Mint commits to Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations (PAIR)
- Jan 06, 2026
- Sustainability
- Sustainability Updates
The Mint is proud to participate in the Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations (PAIR) certification program.
The Mint is proud to participate in the Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations (PAIR) certification program.
Offered by the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB), this internationally recognized program enables organizations like the Mint to build stronger relationships with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis employees, businesses, organizations, and communities through tools and guidance.
The Mint became PAIR Committed in 2024. With a focus on four main drivers – Leadership Action, Employment, Business Development and Community Relationships – PAIR helps build strong, mutually beneficial, and enduring business and community relationships.
As a PAIR Committed organization, the Mint will work with CCIB through the three phases of the Committed status, incorporating the valuable feedback and guidance received into its everyday business.
This program supports the Mint’s commitment to creating an equitable workplace for Indigenous employees and opportunities for business partners. In addition, the PAIR program includes focusing on training, working and building relationships with Indigenous businesses and communities.
The Mint’s ongoing efforts towards Indigenous relations and reconciliation – an identified priority in our ALL IN Action Plan around equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility – are driven by our commitment to doing our part to enact the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action. These efforts reflect some of the core principles outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Mint has a long history of creating coin designs in collaboration with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. In recent years, we have actively committed to finding ways to improve that collaboration, not only to create products that enable Indigenous artists to meaningfully share their experiences, cultures, and heritages but by also forming genuine and lasting relationships.
This includes circulation coins and numismatic products featuring Indigenous artwork and heritage. Each year, over the last three years, we have launched commemorative circulation coins celebrating Indigenous culture and heritage including Daphne Odjig (2025), Inuit Nunangat (2024) and National Indigenous Peoples Day (2023) featuring artwork from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis artists. The Mint has also produced numerous numismatic products featuring Indigenous art, including The Dance Screen (The Scream Too) by acclaimed Haida master carver Chief James Hart (7IDANsuu), the annual Generations Series and, in 2025, The Ancestor, featuring the work of Kwakiutl artist Jason Hunt.
Learn more about the design collaboration behind the 2025 Daphne Odjig Commemorative $2 Circulation Coin: here and read about some of the earlier Indigenous coin collaborations on the Mint.ca blog.
In 2024 the $2 Celebrating Inuit Nunangat commemorative circulation coin was launched. A first for a Canadian circulation coin, its design was created jointly by four Inuit artists, each representing one of the four regions of Inuit Nunangat. Pictured is Thomassie Mangiok, one of the artists who worked on the coin, at the launch.
From left to right: Cassidy Caron, President of the Métis National Council, Dylan Whiteduck, Chief, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, English River First Nations artist Megan Currie, Red River Métis artist Jennine Krauchi, Natan Obed, President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Marie Lemay, President and CEO, Royal Canadian Mint unveil the National Indigenous Peoples Day $2 commemorative circulation coin at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa (June 20, 2023).
