Madam Speaker, I would like to acknowledge that we are on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
I thank the member for this opportunity to talk about the importance of economic reconciliation through supporting indigenous businesses. I think it is important to take a step back to remind members why the procurement strategy for indigenous businesses was created in the first place. Indigenous people in Canada comprise approximately 5% of the overall population, yet, historically, businesses owned by first nations, Inuit and Métis entrepreneurs were consistently winning a lower percentage of federal contracts.
In the early 1990s, the government saw an opportunity to facilitate indigenous people's access to procurement opportunities. In 1995, the eligibility criteria for the current procurement strategy for indigenous businesses, PSIB, then under a slightly different name, was approved. Based on engagements with indigenous organizations and business leaders, in 2021, Public Services and Procurement Canada, in collaboration with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Indigenous Services Canada, created more opportunities by implementing the mandatory minimum 5% indigenous procurement target.
Today, the procurement strategy for indigenous businesses and the mandatory 5% target continue to be two important ways the Government of Canada supports indigenous businesses, including indigenous entrepreneurs, across the country. We have heard many times from indigenous partners how important this PSIB is for advancing economic reconciliation and supporting indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs.
Since we announced the 5% target, we have seen a surge in indigenous entrepreneurs' interest and investment in the program. In contrast, the proportion of contracts going to indigenous businesses in the Harper years never went above 1%. Now, Conservatives are trying to undermine this critical program by focusing on the extremely rare instances of bad actors that do not represent the overall merit of the procurement strategy.
Investing in indigenous communities and building up indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs benefits all Canadians. According to the 2022 national indigenous economic strategy for Canada, the continued exclusion of indigenous people costs the Canadian economy $27.7 billion every year. The National Indigenous Economic Development Board found that closing the existing employment gap could help lift over 150,000 indigenous people out of poverty. There is a real cost to inaction.
I would like to be clear: we are working closely with indigenous partners to improve the indigenous procurement process and address these concerns. Together with indigenous partners, we are gathering information and building the foundation for a co-developed, transformative, indigenous procurement strategy that supports economic reconciliation. One of the components of this co-developed strategy is the transfer of the indigenous business directory to indigenous partners. We know that first nations, Inuit and Métis are best positioned to define and verify indigenous businesses.
We will continue to work with indigenous partners to co-develop a path forward that strengthens economic relationships with indigenous entrepreneurs and businesses. These increased economic opportunities for first nations, Inuit and Métis people are vital to ensuring continued growth and prosperity for all of Canada. We will continue to improve and support the program as it is vital for supporting indigenous businesses and communities. I hope that our Conservative colleagues will support us in doing that.