First Nations communities are located in every province and territory across Canada. The federal government recognizes 619 First Nations, and their communities, reserves, and traditional territories stretch from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific and up through the Arctic. There is no single region where First Nations are concentrated. Instead, they are spread across the entire country, though the history of treaties and colonial policy shaped where communities exist today.
Reserves vs. Traditional Territories
Understanding where First Nations are “located” requires distinguishing between two very different concepts: reserves and traditional territories. Traditional territories are the lands that Indigenous peoples have lived on and cared for over many generations, often spanning vast regions. Reserves are much smaller parcels of land set aside by the Canadian government under the Indian Act of 1876 specifically for First Nations peoples to live on.
The difference matters because reserves represent only a tiny fraction of the land First Nations historically occupied. Many First Nations were forced to relocate to more isolated areas, and reserve sizes shrank significantly over time through colonial policies and treaty negotiations. First Nations members do not hold individual title to reserve land; the Crown retains underlying ownership. Today, a large number of First Nations people also live off-reserve in cities and towns across the country, so the community locations on a map don’t fully capture where First Nations people actually are.
The Prairies and Western Canada
Some of the largest concentrations of First Nations communities are in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. The numbered treaties, negotiated between the 1870s and early 1900s, cover most of this region. Treaty 4 covers present-day southern Saskatchewan. Treaty 6 spans central Alberta and Saskatchewan, negotiated during a period when the Plains Cree were facing the rapid decline of the buffalo herds. Treaty 7 covers southern Alberta. Treaty 5 covers much of Manitoba, with its southern portion negotiated in 1875 and its northern extension added in 1908.
British Columbia is unique. Most of the province was never covered by historical treaties, which means many First Nations there have unresolved land claims over their traditional territories. The exception is parts of Vancouver Island, where early colonial treaties were signed, and the northeast corner of the province, which falls under Treaty 8. The Nisga’a Final Agreement, which took effect in 2000, was a landmark modern treaty covering Nisga’a lands in northwestern B.C.
Ontario and Quebec
Ontario has one of the highest numbers of First Nations communities in any province. The southern part of the province is covered by early treaties, while Treaty 9 (also called the James Bay Treaty) covers almost two-thirds of northern Ontario. That treaty was negotiated in 1905-1906 in response to continuous petitions from the Cree and Ojibwa peoples living there, and it was the only historical treaty where a provincial government took an active role in negotiations. Treaty 3, near the Lake of the Woods in northwestern Ontario, covered over 14 million hectares and was signed with the Saulteaux Ojibway after three years of negotiations.
In Quebec, the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement of 1975 was the first major modern treaty in Canada. It covers the vast northern portion of the province, home to Cree and Inuit communities. Southern Quebec is home to several First Nations including the Mohawk (Kanien’kehá:ka), Abenaki, and Huron-Wendat, with communities located along the St. Lawrence Valley and into the Eastern Townships and Laurentian regions.
Atlantic Canada
The Maritime provinces and Newfoundland are home to several distinct First Nations. In New Brunswick, the Indigenous peoples are known collectively as the Eastern Wabanaki and include three nations: the Wolastoqiyik (historically called Maliseet), the Mi’gmaq (historically called Micmac), and the Peskotomuhkatiyik (historically called Passamaquoddy). The Mi’gmaq traditional territory extends across all four Atlantic provinces, covering Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and parts of the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, as well as Newfoundland.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Miawpukek First Nation (Mi’kmaq) has a reserve on the south coast of the island, while the Innu Nation occupies traditional lands in Labrador. Peace and friendship treaties signed in the 1700s between the British Crown and Mi’gmaq and Wolastoqiyik nations are among the earliest treaties in Canada, and they covered much of what is now Atlantic Canada.
The North: Yukon and Northwest Territories
The Yukon is home to 14 First Nations whose traditional territories collectively cover all the land in the territory. These include the Kwanlin Dün First Nation near Whitehorse, the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation in the far north, and the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in near Dawson City, among others. Several transboundary Indigenous groups also hold rights in the Yukon, including nations whose territories cross into B.C., the Northwest Territories, and Alaska.
In the Northwest Territories, Treaty 8 covers the area south of Great Slave Lake and Hay River. Treaty 11, negotiated in the 1920s, extends into the Mackenzie Valley. Treaty 8 is the most geographically extensive treaty ever undertaken in Canada, covering roughly 324,900 square miles across northern Alberta, northeastern B.C., northwestern Saskatchewan, and the southern N.W.T. The Gwich’in, Sahtu Dene, and Tłı̨chǫ peoples in the N.W.T. have also negotiated modern land claim agreements covering large portions of the territory.
How Treaty Boundaries Shape the Map
Pre-1975 treaties, negotiated between 1725 and 1923, cover most of Ontario, all three Prairie provinces, parts of Vancouver Island, portions of the Northwest Territories, and Atlantic Canada. These historical treaties generally involved First Nations agreeing to share or surrender land in exchange for reserves, annual payments, and other rights like hunting and fishing guarantees. The geographic gaps in this treaty map, particularly in most of British Columbia and parts of Quebec and the eastern Arctic, are where modern treaties and land claims have been negotiated since the 1970s.
Modern treaties tend to cover much larger geographic areas and include more detailed provisions around self-governance, resource sharing, and environmental management. They reflect a shift from the colonial framework of the Indian Act toward nation-to-nation relationships. These agreements now cover large swaths of northern Canada, including much of the Yukon, the N.W.T., Nunavik (northern Quebec), and Labrador.
Urban First Nations Populations
While reserves and traditional territories define where First Nations are located geographically, a growing share of First Nations people live in urban areas. Cities like Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, Thunder Bay, Saskatoon, and Regina all have significant First Nations populations. Winnipeg has one of the largest urban Indigenous populations of any Canadian city. This urban migration has been ongoing for decades, driven by employment, education, housing shortages on reserves, and family connections. Many people maintain strong ties to their home communities while living in cities, moving between urban and reserve settings throughout their lives.