Residential Schools National Monument

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Call to Action #81 calls “upon the federal government, in collaboration with Survivors and their organizations, and other parties to the Settlement Agreement, to commission and install a publicly accessible, highly visible, Residential Schools National Monument in the City of Ottawa to honour Survivors and all the children who were lost to their families and communities.”

On August 10, 2021, the Government of Canada announced $20 million had been set aside to build the national monument.

Establishing a Vision for the Monument

A National Survivor Consultation Workshop was held on October 22, 2019. The Survivor-led visioning process was organized and facilitated by former TRC Commissioner Dr. Marie Wilson, in collaboration with Canadian Heritage. The workshop brought together First Nations, Inuit, and Métis representatives, and included perspectives from every region of Canada. Participants included members of the TRC Survivors Advisory Committee, Intergenerational Survivors, TRC Honorary Witnesses and representation from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Survivor-led Steering Committee

At the end April 2022 a Survivor-led Steering Committee was established to oversee the monument project through to its completion. It will oversee the implementation of the guiding vision established by the 2019 Workshop, ensuring the project remains grounded in Indigenous values. The 16-member Committee will also provide advice and guidance on such matters as site selection, the design competition process, and the development of educational content and programming.

The Site

The site selected by the Steering Committee is on the ancestral lands of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation on the west side of Parliament Hill. The site is highly visible in the heart of downtown Ottawa.