Dr. Cindy Blackstock

Recipient of the 2025 Dr. John Rook Leadership Award for Poverty Reduction

The Canadian Poverty Institute is pleased to announce that Dr. Cindy Blackstock is the recipient of the 2025 John Rook Leadership Award for Poverty Reduction. Through her life and work Dr. Blackstock has proven to be an outstanding leader who embodies the principles of the Canadian Poverty Institute. Speaking from an Indigenous perspective, she combines deeply grounded research, legal action, and public education to force systemic change (legal, funding, program access) that directly improves life chances for Indigenous children and youth. Her work emphasizes prevention, equity, and removing structural barriers to elevate the rights of Indigenous children, ensuring they can claim equal services, dignity, and belonging.

Dr. Blackstock was born in Burns Lake, British Columbia, a Member of the Gitxsan First Nation. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, Masters Degrees in Management from McGill University and Children’s Law & Policy (Jurisprudence) from Loyola University Chicago, and a PhD in Social Work from the University of Toronto. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada and is a Professor at the McGill School of Social Work.  She also serves as a Director of FNCARES (First Nations Children’s Action Research and Education Service). She is described by media and peers as “Canada’s relentless moral voice for First Nations’ equality.” 

Over the span of her 40-year career, Dr. Blackstock has had an outstanding impact on poverty for First Nations children and youth as a tireless advocate for Indigenous child welfare and children’s rights.  Dr. Blackstock’s work has revealed how First Nations children face systemic underfunding in child and family services on reserves, and discriminatory treatment by the federal government.  She and her organisation (First Nations Child & Family Caring Society) filed a human rights complaint in 2007 (with the Assembly of First Nations) alleging that Canada discriminates against First Nations children. 

One of the key legal tools used to advance the rights of First Nations children is Jordan’s Principle. This principle aims to ensure that First Nations children have access to public services without delay or denial because of jurisdictional disputes between levels of government. Dr. Blackstock has been central in pushing for its full implementation. Her work has brought attention to the “service gap” between what First Nations children are legally entitled to and what they actually receive. 

In addition to her advocacy work, Dr. Blackstock is also a distinguished scholar and author. In 2015 she co‑authored First Nations child poverty: A literature review and analysis which documented the incidence and depth of poverty among First Nations children. This report revealed stark numbers, such as the fact that approximately 50% of First Nations children across Canada live below the poverty line, with rates higher in certain provinces. This work tied historical and structural drivers (colonialism, dispossession, systemic discrimination) to current poverty outcomes, not just treating poverty as an individual or family failure. 

As a result of her advocacy and legal work, Canada has been forced to confront and address discriminatory funding for child welfare services on reserves. This has led to more children gaining access to services under Jordan’s Principle. In recognition of the impact she has had on the lives of First Nations children, she has been the recipient of many awards and honorary degrees, including her appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2023 she was awarded the World Children’s Prize voted on by millions of children around the world. Cindy is frequently sighted in the company of the Caring Society’s reconciliation Ambearrister, Spirit Bear, engaging children in meaningful actions to implement the TRC Calls to Action.