Throughout the history of Canada, the Canadian government, its colonial predecessors, and European settlers perpetrated systematic violence against Indigenous peoples that increasingly has been described as genocide, and cultural genocide. The treatment has also been described as ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.; ; These collective actions included forced displacement, land dispossession, medical segregation, deliberate starvation policies, nutrition experiments, physical violence, and compulsory cultural assimilation programs.
Canada is a settler-colonial nation whose initial economy relied on farming and exporting natural resources like fur, fish, and lumber. European Canadians initially had peaceful treaties with First Nations and Inuit, but these changed to dispossession treaties, and forced assimilation, emphasizing European values like Christianity, farming, and education. The Canadian government implemented policies such as the Indian Act, internal passports and residential schools and asserted control over the land and its resources. Despite current views that might define these actions as racist or genocidal, they were seen as progressive at the time, a form of state intervention. In response, a number of Indigenous communities mobilized to resist colonial policies and assert their rights to self-determination and sovereignty.
The Canadian Historical Association contends that the treatment of Indigenous peoples constitutes genocide. Notwithstanding, scholarly debate over terminology usage, and genocide denialism are ongoing components of Canadian society. A period of redress began with the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada by the Government of Canada in 2008. This included recognition of cultural genocide, Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreements, and betterment of racial discrimination issues, such as addressing the plight of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
Scholarly debate
The debate over Indigenous genocide globally is complicated and contentious. According to certain genocide scholars, including Raphael Lemkin – the individual who coined the term genocide – colonialism was intimately connected with genocide. Other genocide experts, such as Steven Katz, narrowly define genocide in the context of the Holocaust, arguing it requires the complete physical eradication of a group. The overlap of law and history leads to different views on genocide. The law focuses on serious acts, limiting it to physical and biological aspects, and requiring intent to destroy a group. Historians investigate the broader complexities of genocides, including long-term processes and various motives, without strict legal definitions. The main debate centers around the definitions of genocide, as outlined in the United Nations Genocide Convention, and within the Canadian context, the Rome Statute of which is defined in Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act.
The majority of Canadian historians agree that the treatment of Indigenous peoples by European settlers and subsequent Canadian governments constitutes genocide; despite, this Indigenous genocide denialism is still a component of Canadian society. Some scholars have questioned whether genocide legally applies to Canada's history,; ; arguing that the broader term "crimes against humanity" may be more fitting and legally defining. Scholars, Including William Schabas, Ian Gentles, Robert Bothwell and Payam Akhavan, suggest that the legal challenges of determining genocide make it difficult to apply the term to Canada, as genocidal intent is very difficult to establish as outlined by the Genocide Convention. - Original copy of an open letter. Scholars like David MacDonald and Graham Hudson argue that Article 2 (e) would include residential schools in the Genocide Convention as currently worded. Other scholars, namely Pamela Palmater and James Daschuk, have used the term ethnic cleansing to describe the displacement and removal of Indigenous peoples from the Canadian prairies.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) in its final report in 2015 use the specific term cultural genocide, when it addressed the history of the Indigenous residential school system. The TRC's final report stated "cultural genocide is the destruction of those structures and practices that allow the group to continue as a group".
In 2019 the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) concluded that the crisis constituted an ongoing "race, identity and gender-based genocide." The MMIWG inquiry used the definition of genocide as outlined in the Canadian Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, instead of the Genocide Convention, that the inquiry saw as "narrow" and based on the Holocaust.
In 2021, the Canadian Historical Association (CHA), which includes 650 professional historians, stated that the history of violence against Indigenous peoples in Canada warrants the use of the term genocide. They asserted that there is broad agreement among historians about the negative effects of institutionalized genocide on Indigenous peoples over the past 150 years.
An open letter by a group of 50 historians, initiated by Christopher Dummitt, criticized the CHA for advocating a specific historical interpretation, which they believe undermines the academic freedom necessary for historical debate. Signatories of the open letter, which includes Margaret Macmillan, Terry Copp, Frédéric Bastien, J. L. Granatstein, Robert J. Young and Susan Mann, disagree with the CHA's claim of broad consensus, reiterating the government's documented goal was integration, not elimination. They criticized attempts to shut down debate or discredit dissent as well as portraying those who disagree or diverge from activist language as prejudiced or outdated.
