Approximately 100,000 children were forced to immigrate into Canada from Great Britain, between 1860 and 1939, many of them torn away from their parents and brothers and sisters. They are collectively known as The British Home Children. This seems like so long ago now, but many of their descendants are still to this day struggling to piece together their past family history. This isn’t simply idle curiosity, it is closure for many and a desperate attempt to gain a sense of belonging that most of us are fortunate enough to take for granted. Imagine how it must feel to have no idea of your past family history and where your roots truly belong and worst of all that you have or may have family members who don’t even know you exist.

Many of the Home Children were brought up to believe they were outcasts and less worthy than others in society. Some were treated as slave labour and suffered terrible abuse in the building and settling of early Canada.

It’s too late for most of them now, but not for their descendants who lobby Barnardo’s and other agencies in England for information about their parents and grandparents. The information, for a lot of these chidren, is available but is costly and many families cannot afford to pay for their records. The British and Australian Government leaders have publicly and with great humility, apologized to the home children and to their descendants while the Canadian Government, to their deep shame, has not. This petition aims to gain your support to lobby the Government of Canada to, at the very least, offer a grant to the relatives of Home Children to enable them to pay Barnardo's and other agencies in England for their family information.

Please support us and make a real difference to the lives of many.