Approximately how many residential schools operated in Canada between 1831 and 1996?

• A. 50
• B. 130
• C. 230
• D. 10

Answer: (B)

Understanding how widespread the residential school system was helps you see the true scale of this policy in Canada. Historians estimate that roughly 130 residential schools operated from 1831 to 1996, spanning many Indigenous communities across the country. This number reflects a long period of state and church involvement in forcibly separating children from their families, with schools located in multiple provinces and territories. The figure comes from consolidating archival records of when schools started and closed and where they were located, so it’s presented as an approximate, not an exact count. It isn’t a tiny number like ten or fifty, nor as large as two hundred thirty; it shows a broad yet attainable footprint of the system over more than a century.