The fight for historical truth in Ontario’s curriculum

The "Georgetown Boys" were part of a group of more than 100 Armenian orphans who survived the genocide and were brought to Canada in the 1920s. "Canada's Noble Experiment' was considered the country's first humanitarian act on a global scale. (Ontario Heritage Trust)

In 1915, when Armenians were targeted in a devastating stain on our collective human history, my mother's grandfather was left an orphan. My dad's grandfather was too. More than 1.5 million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were systematically killed out of a total population of roughly 2 million.

Years later, Adolf Hitler infamously rationalized his own planned atrocities by asking, "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?" It was this precise tragedy that compelled Raphael Lemkin to coin the very word "genocide" in 1944.

And yet, in Ontario, Canada's most populous province, which also holds one of the largest populations of Armenian Canadians, learning about the first genocide of the 20th century is still not a mandatory part of the high school curriculum.

And so, it was not a simple school assignment that compelled me to act; rather, it was a deep, personal obligation to my ancestors and my community. I decided to address this by going directly to the top.

Analyzing the political landscape

Before my petition attempt, I analyzed the political landscape. I thought the timing might be right because the Progressive Conservative (PC) government in Ontario, Canada had recently introduced the Holodomor, a man-made famine in 1930s Ukraine, into the mandatory high school curriculum in 2023, not long after the Russia-Ukraine war began.

The government’s official press release stated:

"Following Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Ontario Government took action to stand with the people of Ukraine, including by ensuring every child seeking protection in Canada from war could immediately enter publicly funded schools at no cost... These actions are part of Ontario's ongoing commitment to strengthening education to combat the sharp rise of hate afflicting Canadian societies and schools."

Just a couple of years later, I determined that the timing may be right for the Armenian Genocide to be introduced into the mandatory high school population, as well.

Consulting the stakeholders

Prior to contacting the ministry, I began to contact stakeholders well-versed in the subject for assistance in January of 2025. First, I reached out to Raffi Sarkissian, founder and chair of the Sarah Corning Centre for Genocide Education, a Toronto-based research and human rights organization dedicated to teaching students and the public about the history and consequences of genocide.

My key learnings from Sarkissian included why the Armenian Genocide isn't already mandatory, and he provided me with invaluable advice in how to frame our upcoming correspondence.

Around the same time, I also reached out to one of the Progressive Conservative Members of Provincial Parliament to seek his insight and though we tried over several months to find time, our schedules did not line up as the MPP was busy and we did not end up meeting in person.

It was a few months later that I also met virtually with Zoryan Institute’s Deputy Executive Director Megan Reid and Program Assistant Semhale Tsehaye. The Institute is an independent, non-profit academic centre headquartered in Toronto, Ontario which I have volunteered for and partnered with in the past.

They offered invaluable advice not only on the strategic wording and content of my proposal, but also on who I should target next. Together, we discussed potential amendments, such as incorporating more descriptive and impactful language into my final draft.

The correspondence with the ministry

After several months of collecting research, speaking with these stakeholders and distilling their advice, I was prepared. Last September, I made an appeal to the Minister of Education Paul Calandra in an email. I advocated for the ministry to make the Armenian Genocide a mandatory topic in the provincial curriculum, moving it past its current status as merely optional.

In the petition letter, I introduced myself as an Armenian Canadian and a descendant of survivors. I outlined the formal definition of genocide and elaborated on how modern conflicts facing Armenia today are a direct, unresolved result of those original 1915 massacres.

A sample excerpt from my message stated:

"To reiterate, I believe it is extremely important that the Armenian Genocide is added to the mandatory curriculum as it is the first genocide of the 20th century, and also because this would mean a lot to the large Armenian population in Ontario, it is part of our shared history, and this could serve as an example to other province, territories, and beyond."

I did not receive a response for several weeks. However, after a couple of calls to the ministry, I heard back in mid-October.

The response did not come from the education minister himself, but from Chris Popovich, senior manager of the Curriculum, Assessment and Student Success Policy Branch, Ministry of Education. He wrote:

"The ministry also agrees on the importance of providing learning opportunities for students to learn about the histories of diverse communities. The Ontario secondary curriculum for Canadian and World Studies, contains several opportunities for students to learn about the Armenian genocide, including the compulsory Grade 10 history courses."

Deeper lessons

This bureaucratic response adeptly side-stepped the issue at hand. Providing an opportunity to learn about something because it sits as an optional topic inside a mandatory course does not make the topic itself mandatory.

I replied again, firmly requesting an in-person meeting with the minister. I explicitly pointed out that both the Holodomor and the Armenian Genocide carry historical significance as defining human tragedies, however one of them had been sidelined.

I argued that a province's educational curriculum should be built on historical truth. This second attempt was met with a standard line offering "further clarification" and a polite acknowledgement stating my concerns would be "considered for future revisions"— effectively shutting down the dialogue.

Popovich wrote: “I acknowledge and appreciate your commitment to bring awareness of Armenian history and experiences to Ontario’s students, as it is important to learn about the histories of diverse communities that contribute to Ontario’s strength.

“I have shared your feedback with ministry staff responsible for curriculum to review and consider as part of potential future revisions.

“When a decision is made to revise curriculum, the process outlined in The Ontario Curriculum Review and Revision Guide will be followed, ensuring the curriculum is guided by research and evidence-informed practices, and addressing the needs of all students in Ontario.”

Through this several-months-long arduous process, I learned a lesson far deeper than I originally anticipated. Initially I thought advocacy built on objective truths could effect change.

I discovered that the reality is that decisions are heavily dictated by strategic community relationships, highly organized advocacy and lobby groups, the immediate geopolitical climate, public pressure, and of course, timing.

However, this does not mean there is no hope; it means my fight is far from over. As I pursue a future career in law, this experience will remain something I hold incredibly close to my heart. I have seen firsthand that when history is ignored, it repeats itself—just as the tragedy of 1915 has echoed directly into the modern structural conflicts and displacements facing Armenians today.

My most important and valuable takeaway was that I learned how advocacy truly works: real change takes determination, building relationships and connections, and the persistence to keep going even when it feels like hope is lost.

True advocacy is a marathon and through persistence, I know it is possible.