Parks Canada Labels National Parks a 'Colonial Injustice'
In the United States, national parks are celebrated as 'America's Best Idea,' but in Canada, the narrative has shifted dramatically. Parks Canada, the federal agency responsible for preserving and operating the country's 37 national parks, now describes them as a 'colonial injustice,' according to a two-year-old report that was kept from the public until June 2026. The report states that 'Parks Canada now acknowledges this harmful historical legacy and its impact on Indigenous language, culture, laws and governance systems.'
What Does This Mean for Canada's Parks?
Columnist Lorne Gunter questions the implications of this shift, asking whether it means shutting down parks, removing wildlife protections, closing campgrounds, demolishing historic hotels, cordoning off hiking trails, and turning over the entire 350,000 square kilometres to First Nations. He cites British Columbia's Joffre Lakes Provincial Park, which has been closed to non-Indigenous visitors for up to two months a year to allow First Nations to hunt, fish, and conduct spiritual ceremonies.
Gunter argues that Canada is moving beyond reconciliation toward 'capitulation by European culture,' subverting over 300 years of history to a narrative perpetuated by non-Indigenous progressives. He points to the toppling of statues, including at least six of Sir John A. Macdonald and one of Queen Victoria in Winnipeg, as evidence of this trend.
Ryerson University Renamed Amid Controversy
Ryerson University in Toronto was renamed Toronto Metropolitan University, and its sports teams changed from the Rams to the Bold, because its namesake, Egerton Ryerson, was seen as an architect of the residential school system. Gunter notes that while Ryerson supported residential schools, he viewed them primarily as trades training institutions to help Indigenous youth learn marketable skills, but nuance was lost in the outrage.
He also references the global hysteria over the Kamloops residential school and alleged mass graves, which later research suggests may have been misidentified septic field outflow pipes. The Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation has not exhumed the site to verify the claims.
An Endless Guilt Trip?
Gunter concludes by asking when this 'endless institutional guilt trip' will end, warning that Canada cannot be governed by guilt. He argues that the current approach represents a willing subversion of history to demonstrate tolerance, rather than genuine reconciliation.
