Canadian Museum for Human Rights on the Doctrine of Discovery

The Doctrine of Discovery is a legal and religious concept that has been used for centuries to justify Christian colonial conquest. It advanced the idea that European peoples, culture and religion were superior to all others…

In the Canadian context, the Doctrine of Discovery has led to the seizure of Indigenous lands and the displacement of Indigenous peoples. As colonial settlement spread over the territory that became Canada, many Indigenous peoples entered treaty relationships defining how they would share the land with the newcomers. Influenced by the absolute claims to power and authority expressed by the Doctrine, Canadian law interpreted these agreements as surrendering title and control, despite these concepts being largely alien to Indigenous cultures.

The Canadian government has also claimed title and control over unceded Indigenous lands. This was demonstrated in the 2014 Supreme Court of Canada ruling in Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia. The ruling found that the Tsilhqot’in had indeed demonstrated their Aboriginal title to their land. This meant that they had “an exclusive right to use or occupy the land for the nation’s collective benefit.”

However, the ruling also said that Aboriginal title could be defied by the Crown (either the provincial or federal governments) if it could justify such action.

The racist assumption of superiority and dominance embodied in the Doctrine of Discovery underpins many aspects of Canada’s colonial history, including the Indian Act, the reserve system, the Indian residential school tragedy, and the Sixties Scoop.

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