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Indigenous Incarceration in Canada: A Growing Crisis
Life Under Supervision
Like a growing number of formerly incarcerated Indigenous people, Marvin Starblanket’s life is still governed by Correctional Service Canada rules. These rules determine where he sleeps (a halfway house instead of at home with his partner and children), when he clocks in for the night (10 p.m.), whether he drinks alcohol (he is prohibited), and the job he pursues.
The rules did not stop Starblanket, 42, from getting a pair of gray-scale tattoos on the backs of his hands: “Good” on the right, in curly script set against bars of heavenly light; and “Evil,” against a smokily stylized skull, on the left.
“Who wins?” he muses. “Depends which one you feed.”
Starblanket, a member of the Mistawasis First Nation, has led a life shaped by crime and substance use. He is nearing the halfway point of a five-year supervisory order imposed after his most recent prison stint—just under six years for the hold-up of a convenience store with a Taser.
A Broken Promise
When Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office a decade ago, he pledged “a total renewal of the relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples.” His Liberal Party committed to implementing recommendations from a government commission, which included eliminating within 10 years the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in custody.
However, that overrepresentation has worsened. Indigenous people, who comprise 5% of Canada’s population, account for about one-third of federal inmates—compared to just over one-fifth in 2015.
High rates of Indigenous imprisonment are a problem in several Western nations. In the United States, Indigenous people are incarcerated at double the rate of Americans overall. In Australia, incarceration rates are 15 times higher for Aboriginal peoples.
In Canada, the problem has defied attempts by the Liberal government to address it.
Increasing Supervision Orders
Reuters spoke to 50 people involved in Canada’s criminal justice system—including lawyers, advocates, prison staff, and former prisoners. Many pointed to the imposition of post-release conditions on Indigenous people, a higher rate of parole denials, and the use of mandatory minimum sentences as key contributors to rising incarceration rates.
The number of Indigenous people subject to strict supervision conditions after completing prison sentences rose 53% during the decade ending in 2023-2024—four times the rate of increase for white people.
Trudeau’s office and Canada’s justice ministry did not respond to requests for comment. In 2022, Trudeau’s government repealed mandatory minimum sentences for some drug and weapons offenses, though they remain for other crimes.
Long-term supervision orders in Canada are meant to address rare cases of people who pose a risk to the public. Similar measures are used in the United States and the United Kingdom, where they are generally applied to sex offenders.
Some experts and former prisoners recognize the benefits of such oversight. “The longer periods of supervision bring with them more resources” such as drug treatment and psychological counseling, said Shabehram Lohrasbe, a doctor who assesses individuals in the criminal justice system. However, if they breach any conditions, or are seen as a risk, “he’s back in the can,” Lohrasbe said.
Systemic Racism in the Justice System
Lawyers and advocates argue that Indigenous people may be seen as riskier due to higher rates of poverty, instability, untreated mental illness, and disabilities. These factors contribute to longer criminal records of less-serious violent offenses.
Once released under supervision orders, Indigenous people often struggle to stick to conditions due to “socioeconomic gaps,” such as high unemployment, homelessness, substance use, and past trauma.
The Correctional Service data showed Indigenous people are overrepresented among those breaching the conditions of long-term supervision orders, putting them at greater risk of returning to jail. The bar for reincarceration is low: a former offender under a supervision order may be sent back to prison for 90 days if their parole officer believes they pose an “unmanageable risk” to the community.
“It kind of sets up an opportunity where you served your time but you’re still not free,” said lawyer Rob Dhanu.
Calls for Reform
Advocates suggest better risk assessments that consider social circumstances could help steer Indigenous people away from supervision. Easier access to psychological treatment and Indigenous cultural programs might also reduce recidivism.
“We need to look at what works and what doesn’t work,” said Jonathan Rudin, program director of Aboriginal Legal Services. “And jail, generally, has not worked for Indigenous people.”
Indigenous people are more likely to be incarcerated at every stage of their encounter with the criminal justice system. They are more likely to be denied bail before trial and held in maximum-security units—where rehabilitative programs are limited and often required for parole eligibility.
Data also show Indigenous people are more likely than white people to be denied full parole—even when their parole officer recommends it.
Crown-Indigenous Affairs Minister Gary Anandasangaree acknowledged the problem: “There’s more than sufficient evidence to suggest that there is systemic racism within the correctional institutions, as well as the criminal justice system, that have often led to over-incarceration of Indigenous people.”
The opposition Conservative party has taken a hard line on crime, pledging to keep “violent criminals where they belong—behind bars.” However, it has not addressed the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in prison.
A Cycle of Trauma and Crime
More than 30 lawyers, advocates, and judges cite poverty and intergenerational trauma as key factors stacking the deck against Indigenous people.
Marvin Starblanket was five when his father died by suicide in police custody. Around the same time, he was abused by a male relative. He was seven when he and his four siblings were taken into foster care after his mother was jailed for manslaughter.
A Statistics Canada study published last month found higher rates of physical and mental illness, economic hardship, and homelessness among Indigenous people who spent time in government care as children. Indigenous children comprise more than half of all children in foster care in Canada.
At 16, Starblanket was charged with robbery and assault. That conviction marked the first of 23 violent offenses, mostly for robberies and assault, many committed while he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Release and Supervision
In 2017, while in prison, Starblanket was designated a dangerous offender, a status that allows indefinite imprisonment. His lawyer appealed, and in 2019, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruled that the judge had not adequately considered treatment options. The designation was overturned, and Starblanket was released in 2022 under a five-year supervision order.
Fourteen months into his supervision order, Starblanket used meth and reported himself. His parole officer ordered him to move to a halfway house, where he must check in three times a day.
For Starblanket, the restrictions are frustrating, especially being unable to live with his family. However, he acknowledges the support they provide. He worries about how he will adjust when his supervision order ends in November 2027 but remains determined to avoid prison.
“I don’t want to be asking for permission forever,” he said. “And I won’t be.”
Once free, he hopes to study psychology, be a voice for Indigenous people caught up in the justice system, and possibly run a halfway house himself someday.
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