Uncovering Our Shared History

In 2024, Scotiabank (the Bank) released its inaugural Truth & Reconciliation Action Plan (Action Plan), outlining 37 commitments aimed at building relationships of trust with Indigenous employees, clients and communities.

One of the commitments (#7) of the Action Plan seeks to unlock the true history of Canadian financial services and its historical impacts on Indigenous Peoples¹. To help meet this commitment, Scotiabank commissioned independent historical research² focused specifically on the relationship between the Canadian financial services industry – and our institution – and Indigenous Peoples, spanning the period from Confederation in 1867 to the constitutional recognition of Indigenous rights in the Canadian Constitution Act, adopted in 1982.

This research represents an important outcome of that commitment.

The work is grounded in a simple but essential principle:  Truth before reconciliation. As an organization, we recognize that meaningful reconciliation begins with a fact-based understanding of our history. Canada’s financial system has played a central role in building the modern economy. But we also recognize that this growth did not benefit all communities equally, and that systemic barriers limited access, participation, and economic opportunity for Indigenous Peoples.

This research does not seek to assign blame through the lens of today’s expectations. Rather, it aims to cast our origins – and those of the broader financial services industry – in a transparent light, so that we can better understand how past systems, structures, and decisions continue to shape present-day realities.

In doing so, it helps us answer a critical question: How can we move forward in a way that acknowledges the past, addresses its impacts, and contributes meaningfully to reconciliation and healing?

Scotiabank selected its external research partner through a structured procurement process grounded in transparency, rigor, and relationship with Community. Potential Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners were assessed against both quantitative and qualitative criteria, including expertise in historical research, independence, and methodological integrity. Consistent with the Bank’s responsible procurement practices, considerations also included ethical standards, governance, and alignment with commitments to human rights and inclusion.

With these criteria in mind, Know History was retained by Scotiabank to conduct research about the historical significance of the financial services industry³ for Indigenous Peoples in Canada, including Scotiabank where [relevant/feasible]. The research was conducted between Spring and Fall of 2025 and guided by consultation with the Bank and an external advisor, Dr. Brian Gettler, Associate Professor of History at the University of Toronto. The research investigates the broad financial themes that contributed to Indigenous economic exclusion from 1867 to 1982. Although Scotiabank operations pre-date 1867 and continue to the present, the research scope focused on this critical 115-year period which starts with Confederation and includes the formative years for the adoption and implementation of the Indian Act (1876)⁴.

Know History’s research⁵ centered on the following five topics of particular interest to Scotiabank:

• The historical relationship between the financial services industry and government (Bank-Crown Relations)
• The historical relationship of the financial services industry to First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and to Crown-First Nations treaties (Bank-Treaty Relations)
• Indigenous Peoples’ historical access to financial services (Access to Financial Services)
• Discrimination against Indigenous Peoples in the financial services industry (Discriminatory Practices⁶)
• Financing of past projects that affected Indigenous People

For privacy and confidentiality, no individuals are named within the research, with the exception of public figures. In addition, any review of the Bank’s own records were accessed and reviewed in such a way to align with the Bank’s record keeping practices.

The findings of this research reveal a history that is complex, at times uncomfortable, and essential to our understanding: A system that enabled national growth, and entrenched inequity.

Financial institutions have long been central to Canada’s economic development. Banks supported governments, financed infrastructure, and enabled the growth of industries that shaped the country as we know it. At the same time, those same systems were embedded within, and helped enable, the broader processes of settler colonialism⁷.

Through financing government activities, infrastructure projects, and resource development, financial institutions played a role in supporting the expansion of government authority, enabling the transfer and development of Indigenous lands and resources, and strengthening a growing settler economy.

For Indigenous Peoples, these processes often resulted in economic marginalization, loss of land-based livelihoods, and exclusion from the benefits of economic growth, particularly impacting treaty lands and their traditional territories.

Structural Exclusion

A central insight from the research is that limited access to financial services for Indigenous Peoples was not simply the result of geography or circumstance, it was shaped by policy and structure.

For much of the period studied, The Indian Act restricted economic rights, including the ability to own or pledge land as collateral, and the federal government managed financial assets and transactions on behalf of many Indigenous individuals and communities. This meant that Indigenous participation in the financial system was constrained by design, reinforcing broader patterns of economic exclusion.

From its foundation until 1935 the Bank issued its own bank notes, as did other banks prior to the formation of the Bank of Canada. For at least part of that time, from at least 1903 to 1935, the Bank prominently displayed an Indigenous figure on its $10 note. Depicted as a male, the figure is seated on the ground in front of a wilderness scene, next to a version of the coat of arms of Nova Scotia. The placement of the Indigenous figure suggests that they are part the natural world and the past in contrast to representations of the man-made, modern world of commerce, industry, agriculture, and settlement of the present. Although representations like this may be seen by some as symbolic, the perpetuation of such stereotypes have been and continue to be damaging especially in economic contexts.

