Colonialism endures in Canada today. Dismantling it requires an understanding of how colonialism operated across the British Empire and why Canada’s colonial experience was unique.

Whereas colonies such as India were ruled through despotism and violence, Canada’s white settler population governed itself while oppressing the Indigenous peoples whose lands they were on. Canada and Colonialism shows that Canadians’ support for colonial rule – both at home and abroad – is the reason colonialism remains entrenched in Canadian law and society today.

Author Jim Reynolds presents a truly compelling account of Canada’s colonial coming of age and its impacts on Indigenous peoples, including the settler-led internal colonialism behind the Indian Act and those who enforced it. As one of the nation’s leading experts in Aboriginal law, Reynolds provides a vital accounting of the historical underpinnings and contemporary challenges the nation must address to reconcile with Indigenous peoples and move toward decolonization.

Jim Reynolds' profile page

Jim Reynolds spent over four decades serving as legal counsel to First Nations in Canada, including thirteen years as general counsel for the Musqueam Band. Now retired from active practice, he writes on colonialism and Aboriginal law in Canada. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, where he also taught. His most recent books include Aboriginal Peoples and the Law: A Critical Introduction and From Wardship to Rights: The Guerin Case and Aboriginal Law. He lives in Vancouver, BC.

"This is not a book of mere academic interest: it is driven by a deeply held commitment to ensure that all Canadians, particularly those of settler background, understand the ways in which colonialism has not only shaped but also inhibited movement towards meaningful reconciliation."

BC Studies