In response to the open letter, Sean Carleton and Andrew Woolford summarized the CHA position arguing that the existence of this dissenting group, many of whom they alleged are not part of the CHA and some they allege who deny residential schools, does not change what they characterize as broad academic agreement that genocide applies to Canada. Carleton and Woolford argued that dissent and debate from what they name as "the fringe" are actually strategies used by genocide denialists to create doubt and undermine consensus.
Ian Gentles has expressed concern over what he referred to as academic "activists" stating that discussing and debating genocide is actually a "tool of genocide". His position is that Indigenous peoples in Canada have faced significant mistreatment. However, using the term genocide inaccurately distorts history and creates a divide, labeling Indigenous peoples only as victims and non-Indigenous as criminals.
Settler colonialism
Assimilation
Attempts to assimilate Indigenous peoples were rooted in imperial colonialism centred around European worldviews and cultural practices, and a concept of land ownership based on the discovery doctrine. Original assimilation efforts were religiously oriented beginning in the 17th century with the arrival of French missionaries in New France.
Although not without conflict, European Canadians' early interactions with First Nations and Inuit populations were relatively peaceful. First Nations and Métis peoples (of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry) played a critical part in the development of European colonies in Canada, particularly for their role in assisting European coureur des bois and voyageurs in their explorations of the continent during the North American fur trade.
The early European interactions with First Nations would change from friendship and peace treaties to dispossession of lands through treaties, displacement and forced assimilation legislation such as the Gradual Civilization Act, the Indian Act, the Potlatch ban, and the pass system, that focused on European ideals of Christianity, sedentary living, agriculture, and education. Although these measures are viewed today as racist or genocidal; at the time they were seen as progressive, a form of state intervention.
Impact of colonization
The impact of colonization on Canada can be seen in its culture, history, politics, laws, and legislatures. This led to the systematic removal of Indigenous children from their families, the suppression of Indigenous languages and traditions, and the degradation of Indigenous communities. Other actions which have been highlighted as indicative of genocide include sporadic massacres, the spread of disease, the prohibition of cultural practices, and the ecological devastation of indigenous territories.
As a consequence of European colonization, the Indigenous population massively declined. The decline is attributed to several causes, including the transfer of European introduced diseases, conflicts over the fur trade, conflicts with the colonial authorities and settlers, and the loss of Indigenous lands to settlers and the subsequent collapse of several nations' self-sufficiency. This resulted in the dispossession of lands and forced migration of Indigenous peoples using various justifications. Roland G. Robertson suggests that during the late 1630s, smallpox killed over half of the Wyandot (Huron), who controlled most of the early fur trade in the area of New France. During the 17th century Beaver Wars, the Haudenosaunee brutally destroyed large tribal confederacies like the Mohicans, Wyandot, Neutral, Erie, Susquehannock, and northern Algonquins. Some historians have call these actions genocidal, while highlight the fact British and Dutch merchants encouraged and armed the Haudenosaunee.
The most well documented impact of colonization in Canada is the Indian Residential School System that was intended to assimilate the population. Other examples include the forced relocation of Inuit populations during the cold war to propagate Canadian sovereignty, medical segregation that led to poor conditions and lack of innovations being implemented, the sterilization of Indigenous men and women, and the modern day plight of violence and discrimination faced by Indigenous females being marginalized.
Some scholars suggest Indigenous groups in Canada still suffer from the effects of settler colonialism. This manifests in forms of racially motivated discrimination, such as criminal justice inequity, police brutality and high incarceration rates, that have been subject to legal and political review.
Indigenous resistance
Indigenous response to colonialism in Canada dates back before its founding. Historically, Indigenous resistance in Canada has taken the form of some violent rebellions, protests, blockades, legal challenges, and cultural revitalization efforts, all aimed at challenging the policies and practices of the Canadian government and asserting Indigenous sovereignty over their traditional territories. During the 20th century, various Indigenous groups emerged to address issues like land loss, unrecognized rights, harmful policies, and poor conditions on reserves.
The Lachine massacre of 1689 during the Beaver Wars, saw 1,500 Haudenosaunee warriors invade the small settlement of Lachine in New France, which had 375 residents. This attack was due to Haudenosaunee anger over French expansion that resulted in the capture of many and the killing of about 24 French inhabitants. In the 1800s, Louis Riel led the Métis in the Red River and North West Rebellions to fight for land and governance rights.