A majority of Canadians would support making the denial of residential school atrocities a criminal offence, according to a new survey. The Research Co. poll was conducted last month, after NDP MP Leah Gazan introduced a private member's bill seeking to criminalize public denial of Canada's residential school system(opens in a new tab), which forcibly separated Indigenous children from their families and culture, leading to widely documented physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Asked how they would like their MP to vote on the bill, 57 per cent of survey respondents said they would "definitely" or "probably" want their local representative to back the proposal. Do you agree that the denial of residential school atrocities should be a criminal offence?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals have not indicated whether they will support the legislation, which has little chance of becoming law without the government's endorsement. Several countries have enacted similar laws against Holocaust denialism – including Canada, which did so in 2022. So far, no case has been successfully prosecuted under that provision. Do you think this legislation will become law?

In the same survey, Research Co. asked respondents when they first heard about residential schools in an educational setting. Forty-eight per cent said they never learned about residential schools as a student, while 28 per cent said they did so in high school and 13 per cent said they did in elementary school. The remaining 11 per cent said they weren't sure. Do you remember learning about residential schools as a student?