Residential school system of Canada consisted of government-sponsored boarding schools. It was set up with the goal of making Indigenous (native) children part of a European-based Canadian culture. The system originated in the late 1800’s and peaked in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The last residential school closed in 1996.
The goal of the residential school system was to break Indigenous children’s ties to their families, communities, and cultures and then assimilate (incorporate) them into mainstream Canadian society. To set up the system, the Canadian government worked with a number of church organizations that already ran schools for Indigenous children. In 1894, the Canadian Parliament passed an amendment to the Indian Act of 1876 that required First Nation children to attend residential schools. First Nations are original peoples of the land that is now Canada. They make up one of three main Indigenous groups in Canada. Eventually, residential school students included many children from the other two Indigenous groups—the Inuit and the Métis. The Inuit live mostly in and near the Canadian Arctic. The Métis are people with both First Nation and European ancestry whose society developed in the Canadian Prairies region beginning in the late 1700’s.
Over the years, about 150,000 children spent time in the residential school system. Typically, students lived at the schools and rarely saw their families. Rules forbade them to speak Indigenous languages. Many children received a poor education. Some were abused by staff members. In many underfunded and overcrowded schools, students lacked adequate food and clothing. Disease spread easily in the overcrowded institutions. Thousands of children died at the residential schools.
By the 1940’s, it was clear that there were serious problems with the residential school system. However, change was slow to occur. Church participation in the schools ended in the 1960’s. The last federally run residential school closed in 1996.
In 2005, the Canadian government announced the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, a legal settlement that resolved lawsuits filed by groups of former students. The settlement included a compensation fund for former students, and the establishment in 2008 of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). As part of a process of healing, the TRC worked to document the experiences of former students and educate the public about what had happened. The commission issued its final report in 2015.
In 2008, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized for Canada’s role in the physical and emotional suffering that the schools brought to many Indigenous children and their families. In 2020, the government of Canada officially designated the residential school system as an event of national historic significance. And in 2021, the government created a federal holiday to honor those who attended residential schools, their families, and their communities. It designated September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
A number of church organizations also have issued formal apologies for their roles in operating residential schools. In 2022, Pope Francis visited Canada to apologize for the harm done by Roman Catholics at the schools, many of which were run by the Catholic Church.
