Canada’s decades long forced adoptions episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 11, 2026 · 27 MIN

Canada’s decades long forced adoptions

from The Current

For decades after the Second World War, more than 300,000 unmarried women were sent away to live with relatives or in federal grant-funded maternity homes. There, they were coerced into giving up their babies. Some mothers have reconnected with their grown children, while many have not. Now, some say an apology from the government is long overdue. We speak with mothers Valerie Andrews and Christine Nayler, as well as Lynda Hall, a daughter forcibly given up.

For decades after the Second World War, more than 300,000 unmarried women were sent away to live with relatives or in federal grant-funded maternity homes. There, they were coerced into giving up their babies. Some mothers have reconnected with their grown children, while many have not. Now, some say an apology from the government is long overdue. We speak with mothers Valerie Andrews and Christine Nayler, as well as Lynda Hall, a daughter forcibly given up.

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Canada’s decades long forced adoptions

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This episode is 27 minutes long.

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This episode was published on June 11, 2026.

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For decades after the Second World War, more than 300,000 unmarried women were sent away to live with relatives or in federal grant-funded maternity homes. There, they were coerced into giving up their babies. Some mothers have reconnected with...

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