Federal government announces $800,000 for online safety project serving Indigenous youth

The federal government will provide $800,000 over five years to the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) for the Bringing Empowerment, Awareness, Culture and Online Navigation (BEACON) Project. Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree announced the funding in Ottawa on Oct. 15, 2026. The Indigenous-led initiative aims to raise awareness of online child sexual exploitation risks among Indigenous youth and strengthen community-based prevention.

Friendship Centres across Canada will offer culturally relevant online safety education and work with youth, families, Elders, service providers and community partners. The work will strengthen prevention, support people at risk and help build safer communities. The project will also improve the collection of information about Indigenous youth’s online experiences so future policies, programs and prevention strategies can reflect and respond to Indigenous perspectives and experiences.

The initiative forms part of broader federal efforts to combat online child sexual exploitation and create safer online spaces. Since 2004, Canada’s National Strategy for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet has supported prevention, awareness, law enforcement, victim protection, research and partnerships. Recent and proposed legislative measures aim to strengthen protections for victims and increase accountability for social media platforms and AI chatbot services.

The investment comes through the Contribution Program to Combat Serious and Organized Crime (CPCSOC), which funds projects and partnerships that help prevent and combat online child sexual exploitation. The federal government says the issue is complex and growing and cannot be addressed by one program or organization alone. Through CPCSOC, it supports targeted efforts to prevent harm, strengthen responses to the crime and help ensure children and youth can safely use digital spaces.

Anandasangaree said Friendship Centres are trusted community hubs across Canada that help create opportunities, strengthen social connections and improve well-being for urban Indigenous people. He said investing in their work helps build stronger support networks, expand access to opportunities and contribute to safer, stronger and more inclusive communities.

Jennifer Rankin, NAFC’s chief executive officer, said Indigenous youth deserve to feel safe and supported online. She welcomed the investment in BEACON, saying it would support Indigenous youth in developing culturally relevant tools to prevent online exploitation and other digital harms. Through the Friendship Centre network, she said, the investment would become practical support for Indigenous youth in communities across the country.

Public Safety Canada leads the National Strategy in partnership with the RCMP, Justice Canada and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P). Through the strategy, the federal government invests more than $27 million a year to combat online child sexual exploitation. Self-reported data from Statistics Canada’s 2019 General Social Survey on Canadians’ Safety (Victimization) found that about four in 10 Indigenous people experienced sexual or physical violence by an adult before age 15.

The proposed Safe Social Media Act (Bill C-34) would create new safety requirements for social media platforms and AI chatbot services to help prevent online harms, increase platform accountability and transparency, and better protect children. It would also set a minimum age of 16 for social media accounts. Platforms could apply for an exemption if they demonstrate that adequate safeguards are in place to protect children.