Doug Ford walks back “hat in hand” First Nations comments

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has walked back comments he made about Indigenous communities being overreliant on governments for taxpayer handouts.

Source: Facebook

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has walked back comments he made about Indigenous communities being overreliant on governments for taxpayer handouts. His remarks had drawn criticism from First Nations leaders, with some accusing Ford of racism.

Speaking Thursday at a press conference at Queen’s Park, Ford stood alongside Indigenous leaders and said he regretted the remarks he made a day earlier at a press conference in St. Catharines.

“I get pretty passionate, and I just want to say I sincerely apologize for my words, not only if it hurt all the chiefs in that room, but all First Nations,” Ford said.

During a discussion on resource development in northern Ontario, Ford suggested on Wednesday that First Nations should leverage mineral extraction opportunities rather than relying on government support.

“There’s going to be a point where you can’t just keep coming hat in hand all the time to the government,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to take care of yourselves.”

The premier added that when resource development projects such as gold and nickel mines were available, First Nations communities could not refuse participation and while also asking for funding.

“You’re saying, ‘No, no, I don’t want to touch that… by the way, give me money.’ That’s not going to happen,” Ford said.

The comments were immediately condemned by Indigenous leaders across the province. Sol Mamakwa, NDP MPP for Kiiwetinoong and a member of the Kingfisher Lake First Nation, said the premier’s language was “very deeply troubling, but also racist.”

Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige also described Ford’s comments as “racist,” but said she accepted his apology after a face-to-face meeting on Thursday. “It was sincere,” she said.

The apology comes amid heightened tensions over Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, which the Ford government says will accelerate key infrastructure and mining projects. The omnibus legislation allows the cabinet to override existing environmental, heritage, and Indigenous consultation requirements in newly designated “special economic zones.”

Several First Nations, including leaders in Treaty 9 territory, have expressed concern that the bill threatens constitutionally protected rights and opens the door to development on traditional lands without consent.

“These lands are not Ontario’s to do with as they wish,” Chief Donny Morris of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug said earlier this year, warning of legal action.

Ford has defended the legislation as a tool to unlock economic opportunity in the north, particularly in the Ring of Fire, a remote region rich in critical minerals. While he says some First Nations are eager to participate, others may never agree—a reality he says the province must navigate.

On Thursday, Ford reiterated that his government remains committed to Indigenous partnerships in resource development but said collaboration must be mutual.

“We’ll help them develop the mines and become very prosperous,” Ford said Wednesday. “But it’s a two-way street here.”