Trudeau asks for Canadian flag to remain at half-mast for Canada Day

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Twitter on Wednesday morning that the flag on the Peace Tower in Ottawa will remain at half-mast on Canada Day.

Trudeau said the decision comes as "people across the country continue to honour the Indigenous children whose lives were taken far too soon, and as [Canada] reflects on the tragedy of residential schools."

The decision comes after the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves and the sites of former residential schools, namely the 215 found in Kamloops, British Columbia and the 751 found at Cowessess, Saskatchewan.

The prime minister recently requested that Pope Francis come to Canada and apologize to First Nations communities.

It also comes as several cities and towns across Canada announce that they have decided to cancel holiday celebrations altogether. These include Penticton, BC, Burnaby, BC, Victoria, BC, and Churchill, Manitoba.

Despite this, a recent Leger poll found that nearly 70 percent of Canadians did not support calls to cancel Canada Day celebrations, with only 14 percent being in support of it.

According to another poll released by the Environics Institute for Survey Research, more Indigenous Canadians had an attachment to Canada than those who are non-Indigenous, at 58 to 52 percent.