CAAN

What CAAN does

CAAN Communities, Alliances & Networks (previously the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network) is a Canadian non-profit organization incorporated in 1997, with roots in a 1991 Health Canada conference where Indigenous people living with HIV called for dedicated national support. It operates as the national forum for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples to address HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs), tuberculosis, mental health, aging, and related co-morbidities, delivering programs from its headquarters in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan on Treaty 4 Territory.

CAAN's portfolio is a coordinated platform of community programs (Keeping Our Fires, Assessing Community Readiness, The Canoe Project), grant programs (GLOWS Indigenous Health Grant), research centres (AHA Centre, Feast Centre), training frameworks (Honouring Our Spirits), publications (Journal of Indigenous HIV Research), media resources (Re:Membering documentary, One Vision Many Paths TB Podcast), awareness campaigns (Indigenous AIDS Awareness Week), and conferences (International Indigenous Pre-Conference on HIV & AIDS). The portfolio is unified by the Sky Lodge research framework, grounded in ancestral science and Indigenous ways of knowing, and structured around Warrior Societies, Knowledge Givers, and lived-experience advisors (Indigenous People Living with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C).

CAAN is funded primarily through government grants (Public Health Agency of Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, CIHR, First Inuit Health Branch, Canadian Red Cross via Government of Canada) and pharmaceutical/philanthropic partners (Gilead Sciences Canada, ViiV Healthcare, Women and Gender Equality Canada). Membership is free for individuals and includes Full Voting Membership for Indigenous persons living with HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C and Indigenous-led organizations, and an Associate Non-Voting tier. The organization is led by CEO Margaret Kisikaw Piyesis (okimâw) and Board Chair Danita Wahpoosewyan, with 11-50 employees and a national membership and partner network of hundreds of people and organizations across Canada.

Name

CAAN

Legal name

CAAN Communities, Alliances & Networks

Website

https://caan.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CAAN is a Canadian non-profit serving as the national forum for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples to address HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, STBBIs, TB, mental health, and aging through community-led programs, research, and advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Indigenous Health Advocacy and HIV/AIDS Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Tribal/Indigenous Public Health Authorities (HLAJAAAD)

Keywords

• Indigenous health advocacy
• Community-based research
• HIV/AIDS education
• Harm reduction services
• Nonprofit membership organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Qu'appelle

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grants: CAAN receives funding from government agencies including the Public Health Agency of Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, and the First Inuit Health Branch. These grants fund specific multi-year projects such as Keeping Our Fires (2022-2027).
2. Corporate Philanthropy / Foundation Grants: CAAN receives funding from pharmaceutical companies (e.g., Gilead Sciences Canada through the GLOWS Indigenous Health Grant — $3M USD / approx. $4M CAD over three years) and healthcare companies (e.g., ViiV Healthcare through the One Vision Many Paths TB Podcast).
3. Membership Fees: CAAN generates revenue through membership fees: Full Voting Membership (Organization) at $50 for 10 years, Associate Non-Voting Membership (Organization) at $25 for unlimited duration. Individual memberships for both categories are free.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CAAN (Communities, Alliances & Networks) is a Canadian national non-profit that provides a forum for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples to address HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, STBBIs, TB, mental health, aging, and related co-morbidities. It delivers this through a portfolio of community-based programs, Indigenous-led research centres, grant programs, training, publications, conferences, and awareness campaigns — all grounded in culturally safe, Indigenous-led approaches rooted in ceremony, kinship, and ancestral science.

Product overview

CAAN (Communities, Alliances & Networks) is a Canadian non-profit organization that serves as a national forum for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples to address HIV/AIDS, HCV, STBBIs, TB, mental health, aging and related co-morbidities. CAAN operates as a platform of interconnected programs rather than a single unified product, offering community-based programs (Keeping Our Fires, Assessing Community Readiness, The Canoe Project), grant programs (GLOWS Indigenous Health Grant), training (Honouring Our Spirits), research centres (AHA Centre, Feast Centre), publications (Journal of Indigenous HIV Research), media resources (One Vision Many Paths TB Podcast, Re:Membering Documentary), conferences (IIPCHA), and awareness campaigns (Indigenous AIDS Awareness Week). The portfolio is unified by CAAN's commitment to culturally relevant, Indigenous-led approaches grounded in ceremony, kinship, and ancestral science, with the Sky Lodge serving as the overarching research framework guiding all activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sky Lodge A sacred research space within CAAN grounded in ancestral science and Indigenous ways of knowing, operationalized through ceremony, kinship, and principles of pimatisiwin (the good life). Research is framed as a relationship built on reciprocity, respect, and responsibility to community and land. For Indigenous researchers, Knowledge Givers, and community-based research partners.
• Keeping Our Fires A project funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and First Inuit Health Branch (2022-2027) collaborating with organizations to co-create knowledge bundles that strengthen capacity for culturally safe, stigma-free STBBI prevention, testing, treatment, and care. For Indigenous-led service providers and community-based organizations across Canada.
• GLOWS Indigenous Health Grant (Guiding Local Opportunities for Wellbeing) A co-created grant initiative between CAAN and Gilead Sciences Canada offering approximately $4M CAD over three years to support Indigenous-led solutions addressing HIV and viral hepatitis care through education, peer support, holistic care, and capacity building. For Indigenous-led organizations delivering HIV and viral hepatitis programs across Canada.
• The AHA Centre National Indigenous-led collaborative research centre housed at CAAN, funded by CIHR since 2012, supporting HIV/AIDS community-based research conducted in First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities across Canada. Between 2012 and 2017 supported 44 research initiatives. Now sunsetting (archived 2024).
• Feast Centre for Indigenous STBBI Research

