e-4560 (Citizenship and immigration)

The Government would like to thank the petitioners for expressing their concerns regarding the treatment of Home Children/Child Migrants in Canada’s past.

The Government of Canada believes in the importance of learning from the past, including the more difficult moments in our history.

Between 1869 and the late 1940s, approximately 100,000 British children, most under the age of 14, were transported to Canada by British religious and philanthropic organisations to work as indentured farm labourers and domestic servants. Although the children were often described as orphans, it is thought that the majority came from British orphanages, workhouses and other institutions because their families were indigent. It is generally agreed that their living and working conditions were poorly supervised in Canada, leaving the children vulnerable to abuse and prejudice.

It is only right that Canadians remember Home Children/Child Migrants and the contributions they and their descendants made to the development of our country:

• 2010 was designated as the Year of the British Home Child in Canada to increase awareness about the hardships many of the children experienced, as well as their strength and endurance. The Year was marked by the issuance of a commemorative poster by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and of a commemorative stamp by Canada Post in September 2010.
• In February 2017, the House of Commons unanimously adopted an apology to the British Home Children/Child Migrants and their Descendants.
• As adopted by the House of Commons in February 2018, the Government of Canada supports the designation of September 28 as British Home Child Day in order to raise awareness and ensure the recognition of the many contributions British Home Children have made to Canada.

The Government of Canada has also supported a number of outreach, commemorative and educational initiatives to recognize the experience of Home Children including:

• The designation of Home Children’s immigration experience as a national historical event. Further to this, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board established a commemorative plaque at the site of a receiving home in Stratford, Ontario, to acknowledge the experience of all Home Children.
• Educational information can be found on Parks Canada’s website, as well as the National Historic Sites at Grosse Isle, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax, and the Partridge Island quarantine station in Saint John, New Brunswick.
• Library and Archives Canada has worked in cooperation with Home Children stakeholder groups to make key archival information available to former Home Children, and their descendants.
• The Canadian Museum of History and Telefilm Canada have also worked to document the history of the child migrant movement in Canada.