Resumen
In the decades immediately following World War II, commonly referred to as the Cold War, people with intellectual disabilities continued to be institutionalized despite growing public calls for civic and social rights for all peoples. This article examines the social, cultural, and political conditions of the Cold War era that contributed to the ongoing placement of children in Canadian government institutions, and explores the relationship between cultural and political discourse, familial decision-making, and the continued marginalization and segregation of people with intellectual disabilities. Using a Foucauldian approach, it also reflects on the ?historical ontology? of this phenomenon in order to better understand the limits of possibility as understood by families of this era.