Lucas-Matthew Marsh
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Iori:wase
A new survey by the Angus Reid Institute found that almost two-thirds of Canadians held reservations about the 2021 findings from Kamloops Indian Residential School, a figure raising eyebrows among scholars.
Jon Roe, a research associate at the Angus Reid Institute, said the survey was part of a series designed to gauge Canadians’ understanding of Indigenous issues, starting with the One Canadian Economy Act.
“We wanted to maybe broaden the scope a bit, just to take a look at all the contemporary issues that we’re seeing from Canadians,” Roe said.
According to the survey, 63 percent of Canadians say they need more evidence before accepting that the “soil anomalies” uncovered at Kamloops Indian Residential School represent unmarked graves, while 46 percent said it is “time to move on” from Residential Schools.
Dr. Sean Carleton, a historian and Indigenous studies scholar at the University of Manitoba, said the findings come amid a broader wave of Residential School denialism gripping public discourse over recent years.
“Residential School denialists have become obsessed with trying to undermine public confidence in truth and reconciliation by narrowly focusing on challenging the Kamloops investigation,” Carleton explained.
These coordinated efforts, Carleton noted, have relied on questioning the validity of ground penetrating radar as well as downplaying other forms of evidence. These initiatives, Carleton noted, have resulted in a surge of reported racial harassment towards Indigenous communities across the country.
Carleton cited instances where individuals have shown up at former Residential Schools, “demanding to be given permission to “dig for bodies.”
“This is particularly abhorrent, because we already know – thanks to church and state records – that more than 4,000 children died at Residential Schools,” Carleton said.
But Roe explained that Canadians often struggle to distinguish between their actual feelings about Residential Schools and what they have learned about the system in the media.
“It’s always tough, I think, for Canadians to respond to issues on Indigenous issues in general,” Roe said. “There are a lot of people who are responding from as far as what they understand these issues are.”
This trend was backed up in the data – 68 percent of those polled agreeing with the statement that the Residential School system constituted a cultural genocide, and a majority of Canadians supporting the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
But alongside these sentiments, the survey also found that 61 percent of Canadians oppose criminalizing Residential School denialism.
Carleton attributed this to a misunderstanding among the general public, who often equate criminalizing denialism with restricting free speech.
“The right has successfully made ‘free speech’ a talking point,” Carleton explained. “to protect their ability to spew hatred as legitimate public discourse and protect themselves from facing any consequences.”
Although Canada has criminalized Holocaust denial since 2022, no similar legislation exists for Residential School denialism.
“Quite simply, the government has not proposed the necessary legislation,” Carleton explained.
Carleton pointed to the private bill introduced in 2024 by NDP MP Leah Gazan, which aimed to amend the Criminal Code to make the denial, minimization or justification of the Indian Residential School system an indictable offence.
“If the government is serious about reconciliation, then they need to protect survivors and their families from hate,” Gazan said. “The Residential School system was a genocide… to downplay, deny or justify it is cruel, harmful and hateful. This should have no place in Canada.”
However, as Carleton noted, Gazan’s bill has not yet received the support needed from the federal government to move past its first reading.
But despite these setbacks, Carleton believes the efforts of younger generations to actively engage in the truth and reconciliation movement will ultimately outweigh any pushback from these regressionist movements.
“The future clearly belongs to truth and reconciliation,” Carleton said.
