North America's First Indigenous Bond: $200M, New Asset Class, New Capital Stack

BMO's $200M indigenous bond was materially oversubscribed. A $10B federal loan guarantee is reshaping Canada's project capital stack. Two architects explain.

BMO Capital Markets issued the first labelled indigenous bond by a North American bank, a CAD $200 million instrument that was materially oversubscribed and has since won Environmental Finance's Social Bond of the Year. In this episode, John Uhren, Global Head of Sustainable Finance at BMO, explains the investor demand and what it means for future issuance.

Jolain Foster, Managing Partner of Nation Building at Deloitte Canada, describes how her practice prepares Indigenous nations to reach final investment decisions as equity partners, not consultation participants. She outlines the capacity-building roadmap that proponents are now funding directly.

Recorded in the City of London during the Canadian Indigenous Investment Summit 2026, this conversation covers: the $10 billion federal Indigenous Loan Guarantee Programme and the provincial programmes operating alongside it; why proponents increasingly treat Indigenous communities as preferred co-investors; how Indigenous equity participation de-risks permitting and accelerates project timelines; and the emerging structures through which nations are accessing international capital markets.