Quantifiable outcome

• 44 research initiatives supported between 2012 and 2017
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Canadian Red Cross SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2023The Wapiwin Akinê (Seeing Collectively) strategic visioning project is supported by the Canadian Red Cross Society through the Government of Canada's Community Services Recovery Fund. The project includes a national visioning gathering and strategic planning process.
• HIV Legal NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAAN, in collaboration with the HIV Legal Network, led the development of an Indigenous-informed Action Plan focused on UNDRIP implementation for Indigenous people living with HIV, hepatitis C, STBBIs, and TB. This includes building a scorecard and Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) process.
• REACH NexuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerREACH Nexus collaborated with CAAN on the 'I'm Indigenous and I'm Ready' project, working with four Indigenous communities to explore how INSTI HIV self-testing kits can be effectively implemented within Indigenous community contexts.
• Dr. Peter CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAAN works with the Dr. Peter Centre as part of its commitment to decolonization and reconciliation, partnering to improve health outcomes and address systemic harms impacting First Peoples.
• International Indigenous Working Group on HIV & AIDS (IIWGHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAAN helped establish IIWGHA in 2006 and has coordinated the International Indigenous Pre-Conference on HIV & AIDS in close partnership with IIWGHA for 20 years.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Canadian AIDS Society: National umbrella organization for AIDS Service Organizations in Canada. CAAN historically partnered with CAS on governance development in its founding years; both serve as national forums coordinating HIV/AIDS response, though CAS is non-Indigenous while CAAN is Indigenous-led.
• CATIE (Canada's Source for HIV and Hepatitis C Information): National knowledge-exchange broker for HIV, hepatitis C, and related conditions in Canada. Operates in the same disease/advocacy domain as CAAN with comparable national reach, though focused on information dissemination rather than Indigenous-led cultural programming.
• HIV Legal Network: Canadian nonprofit working at the intersection of HIV and human rights. CAAN has a documented strategic co-development partnership with HIV Legal Network on the CAAN-UNDA Action Plan and UNDRIP implementation — directly comparable as a Canadian HIV advocacy organization.
• Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy (OAHAS): Province-wide Indigenous-led HIV/AIDS strategy organization in Ontario and a Year 2 GLOWS grantee. Direct peer in Indigenous HIV/AIDS service delivery, focused on a single province while CAAN operates nationally.
• 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations: Toronto-based Indigenous 2-Spirit HIV/AIDS organization and a Year 2 GLOWS grantee. Direct peer addressing HIV in Indigenous communities, particularly 2-Spirit populations — overlapping significantly with CAAN's mandate and member base.
• All Nations Hope Network: Saskatchewan-based Indigenous HIV/AIDS network and a Year 2 GLOWS grantee. Direct peer combining cultural practices with HIV and viral hepatitis care, serving similar populations in Treaty 4 territory — overlapping with CAAN's geographic base.
• Inter Tribal Health Authority: Indigenous-led health services authority coordinating health programs for member First Nations in BC. Comparable as an Indigenous-led health-coordination organization with a member-Nations model similar to CAAN's, though more clinical-service focused.

Regional players

• Pacific AIDS Network: BC-based member-driven network of HIV/AIDS organizations. Regional peer operating in a single province with a member-organization model similar to CAAN's, though without an Indigenous-specific focus.

Broad incumbents

• First Nations Health Authority (FNHA): BC's First Nations health authority responsible for planning, design, management, and delivery of health programs. Broader Indigenous health-services incumbent that overlaps with CAAN on Indigenous health priorities but is a government-mandated health authority rather than an advocacy nonprofit.
• Native American Community Health Center / National Native American AIDS Prevention Center: US-based Indigenous HIV/AIDS advocacy organization. Cross-border peer addressing Indigenous HIV/AIDS in Native American communities; comparable mission and constituency but operating in a different national funding and policy environment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CAAN_Official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CAAN