The GNWT says it is making progress in increasing Indigenous representation in its workforce, but the number of departments where more than 25 percent of staff are Indigenous has decreased from 2024.
“We are seeing meaningful progress, and we know there is more to do,” finance minister Caroline Wawzonek said in a Wednesday news release.
“This work is about creating lasting opportunities and ensuring Indigenous employees are supported to succeed at every stage of their careers. By continuing to improve how we recruit, develop, and retain talent, we are building a stronger, more inclusive public service that better reflects the people we serve.”
In 2025, 12 GNWT departments and agencies reported 25 percent or more of their staff were Indigenous.
That compares to 15 departments and agencies in 2024, according to the GNWT’s 2024-25 Indigenous Employment Plan Results Report. In 2022, 13 departments and agencies reported 25 percent or more of their staff were Indigenous. There was no information provided for 2023.
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The overall number of Indigenous employees in the GNWT has remained steady across 2022, 2024 and 2025 at 32 percent. The GNWT says it wants to increase that to 36 percent in 2026 and 39 percent by 2028.
The departments of Health and Social Services, Justice and Municipal and Community Affairs are the three whose proportion of Indigenous employees has dropped below 25 percent since 2024. The Department of Justice went from 26 percent in 2024 to 24 percent, while Maca dropped from 28 percent in 2024 to 23 percent.
Though they remained above the 25 percent mark, the departments of Environment and Climate Change, Executive and Indigenous Affairs, Housing NWT, the Legislative Assembly, South Slave Divisional Education Council, and Tłı̨chǫ Community Services Agency all saw decreases in their number of Indigenous employees.
The only department or agency where at least half of the workforce is Indigenous is the Tłı̨chǫ Community Services Agency.
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Information for the Dehcho Divisional Education Council, Sahtu Divisional Education Council, and Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Agency was not included in the report because the GNWT had not received their reporting in time.
The GNWT says its departments are “making greater use of programs that support career growth, including expanded access to training and Indigenous language learning,” to try to drive up Indigenous employment.
Last year, the GNWT’s new Indigenous Employment Policy came into effect. It replaced the decades-old Affirmative Action Policy.
Alongside the new employment policy, three other documents support Indigenous recruitment and retention in the GNWT: the Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework, an Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Action Plan, and 21 departmental Indigenous Employment Plans.
The figures in the latest GNWT report differ slightly from those produced in some earlier studies, which appear to draw from different data sets.
