The Enduring Ghosts of the Camsell: A Building's Journey Through a Nation's Conscience
By: Ryan Krawchuk The Charles Camsell Hospital, originally a Jesuit college and then a military hospital, was Canada's largest "Indian hospital" from 1946-1973, where Indigenous patients, often forcibly removed from their homes, endured segregation, experimental treatments, and family separation. After its closure in 1996, the abandoned site gained a reputation for being haunted, fueled by its traumatic past, and became a symbol for urban explorers before its current redevelopment into a residential complex. The ongoing redevelopment and recent class-action lawsuit settlement highlight the struggle between urban renewal and acknowledging historical trauma, with a private developer funding a search for unmarked graves where the federal government refused, leaving unanswered questions about those who died there.
