Why repealing the Indian Act isn’t so simple
Posted November 2, 2026 7:25 am.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew called for the Indian Act to be abolished, which was met with echoes from Prime Minister Mark Carney who agreed that it should be scrapped.
The act was passed in 1876 with aims of assimilating Indigenous populations into Eurocentric ways of living through legislation that governs where they live, where their kids go to school, and who they are. Host Maria Kestane speaks to John Borrows, the Loveland Chair in Indigenous Law at the University of Toronto’s faculty of law. They discuss the different approaches that could help repeal and replace the act, and why other Indigenous leaders believe Ottawa should keep it right where it is.
John Borrows is a leading voice in Indigenous governance across Canada. Read his latest book here: The Seven Cycles of Life by John Borrows | Penguin Random House Canada
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