Alberta's Provincial Training School for Mental Defectives renamed "Michener Centre"

1977. In 1973, in the midst of the shift away from institutionalization and the development of a community-living movement, recreational complexes including a swimming pool were built on the Provincial Training School (PTS) premises in Red Deer, Alberta. The PTS merged with the Deerhome residence under one administration with over 2300 residents. The merged institution was renamed the Michener Center in 1977 in acknowledgment of Red Deer’s most famous citizen, Roland Michener, a former athlete who ultimately became the Governor-General of Canada.

-Sheila Gibbons

  • Malacrida, C. (2006). Contested Memories: Efforts of the Powerful to Silence Former Inmates’ Histories of life in an Institution for “Mental Defectives.” Disability and Society, 21(5), 397-410.

Alberta's Provincial Training School for Mental Defectives renamed "Michener Centre"

1977. In 1973, in the midst of the shift away from institutionalization and the development of a community-living movement, recreational complexes including a swimming pool were built on the Provincial Training School (PTS) premises in Red Deer, Alberta. The PTS merged with the Deerhome residence under one administration with over 2300 residents. The merged institution was renamed the Michener Center in 1977 in acknowledgment of Red Deer’s most famous citizen, Roland Michener, a former athlete who ultimately became the Governor-General of Canada.

-Sheila Gibbons

  • Malacrida, C. (2006). Contested Memories: Efforts of the Powerful to Silence Former Inmates’ Histories of life in an Institution for “Mental Defectives.” Disability and Society, 21(5), 397-410.