Canadian genocide of Indigenous peoples

Throughout the history of Canada, the Canadian government, its colonial predecessors, and European settlers perpetrated systematic violence against Indigenous peoples that increasingly has been recognized as genocide. These actions included forced displacement, land dispossession, deliberate starvation policies, physical violence, and compulsory assimilation programs. These atrocities have also been described as ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

Canada is a settler-colonial nation whose initial economy relied on farming and exporting natural resources like fur, fish, and lumber. The Canadian government implemented policies such as the Indian Act, health-care segregation, residential schools and displacement that attempted forced assimilation of Indigenous peoples into Euro-Canadian culture while asserting 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. In response, Indigenous communities mobilized to resist colonial policies and assert their rights to self-determination and sovereignty.

Although Canadian historians contend that the treatment of Indigenous peoples constitutes genocide, Indigenous genocide denialism is still a component 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, settlement agreements, and betterment of racial discrimination issues, such as addressing the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women.