Five Years Later: Remembering the Children Who Never Came Home

Five years ago, the confirmation of 215 unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School forced Canada to confront a truth Indigenous families and survivors had carried for generations. It was not a discovery of something unknown, but the painful, undeniable proof of a historic reality.

Today, we honor those 215 children, the 4,134 documented deaths, and the thousands of others believed to be buried in unmarked sites across the country.

Behind every statistic was a child. They had names, families, favorite games, and futures ahead of them. They should have come home.

The empty red dress displayed in memorial stands as a visceral reminder of these lost lives and the families permanently changed by the residential school system.

Five years after the ground-penetrating radar findings, our responsibility remains clear: to listen to survivors, support the search for truth, and ensure these children are never forgotten.

We are truly honoured to collaborate with these communities, working together to support their efforts and contribute meaningfully to their path forward.

Every child matters. We remember, we honor, and we will never forget.