Egerton Ryerson (March 24, 1803 to February 19, 1882) was a Methodist minister, newspaper editor, and the head of Ontario’s public school system from 1844 to 1876. He shaped the school laws of 1846, 1850, and 1871 and opened the province’s first teacher-training school in Toronto in 1847. His 1847 advice to the Indian Department on schools for Indigenous children is now the subject of public debate, which is treated separately below.
Life in brief
| Born | March 24, 1803, Charlotteville Township, Norfolk County, Upper Canada |
|---|---|
| Died | February 19, 1882, Toronto |
| Role | Methodist minister, editor of the Christian Guardian, first principal of Victoria College, chief superintendent of schools for Canada West |
| Toronto connection | Editor and book steward in York, Normal School founder in 1847, lived and died in Toronto, buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery |
Methodist preacher and editor
Ryerson was received on trial by the Canada Conference of the Methodist church in 1825 and ordained in 1827. His circuits included York, Yonge Street, and the Credit River mission, where, according to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, he worked among Indigenous people and learned Ojibwa. In 1826 he answered a sermon by Archdeacon John Strachan that had attacked the Methodists, and he published the reply in the Colonial Advocate. The reply made his name as a spokesman for the Methodists.
In 1829 Ryerson became the first editor of the Christian Guardian, the Methodist weekly, and also served as book steward. That work grew into the publishing house later known as the Ryerson Press. In 1833 he travelled to England to complete a union of the Canadian and British Wesleyan Methodists, an arrangement that dissolved in 1840.
Victoria College and the Normal School
Ryerson was the first principal of Victoria College, installed formally in 1842, and held the post until 1847. In 1844 Governor Metcalfe appointed him superintendent of schools for Canada West. He toured European school systems from October 1844 to December 1845 and then drafted the Common School legislation of 1846. In 1847 he established the Normal School in Toronto, the province’s first institution for training teachers.
School laws and publications
Further school legislation followed in 1850 and 1871. The 1871 act made elementary schools free of tuition and introduced Ontario’s first, limited rule on compulsory attendance. From 1848 to 1875 Ryerson edited the Journal of Education for Upper Canada. He also created a museum of art and science, encouraged school libraries, and worked to give the grammar schools a public financial base. On separate schools, the Dictionary of Canadian Biography says he defended grant-aided Catholic schools as a political necessity while opposing them in principle.
His last years in office were marked by conflict with Liberal governments, including those of Edward Blake and Oliver Mowat. A Ministry of Education was created and he was granted a pension in 1875. He left office in February 1876. In 1874 he had become the first president of the Methodist Church of Canada. He died in Toronto in 1882 and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery after a large funeral.
The 1847 letter on industrial schools
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry does not discuss Indian residential or industrial schools. The documented statements come from other sources. According to the 2021 Presidential Report on the Legacy of Egerton Ryerson, issued by Victoria University at the University of Toronto, Ryerson wrote a letter in 1847 to George Vardon, the deputy superintendent of Indian Affairs, advising on how to organize industrial schools for Indigenous children. The schools he described would be overseen by the Indian Department but run by church denominations, would rest on Christianization, and would train students as agricultural labourers. A version of the letter was printed in 1898 in a Department of Indian Affairs publication.
The same report states that in 1848 and 1851 the Indian Department and the Methodist Church established industrial schools at Alderville and at Munceytown (Mount Elgin). It cites the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report, volume 1, chapter 5, “Pre-Confederation Residential Schools” (2015), pages 63 to 82 and especially pages 77 and 78, for the history of such schools before 1867.
How the record is described
The Victoria University report says that Ryerson did not create the idea of residential schools, that the 1840s schools differed from those established after Confederation, and that his recommendations nonetheless influenced the later system. Its research panel said his 1847 proposals disregarded aspirations that Indigenous leaders had expressed. The report concludes that his name should no longer be used honorifically at the university and that he enabled a discriminatory model of education.
Parks Canada designated Ryerson a national historic person in 1934. In a 2023 review, prompted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 79, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board added two reasons for the designation: the effect of his legislative approach on Black communities in Ontario, and his 1847 letter, which was used decades after his death to support expanding the Indian Residential School system. The page says his relationship with that system “remains contested in the public domain” and that his proposals were not the school system Canada adopted in 1879. The Board recommended that no new plaque be prepared for now.
Descriptions in the press are stronger. Global News, for example, calls him an architect of the residential school system. The sources above are more cautious, and readers should compare them rather than rely on a single label.
Statue and name
A statue of Ryerson on the campus of the university that bore his name was pulled down by protesters in summer 2021, after the discovery of what are believed to be unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia. A task force formed in November 2020 issued 22 recommendations, which the board of governors accepted in August 2021. On April 26, 2022, the board approved a new name, Toronto Metropolitan University.
Timeline
- 1803: born in Upper Canada.
- 1826: replies to Strachan’s sermon.
- 1829: first editor of the Christian Guardian.
- 1842: installed as principal of Victoria College.
- 1844: appointed superintendent of schools for Canada West.
- 1847: Normal School opens in Toronto; letter on industrial schools.
- 1871: Schools Act.
- 1876: leaves office.
- 1882: dies in Toronto.
Frequently asked questions
What is Egerton Ryerson known for?
He was the chief superintendent of schools for Canada West from 1844 to 1876 and drafted the school laws of 1846, 1850, and 1871. He also edited the Christian Guardian and founded the Normal School in Toronto in 1847.
What did Egerton Ryerson write about residential schools?
In 1847 he wrote a letter to George Vardon, deputy superintendent of Indian Affairs, advising on industrial schools for Indigenous children. A version was printed in 1898, and later writers connect it to the system that developed after Confederation.
Did Egerton Ryerson create the residential school system?
The Victoria University report says he did not create the idea and that the 1840s schools differed from those set up after Confederation, but that his recommendations influenced the later system. Parks Canada says the relationship remains contested.
Why was Ryerson University renamed?
The board of governors approved the name Toronto Metropolitan University on April 26, 2022, after a task force on Ryerson’s legacy made 22 recommendations in 2021 and calls for a new name grew following the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential school sites.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography, RYERSON, EGERTON (Adolphus Egerton), vol. 11
- Victoria University (University of Toronto), Presidential Report on the Legacy of Egerton Ryerson (June 2021)
- Parks Canada, Reverend Adolphus Egerton Ryerson National Historic Person
- Global News, Ryerson University renamed Toronto Metropolitan University (April 26, 2022)
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, final report, volume 1 (2015), as cited in the Victoria University report
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry for Egerton Ryerson
Related reading
- John Strachan, whose 1826 sermon Ryerson answered
- History of the University of Toronto
- Peter Jones (Kahkewaquonaby)
- Black history in Toronto
- People of Toronto history
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Egerton Ryerson: Methodist Editor and Schools Superintendent. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/egerton-ryerson
MLA: “Egerton Ryerson: Methodist Editor and Schools Superintendent.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/egerton-ryerson. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Egerton Ryerson: Methodist Editor and Schools Superintendent.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/egerton-ryerson.
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