how many residential schools in canada

There were 139 residential schools formally recognized under the federal Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) in Canada.

Quick Scoop: Core Numbers

• The IRSSA officially recognizes 139 Indian residential schools across Canada as part of the compensation and documentation process.

• This “139” does not include many other institutions (like some church‑run or provincially run schools and hostels) that survivors and researchers also consider part of the broader residential school system.

• At the system’s peak around the early 1930s, there were about 80 residential schools operating at the same time.

Why the Number Is Complicated

• Different organizations may use different criteria (federal funding, religious administration, boarding vs. day schools), so estimates sometimes say “more than 100” schools, while the legal IRSSA list fixes the number at 139.

• Some schools have only been officially added to the IRSSA list years later (for example, Kivalliq Hall in Nunavut was recognized after earlier counts were made), which can cause older sources to show slightly different totals.

Wider Impact in Canada

• Over 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children are believed to have attended residential schools across the system’s history.

• Residential schools operated in every province and territory except New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island within the federally funded system, with additional schools in Newfoundland and Labrador that were not part of the original IRSSA list.

Today’s Ongoing Conversation

• The confirmed and suspected unmarked graves found at former school sites since 2021 have pushed this history into the centre of public and political discussion, especially around truth, reconciliation, and accountability.

• Survivors, communities, and researchers stress that the precise count of schools is less important than recognizing the system as a whole, its intent to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children, and its lasting intergenerational harms.

TL;DR: Officially, Canada recognizes 139 residential schools under the main settlement agreement, but the broader system included additional institutions and affected more than 150,000 Indigenous children.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.