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Majority of Canadians agree historic injustices against Indigenous peoples still relevant today: new survey
Canadians are more likely to reject the idea that historic injustices against Indigenous peoples are “mostly in the past,” according to a new Leger poll conducted for the Association of Canadian Studies.
“The survey is especially relevant to debates about reconciliation and suggests that many Canadians believe acknowledging past injustices should inform current policy responses,” Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the Association, told National Post in an interview.
“At the same time,” he said, “the sizeable share who say these injustices are mostly in the past shows that Canadians differ in the degree of ownership, responsibility, or urgency they feel regarding historical wrongs.”
As a result, Jedwab suggested the survey, released for National Indigenous Peoples Day on Sunday, points to a key challenge for reconciliation efforts. He says it raises the question of how advocates could build support for present-day action “in a society where many recognize the continuing impact of past injustice, but many others are not persuaded that the injustices should drive current policy decisions.”
The data reflects this existential divide, with 48 per cent agreeing that the historical injustices against Indigenous peoples are still relevant, compared with 42 per cent who disagree.
Meanwhile, noted Jedwab, survey respondents differed by gender, age, and region. For example, women are more likely than men to view these injustices as still relevant. “I would suggest that men may be less likely to connect historic injustice to current social and economic inequalities, whereas women may feel that they better understand such inequalities,” says Jedwab.
Canadians under 55 are more likely than people over 55 to disagree the issue is mostly in the past. The numbers on disagreement break down by age as follows: 18-34 (47 per cent), 35-54 (52 per cent) and 55+ (45 per cent).
Jedwab suggested this difference could be attributed to the possibility that Canadians under 55 have been “more exposed to public conversations about residential schools, reconciliation, land acknowledgements and Indigenous injustices” through their schooling and workplaces, the media and public institutions. “These issues have become a greater part of the conversation about identity in Canada, with more recent generations more inclined to see relations between Indigenous and non-indigenous as the defining marker of the country’s historic existential challenge.”
Regionally, Ontarians are least likely to agree that historic injustices against Indigenous people have lost relevance (38 per cent). In contrast, residents of Manitoba and Saskatchewan are more likely to say they are past (51 per cent). That latter part of the country “has the highest percentage of indigenous persons,” said Jedwab. “It may reflect different views about the role of government, greater polarization around Indigenous issues and/or local tensions where questions around land, resources, poverty, justice, and Indigenous rights are especially pronounced.”
He added that it may also reflect the perception that acknowledging historic injustice has “not been effective at addressing persisting inequities.”
French speakers and allophones, persons whose mother tongue is neither English nor French, are more evenly split on the question of historic injustices committed against Indigenous peoples, according to the survey. By comparison, noted Jedwab, English speakers are somewhat more likely to disagree, with 49% disagreeing and 41% agreeing. “It suggests that some groups may be less settled in their views, or may interpret Canada’s historic injustices through varying historical, linguistic, cultural, or immigrant orientations.”
The survey findings show a similar pattern regarding the history of slavery and anti-Black racism in North America. According to the survey data, half of Canadians disagree that the history of these historic aspects of life is mostly in the past, while 41 per cent say that they are.
And, again, the gender difference is substantial, with men more likely to agree (49 per cent) these issues are past, while women are far more likely to disagree (56 per cent).
“The gender pattern on slavery and anti-Black racism is very similar to the pattern on Indigenous injustices,” said Jedwab. “It’s possible that women are more likely to see historic discrimination as connected to present-day inequality and racism, whereas men may be more likely to see these issues as structural or ongoing.”
Older Canadians are somewhat more likely to agree that historic anti-Black racism and slavery are less relevant today, though among respondent 55 and older, almost half disagreed with that premise.
On a regional basis, British Columbians are most likely to say anti-Black racism and slavery remain relevant, while similar to Indigenous historical injustices, Manitobans and Saskatchewan are more likely to say they are in the past.
The findings arise from a survey of Canadians conducted by the firm Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies between June 5 and 7, 2026. The survey was conducted with 1518 respondents in Canada. A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey for comparison purposes. A probability sample of 1518 respondents would have a margin of error of ±2.5%, 19 times out of 20.
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