The Indigenous business landscape in Northwestern Ontario has seen a year of business formation and diversification, which is moving beyond the traditional resource service model.
Jason Rasevych, president and founder of Anishnawbe Business Professional Association (ABPA), said 2025 was a year of qualitative growth with a surge in technical trades, creative arts and professional services. There were success stories of small operations growing to secure major government contracts and newly established retail hubs for Indigenous culture. Attawapiskat First Nation, for instance, now supports 12 local businesses.
“The release of the Indigenous Economic Impact Analysis confirmed that Indigenous spending and business now contribute $1.55 billion annually to the Thunder Bay economy,” Rasevych said.
“The data is now undeniable — Indigenous business is the primary stabilizer of the Northwestern Ontario economy.”
The ABPA 2025 milestones included its submission of a formal critique to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), defining “red-washing” and urging mandatory reporting on Indigenous relations.
“We hosted Prosperity Northwest 2025, featuring 68 exhibitors, which served as the launchpad for the $1.55 billion economic impact data, and we produced the Pathways to Prosperity report to guide corporate Canada on implementing (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada) Call to Action Number 92,” he noted.
“Our leadership is now directly aligned with the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund (NADF), bridging the gap between policy advocacy and capital lending.”
The year also brought its share of challenges.
Rasevych said they fought against red-washing, where companies exaggerated their Indigenous relationships to boost Environmental, Social and Governance scores. He called it a practice that misleads investors and harms genuine partnerships.
“The sector was rocked by identity fraud, where non-Indigenous companies used shell schemes to access federal procurement targets,” he said, adding that they have advocated strongly for an Indigenous-led verification authority to stop this.
“We exposed and fought against junk fees and systemic bias in the banking sector that disproportionately hurt Northern and remote businesses.”
Rasevych says the Anishnawbe Business Professional Association views the local economy with hardened realism and verified optimism.
He said they remain skeptical of the government’s “speed” agenda regarding the Ring of Fire and energy corridors, viewing it as a potential threat to Indigenous rights and environmental standards if not properly regulated. While the volume of consultation has increased, Rasevych says the quality remains stagnant and often adversarial. Government check-box exercises are designed to insulate projects from litigation rather than genuinely shape outcomes.
“Community leaders are maxed out, attempting to manage social emergencies while simultaneously reviewing thousands of pages of technical documents for mining and energy projects,” he said, adding that companies are incentivized to do the bare minimum.
To resolve the tension between the Build Ontario infrastructure agenda and Indigenous rights, Rasevych says three structural changes are required.
“The province must move beyond the duty to consult to a standard of consent to provide investors with certainty and avoid litigation,” he said.
“Equity participation must be baked into the feasibility stage of projects (like the east-west corridor), and not offered as an afterthought,” he said.
“Resource royalties must flow directly to Nations to support community infrastructure, ensuring the wealth generated in the North stays in the North.”
He added that the City of Thunder Bay has responsibilities, too.
It must integrate the Indigenous Economic Impact Analysis into its Official Plan. Also, major local industries and the City must audit their supply chains to ensure they are buying from local Indigenous firms, keeping the “multiplier effect” within the region rather than outsourcing to southern giants.
For 2026, Rasevych said they are targeting tangible economic metrics alongside regulatory reform, with a specific focus on expanding into new sectors. This includes Indigenous businesses moving into real estate and the technology sector’s digital services and the bioeconomy. They’ll also aim for a higher volume of new Indigenous business startups and better access to capital, eliminating barriers.
“We want to see federal (five per cent), provincial, and corporate Indigenous spend targets met and fulfilled by legitimate, verified Indigenous businesses,” he said.
A comprehensive report will be released to give investors a clear, independent line of sight into the risks and opportunities in the Ring of Fire region.
