a settlement council make bylaws "establishing a general plan for land use and development in a settlement area" and regulating "the use and development of land and buildings." It can also prohibit development where access, utilities and services are inadequate.
The General Council's own history page lists housing among settlement responsibilities, "including housing, infrastructure, water & sewer systems, waste management, land management." Section 51.1 of the Act also requires every settlement to have an essential services bylaw that sets fees for water, sewage and solid waste, and road maintenance. Those fees must not exceed the reasonably expected cost of the service. That matters when you budget the long-term cost of a new subdivision, not just the homes.
How does that compare with housing on reserve?
On reserve, the framework is federal. A side-by-side view:
- Land. Under section 20 of the Indian Act, "No Indian is lawfully in possession of land in a reserve unless, with the approval of the Minister," possession has been allotted by the band council. The Minister may issue a Certificate of Possession as evidence of that right. On a Métis Settlement, land rights come from the General Council's patented land and its policies instead.
- Who decides. ISC's evaluation of the On-Reserve Housing Program (published March 2024) says "ultimately, it is the First Nations that have the right to decide how they manage housing on-reserve." On a settlement, decisions are split between the settlement council (planning, bylaws) and the General Council (land policy).
- Core funding. The same ISC evaluation says support for on-reserve housing "is mostly shared between ISC and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation," that ISC funds most First Nations "primarily through a formula-based allocation," and that CMHC runs the On-Reserve Non-profit Housing Program (Section 95). It also notes that "ISC does not cover the full cost of on-reserve housing."
- Loans. CMHC's page on insured loans for on-reserve housing says "All loans are secured by a council resolution and a ministerial loan guarantee from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)." Separately, section 89 of the Indian Act says reserve property of an Indian or a band "is not subject to charge, pledge, mortgage, attachment, levy, seizure, distress or execution" in favour of anyone other than an Indian or a band.
If you need the program-by-program detail for First Nations projects, our funding guide for modular buildings in First Nations communities covers it. The point here is narrower: none of those on-reserve mechanisms is built for a Métis Settlement.
Where does federal money for Métis housing come from?
The federal Métis channel starts with the Canada–Métis Nation Accord, signed on April 13, 2017. Its parties include "The Métis Nation," "as represented by the Métis National Council and its Governing Members." On housing, it says INAC, CMHC and the Métis Nation will work together to "develop a Métis Nation-specific housing strategy."
That led to the Métis Nation Housing Sub-Accord. CIRNAC's Sub-Accord page describes "a $500 million investment over 10 years from Budget 2018" that "empowers the Métis Nation to manage funding" for "buying new houses, repairing existing houses and providing rent-supplements to families in need." The July 2018 signing release says "the design, delivery and administration of housing services will be undertaken by the Governing Members," and named five: the Métis Nation of Ontario, Manitoba Metis Federation, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, Métis Nation of Alberta and Métis Nation British Columbia.
Two things follow for planners. First, this money does not go through a band-style formula; it is designed and delivered by Métis governments, so the application path, priorities and timelines are theirs. Second, the 2018 commitment was for 10 years. Ask your Métis government what is committed for the years ahead rather than assuming the same envelope continues.
The Alberta Métis Settlements are a separate case. The 2018 release names the Métis Nation of Alberta as the Alberta Governing Member; it does not mention the Settlements. For the Settlements, Canada and the Metis Settlements General Council signed a Framework Agreement in December 2018 that "serves as the basis for negotiations of a reconciliation agreement," with discussion areas including "health, employment and skills development, housing, and child and family welfare." Settlement administrators should confirm directly which federal streams apply to settlement projects.
Other federal programs are open to Métis partners too. CIRNAC's 2024–25 highlight report on Métis says the Indigenous Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative, jointly funded by CMHC and ISC, was funding nine projects with Métis partners, and that the Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy provided funding Métis partners can use for construction, repairs, shelters, transitional housing or permanent homes. CMHC's Indigenous housing funding page lists the current entry points, including new construction funding, renovation funding and the Urban, Rural and Northern strategy. CMHC's strategy page notes that on April 24, 2026, Canada announced "an updated approach" for delivering that strategy, so check the current delivery route before you plan around it.
What do the census numbers say about Métis housing?
National figures show a real but different pattern. Statistics Canada's release on 2021 Census housing found Métis were the least likely Indigenous group to live in a dwelling needing major repairs (10.0%), compared with First Nations people (19.7%) and Inuit (26.2%). For crowding, the figures were 7.9% for Métis, 21.4% for First Nations people and 40.1% for Inuit. The share of Métis in homes needing major repairs fell by 1.2 percentage points since 2016.
Use these numbers with care. They describe Métis people across Canada, most of whom do not live on a settlement. They will not tell you about waiting lists, house condition or crowding on your settlement. For a funding case, your own unit-by-unit inventory and member survey will carry more weight than a national average.
What does the land system mean for financing a home?
This is where the two systems differ most in practice. The Metis Settlements Land Protection Act says "The fee simple estate in patented land may not be mortgaged, charged or given as security," and that any mortgage given against it is void. The fee simple can only be alienated with the consent of the Crown, the General Council, a majority of the settlement's members and a majority of members of all the settlements. The Act also says the letters patent "may not be filed or registered under the Land Titles Act."
So a lender cannot take the underlying land as security, much like the restrictions a lender meets on reserve, but the workaround is different. On reserve, CMHC-insured loans rely on a council resolution and an ISC ministerial loan guarantee. On a settlement, the lesser rights a member or a housing entity can hold, and the conditions on them, are set by General Council Policy under section 222 of the Metis Settlements Act and recorded under the settlement land registry rules.
CMHC's Indigenous funding page includes guidance on "Alternative types of security", described as "Considerations for Indigenous and Northern Housing Solutions Clients." If a project needs repayable financing, raise security early with CMHC, the lender and your settlement land office. It is often the item that takes longest to settle.
What should a settlement administrator confirm before a housing build?
- Land: which parcel, what interest the settlement or the occupant will hold, and which General Council Policy governs its allocation.
- Planning: whether the site fits the settlement's land use bylaws, and whether access, utilities and services are in place so council does not have to refuse development.
- Servicing costs: how the essential services bylaw will charge for water, sewer, solid waste and roads once the homes are occupied.
- Funding route: whether money is coming through a Métis government, a federal program open to Métis partners, CMHC, the province or the settlement's own funds, and what each requires.
- Security and financing: if any part is a loan, what security the lender will accept and how it is recorded.
- Occupancy and allocation: who will be allocated each home, under what policy, and who maintains it.
Where does a builder fit in?
A builder does not administer funding, does not apply on a community's behalf and cannot promise eligibility. Those decisions sit with the settlement, the General Council, your Métis government and the funders. What a builder can do is give you firm numbers and a schedule to put in front of them. Herauf Modular builds homes and community buildings as finished sections indoors in its Saskatchewan and BC plants, then delivers and sets them on site. Most builds are manufactured and delivered in about 16 weeks, with foundations, pads and services prepared on site at the same time. Every unit meets or exceeds CSA A277 and the National Building Code for climate zones 6 through 8. More on how factory-built homes work in Indigenous communities is in our guide to modular Indigenous housing.
Herauf has delivered 20 homes to the Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement with CMHC and government agencies. If you are planning settlement or Métis housing and want a budget and timeline to take to council or a funder, send us an enquiry. Herauf replies within one business day.
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Program rules change: confirm the details with the program, your Indigenous Services Canada regional office or CMHC before relying on them. Herauf does not administer any program or apply on a community's behalf.