Aboriginal peoples were the sole inhabitants of Canada until the arrival of British and French settlers in the late 15th century, when they began to be subjected to severe oppression that lasted until the 1990s. In an effort to understand the various human rights abuses and discrimination suffered by the Aboriginal peoples at the hands of Canadian state and society, the government established a Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in 1991. (Read more about the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.)

In the late 1990s, Canada began the process of establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission mandated to examine human rights abuses in government-sponsored Indian Residential Schools for Aboriginal children. The appointment of commissioners was finalised in 2009 and operations continue at present. (Read more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.)