The Home Children Commemorative plaque, 2018.
Resource ID
1780
Access
Open
Caption
The Home Children Commemorative plaque, 2018.
Description
From 1869 to the 1940s, child aid organizations brought more than 100,000 impoverished British and Irish children to Canada to work in farming or as domestic servants under the child emigration movement. Northwold, a large house once located here, was a receiving home and office for the Dr. Barnardo’s Home charity from 1922 to 1948. Founded in England by Irish philanthropist Dr. Thomas John Barnardo and supported by governments across the British Empire, the charity brought to Canada more than 30,000 children aged 4 to 16—more than any other similar organization. When they arrived, Home Children were taken to receiving homes before being placed with households that agreed to provide lodging, schooling, and an allowance (held in trust) in exchange for work. Promised a new life in Canada, Home Children were often forever separated from their biological families and sometimes denied their allowance, an education, and the comforts of family life. Many were abused. While some thrived in Canada, others faced stigma and isolation. The movement officially ended in 1939, although it took until the 1940s to completely wind down. Northwold was demolished in 1957 and replaced by an apartment complex.
Marker lat / long: 43.668879, -79.379369 (WGS84)