Canadian genocide of the First Nations

The Canadian genocide of the First Nations is the genocide and systematic destruction of the First Nations people and identity in Canada since its founding as a settler colonial state. Throughout the history of Canada, the Canadian government has committed what has variously been described as atrocities, crimes, and genocide, against the Indigenous peoples in Canada. The crimes which were committed by the Catholic Church and the Canadian government were recognized as a genocide by Pope Francis and the House of Commons unanimously voted to call on the federal government to recognize the residential school system as genocide.

Because Canada is a settler-colonial state, "whose sovereignty and political economy is premised on the dispossession of Indigenous peoples and the exploitation of their land base", various concepts which were used as justifications for the genocide date back to the very beginnings of the federation, as well as to the very beginnings of its predecessor states.