The central pillar or thrust of federal government Indian policy has been the goal of assimilation. Unquestionably the goal was to prepare Aboriginal Peoples for absorption into Canadian society. It was desired and expected that eventually all Indians would give up there native customs, culture, and beliefs and become like the dominant society.

The desire by the government to obtain land held by Aboriginal peoples for the settlement of non-aboriginal people was a primary goal for much of the policy directed towards native peoples. Reservation were seen as a way to move Indians into agriculturally-based communities, both to assimilate them and also to free-up vast tracks of land for non-aboriginal settlement.