As the country marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, new polling is showing a clear majority of Canadians feel both governments and individuals should do more to recognize the legacy of residential schools.
The polling by Ipsos, done exclusively for Global News, found 75 per cent believe governments need to take more action not only on the legacy, but the missing children, the families left behind as a result of these schools, and the survivors of these institutions.
Another 70 per cent say individuals need to do more, with 64 per cent saying employers must do the same.
However, while a large majority want more action not just by governments but individuals themselves, just 22 per cent say they would learn more about Indigenous history in Canada and 11 per cent would attend events in person.
Another 23 per cent said they would wear an orange shirt to honour the survivors of residential schools and remember those who died. That article of clothing is typically worn on Sept. 30 for “Orange Shirt Day,” which was established in memory of Phyllis Webstad, whose new clothing was taken away when she arrived at a residential school.
In 2020, the federal Liberals chose that day for their statutory holiday for federally regulated workers to commemorate the victims and survivors — a day 58 per cent of Canadians say is important.
In the years since, B.C., Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and the Yukon have adopted it as a stat for all workers, while provincial government employees in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick also get the holiday.
But four provinces, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador, don’t mark the day as a statutory holiday though ceremonies are held in recognition in some, with residents encouraged to wear an orange shirt. Federally regulated workplaces do receive the day off, but otherwise it is up to businesses to decide if they give employees a holiday in these provinces.
Despite not all jurisdictions marking it as a statutory holiday, 70 per cent of Canadians say it should be, with 68 per cent surveyed urging all employers to do the same.
The survey also found that 59 per cent believe there will be meaningful reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in their lifetime.
More than 150,000 children were forced to attend residential schools, with many survivors detailing to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission the abuse they suffered at the hands of those meant to protect them. The last school closed in 1996.
An estimated 6,000 children died in the schools, though experts say the actual number could be higher.
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between Sept. 20 and 23, 2024, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
— with files from The Canadian Press
The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419) is available 24 hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of their residential school experience.