Canadians across the country are marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Wednesday for the sixth consecutive year, honouring the survivors of residential schools and those who never made it home.
Beginning in the 19th century, more than 150,000 Indigenous children were separated from their families and communities and sent to church-run residential schools where abuse, malnutrition and inadequate health care were rampant.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded in its landmark 2015 final report that the school system was a central element of a state-backed policy of cultural genocide.
Between 1857 and 1996, 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend church-run, government-funded residential schools.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission initially documented the deaths of 3,200 children at residential schools. Experts at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation — who continue to comb through millions of records — say the actual number could be much higher.
The establishment of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30 was among the recommendations in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report.
CBC/Radio-Canada, APTN and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation hosted the annual Remembering the Children event on Parliament Hill.
Bernard Andreason, a survivor who has written a book describing how he and two friends fled the Stringer Hall Residential School in Inuvik, told the crowd in Ottawa that it was inspiring to hear from survivors who speak their own languages.
“‘Take the Indian from the child.’ You can’t do that. It’s next to impossible,” he said.
Andreason said many communities today are “working towards a better education for our children” so they can be at home while they go to school.
Jacquie Bouvier, a third-generation survivor and a member of the survivors circle at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, told Indigenous youth in the crowd they carry the strength and love of previous generations.
“Every time we speak our languages, share our teachings, gather with one another as Indigenous Peoples, we reclaim something that was meant to be taken from us,” she said.
Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour said Canada must “confront all forms of denialism that persist, despite extensive historical records.”
“Remembering is only one step. It must be accompanied by a commitment to ensuring that injustices are never, ever repeated,” Arbour said.
Guests and participants were encouraged to bring a pair of children’s shoes to place at the front of the stage to honour the children who attended residential schools.
Arbour added a small pair of orange moccasins to the display as a 60-metre-long cloth bearing the names of children who died as a result of residential schools was carried through the crowd.
A number of people in attendance held one another and wiped away tears as the memorial cloth was presented.
Separate events to mark the day took place across the country, including in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Iqaluit.
Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke at an event in Edmonton.
He issued a statement before the event in English, French and nine Indigenous languages, including Algonquin, Denesuline, Innu-Aimun, Inuktitut (Northern Baffin), Mi’kmaq, Michif, Oji-Cree, Plains Cree, and Western Ojibway.
The federal government “bears responsibility” for the “profound and enduring harm” caused by the residential schools system, Carney said in the statement.
“We owe Survivors more than remembrance,” he said. “We owe them action. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action remain a road map for that work.”
Only 14 of the 94 calls to action have been completed in the last 11 years, according to independent monitor Indigenous Watchdog. Another 41 recommendations are considered in progress, while 24 are stalled and 15 have not been started.
Stephanie Scott, executive director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, said people around the world are looking to Canada for guidance, but the country still has a very long way to go.
“We are seeing a rising wave of residential school denialism, racist diatribe that tries to dehumanize us and incite violence. But we are better than that, and we are stronger than that because we know our own power,” Scott said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2026.
This is a corrected story. A previous version said this is the fifth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.