The measure of settler guilt: Ben Drew, Chris Moore, ‘Reconciliation in Canada: Does settler guilt predict reconciliatory attitudes towards Canadian Indigenous populations?’ Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 2026 | settler colonial studies blog

The measure of settler guilt: Ben Drew, Chris Moore, ‘Reconciliation in Canada: Does settler guilt predict reconciliatory attitudes towards Canadian Indigenous populations?’ Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 2026

25Feb26

Abstract: Despite initial cooperative relations between Indigenous populations and European settlers in Canada, the relationship would deteriorate causing a prolonged period of discrimination and consequent suffering for the Indigenous peoples. Recently broad efforts aimed at reconciliation have been initiated. Research around the world has identified the presence of collective guilt among populations whose governments and ancestors have committed similar injustices. This collective guilt has been demonstrated to motivate affirmative action and reparation efforts for the damaged relationships; however, settler guilt remains an underresearched construct in the Canadian context. To address this issue, we developed and validated the Canadian Settler Guilt Scale through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to identify the presence of settler guilt in Canada. The Canadian Settler Guilt Scale was administered to a sample of Canadian residents to identify demographic differences in the experience of settler guilt. Additionally, the Canadian Settler Guilt Scale was compared with a reconciliatory attitudes scale to determine whether settler guilt predicts positive attitudes towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. Our study confirmed the presence of settler guilt in a Canadian population and its direct relationship with positive attitudes towards Indigenous reconciliation, laying the groundwork for future research on the topic in Canada.

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