Anglican Church of Canada Donates $500,000 to National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation for New Permanent Home in Winnipeg

Anglican Church of Canada, Presbyterian Church in Canada, and United Church of Canada have collectively donated $1.5 million to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) in Winnipeg. This contribution supports the construction of a new permanent home for the NCTR, which houses materials collected by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) regarding the residential school system. Each denomination contributed an equal sum of $500,000, with the Anglican donation to be paid through investment income from the General Synod’s Consolidated Trust Fund in five annual $100,000 instalments starting in September.

The gifting ceremony took place at the University of Manitoba, where the NCTR is currently hosted. Wallin, an Anglican elder and member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, represented the Anglican Church of Canada at the event. She shared her personal experience of attending the Sisters of the Good Shepherd School, known as Marymound, from 1982 to 1986. Survivors have compared Marymound to residential schools, with a class-action lawsuit describing abuses such as staff locking children in small rooms for extended periods without food, water, or toilets.

Wallin recounted her time at Marymound, explaining that she cut her arms with cushion zippers as a way to cope with the harsh conditions. “It wasn’t because I wanted to die,” she said. “It was because we were locked in these little rooms … The nuns didn’t do it, but the people they hired did, and it could be up to three weeks at a time … I wanted to get out and breathe fresh air.” Despite the trauma, Wallin spoke of her faith, noting that she prayed with the nuns and remained connected to God during her time at the school.

Wallin emphasized the importance of forgiveness, stating, “We have to be mindful that forgiveness is everyone’s [own] journey.” Her personal testimony underscores the ongoing impact of historical injustices and the need for reconciliation. The Anglican Church of Canada’s involvement in this donation reflects a commitment to addressing the legacy of residential schools and supporting efforts to heal and restore relationships.

From the 1820s to 1969, the Anglican Church administered about three dozen residential schools across Canada. The TRC’s 2015 final report described the residential school system as an act of cultural genocide. Federal government policies forcibly separated Indigenous children from their families and prevented them from speaking their own languages. The NCTR’s role in preserving and sharing this history is crucial to the process of truth and reconciliation.

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