Premiering on national broadcasters CBC and APTN on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, 88-minute documentary The Good Canadian connects the dots between news stories we’ve all seen to deliver an unprecedented portrait of Canada’s ongoing injustices against Indigenous Peoples.
The documentary features Canadians who have worked in systems that perpetuate socioeconomic inequities that affect both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in Canada. The film traces the impact of racism and racist policies in this country on Indigenous communities and present-day child welfare, health care, justice and education systems. According to some of the film’s subjects, the damning stories and stats add up to nothing short of a genocide happening in Canada today.
First Nations filmmaker Leena Minifie (Gitxaala/British) (Bones of Crows, Lily Gladstone: Far Out There) teams up with Academy Award-nominated settler director David Paperny (The Broadcast Tapes of Dr. Peter). Together, they navigate the dark maze of Canadian bureaucracy and present a path forward: to face the truth, follow the data, and listen to settlers who have done the work to see themselves—and Canada—clearly.
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) described the project as “meticulously researched and artfully crafted” as they announced Minifie’s reception of the 2025 Kevin Tierney Emerging Producer Indiescreen Award.
“The Good Canadian fills the gap of documenting apartheid in our own country the way that other countries have,” says Minifie. “We crafted a team that brought broad, differing perspectives and developed strong, trusting relationships with the participants who revealed the bitter truths of their own experiences.”
Says Paperny: “Cindy Blackstock, the First Nations activist who set me on this journey, asked me what will I tell my granddaughters when they ask me some day what I did during my time, when newborn babies in Canada were being taken from their mothers?”
The Good Canadian makes its debut September 30th on CBC and CBC Gem (8 p.m. local, 8:30 p.m. NT), and APTN (9 p.m.).
Link to Trailer: YouTube
Link to EPK: EPK