The research also highlights that meaningful engagement between Scotiabank and Indigenous Peoples did not begin until the 1970s. During this period, the Bank introduced early Indigenous-focused initiatives, including the establishment of Indian and Inuit Financial Services (IIFS). These efforts were, in part, driven by expectations of increased economic activity related to Indigenous land claims settlements and resource development in regions with large Indigenous populations. While these initiatives represented an important shift toward engagement, their overall impact was limited:

• Indigenous-focused programs were not sustained or scaled
• The Bank struggled to build strong relationships with Indigenous organizations at an institutional level
• Barriers to access persisted, including limited branch presence on or near reserves and constraints on decision-making authority within the teams dedicated to providing financial services to Indigenous communities

As a result, these early efforts did not generate the level of long-term change or outcomes that had been envisioned.

Inadvertent Harm

The research did not uncover specific examples where Scotiabank directly caused harm to community, however the research makes reference to clients and how their respective operations led to negative community impacts, including:

• Participation in the secondary market for Métis scrip⁸, where Indigenous individuals often received far less than the full value of their land rights
• The financing of major projects, some of which were the kind that negatively affected Indigenous Nations by damaging natural environments or causing communities to be relocated
• Use of language and imagery – both internally and externally – that reflected and reinforced harmful stereotypes and colonial perspectives

Significantly, the research highlights that a lack of proactive engagement and advocacy contributed to the continuation of systemic disparities. While decisions made in earlier periods reflected the knowledge and norms of the time, the cumulative effect of these actions, and inactions, was to perpetuate inequality and limit economic participation.

Understanding history can be difficult, but it is necessary. Despite past relations between the government of Canada, financial institutions and Indigenous communities, Scotiabank can be proud of how far we have come as an organization to begin acknowledging Canada’s true history and our role in shaping the economic resilience and prosperity for the next seven generations any beyond. This research provides critical insights that inform how we think about reconciliation today, and the role we must play going forward.

Economic disparities are deeply rooted in historical systems. To move forward, reconciliation must consistently include a focus on expanding access to financial services, supporting Indigenous-led economic development and closing long-standing socio-economic gaps and doing it in partnership with Indigenous Peoples. This work is not separate from reconciliation – it is central to it.

Indifference can have lasting impacts. One of the most important lessons emerging from the research is that harm is not always the result of deliberate action. At times, it is the result of inaction, limited engagement, or failure to fully consider the needs of others. The research suggests that while Scotiabank did not intentionally cause harm, a relative lack of sustained focus on Indigenous needs contributed to outcomes that reinforced inequality. This insight challenges us to move beyond passiveness and take a more active role in shaping equitable outcomes.

Responsibility must be matched with action. As a leading financial institution, we have played a role – directly and indirectly – in the systems that shaped Canada’s economic history.  Today, and rooted in a spirit of reconciliation, we are also acutely aware of the role we play in driving Canada’s economic future, and how that future requires Indigenous invoices, participation and partnership.  As Mark Carney said in his 2025 National Day for Truth & Reconciliation remarks, “it is vital that we build, but equally vital how we build – with Indigenous leadership, prosperity, and opportunity being foundational. Reconciliation is a generational task – lived and practised every day.^9”

In 2024, Scotiabank released its inaugural Truth & Reconciliation Action Plan, outlining 37 commitments aimed at building trusting relationships with Indigenous employees, clients and communities. We have an Office of Truth & Reconciliation, Indigenous Financial Services, Indigenous Inclusion Team, Indigenous Wealth Management and Indigenous Procurement and we are proud to maintain a Gold PAIR certification. Our decision to expand Indigenous financial services, invest in inclusion, and build long-term partnerships reflects a shift from viewing Indigenous engagement primarily as a market opportunity to understanding it as a shared responsibility and commitment.

Today, our work is guided by The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and direct engagement with Indigenous clients, communities, and partners.

This research represents an important milestone, but it is only the beginning. It underscores the need to continue learning and incorporating Indigenous perspectives, strengthening relationships based on trust, respect, and collaboration, and ensuring our actions today contribute to meaningful, lasting change.

It also highlights the importance of preserving this history, so that future generations can learn from it, build on it, and continue the work. It challenges us to reflect on our past, not to judge it through today’s lens, but to learn from it with honesty and humility. It reminds us that reconciliation is not defined by a single action or commitment. It is an ongoing process, one that requires us to listen, to act, and to remain accountable over time.

At Scotiabank, we are committed to continuing that journey – grounded in truth, guided by learning, and focused on building stronger, more equitable relationships with Indigenous Peoples and communities.