Since Canadian Confederation, it was the policy of the government of Canada to provide education to Aboriginal peoples through a system of church-run residential schools and day schools. The schools were part of the federal government’s goal to assimilate Aboriginal people into Canadian society. The Church explicitly supported the goals of assimilation and Christianization. The United Church and its predecessors managed residential schools in Ontario and Western Canada – the number ranging from thirteen in 1927 to four in 1966.

In British Columbia, United Church schools were located at Alberni, Ahousaht, Coqualeetza (Sardis), Port Simpson, and Kitamaat. The United Church also ran a number of day schools in First Nations communities in Hartley Bay, Port Simpson, Bella Bella, Kitamaat and Port Essington. By 1969, the federal government took over the management or closed all of the United Church residential schools.

The residential school system brought harm and cultural dislocation to children by removing them from their families and communities. Survivors began to recount their experiences of cultural, physical, psychological, and sexual abuse in United Church residential schools and brought legal action against the different bodies responsible for the schools. In response, the General Council of the United Church delivered an apology to the Native Congregations in 1986 and the Moderator of the United Church offered an apology in 1998.

Since 2003, the United Church has worked with other denominations and Survivor groups to promote a national truth-telling and healing process. On June 1, 2009, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was launched as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.