Canadian Public Opinion about Indigenous Peoples and Reconciliation

While the news headlines in 2020 and 2021 have been dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, several events relating to Indigenous Peoples have also attracted attention. These include disputes over land and resources on both the West and East coasts; the ongoing failure to ensure all Indigenous communities have access to clean drinking water; and, most prominently, the discovery of the unmarked graves of hundreds of children at the sites of former Indian residential schools.

The 2021 Focus Canada survey, conducted by the Environics Institute for Survey Research in partnership with Century Initiative, reveals that, in the wake of these events, attitudes in Canada have shifted. There is a growing awareness of the mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, including through the system of residential schools, and a growing willingness to say that the policies of Canadian governments is the main obstacle to achieving economic and social equality.

These survey results are being made public on Thursday, September 30, 2021, to mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Read the report

For more information, contact Dr. Andrew Parkin.