Protesters in Canada have toppled and defaced statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II following the discovery of bodies of indigenous children in unmarked graves, BBC News reports.

The incident occurred at the legislature in Winnipeg on Thursday (July 1) - Canada Day - and was sparked by fury over the horrific discovery of 200 children's bodies in a mass grave at St Eugene's Mission school in Cranbrook, British Columbia.

According to the outlet, over 150,000 indigenous children in the country were forced to leave their families and stay at the residential schools during the 19th and 20th centuries in order to enforce their assimilation.

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Around 6,000 of the young students passed away while staying at the boarding schools as they were often made to stay in poorly-built and unsanitary accommodations.

The gruesome discovery of the unmarked graves had led to calls for Canada Day celebrations to be called off. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the day would instead be "a time for reflection", per Reuters.

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Demonstrators decided to spend the day toppling monuments of the longest-serving monarchs in Britain.

The statue of Queen Victoria was daubed in red paint, with a sign reading "We were children" left close by.

Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901, was monarch amid the founding of the Canadian confederation. The residential school policy was initiated during her time on the throne.

As for Queen Elizabeth II, footage shared to Twitter shows protestors tying a yellow rope around her statue, causing it to topple over while they chanted: "No justice, no peace". Her Majesty is Canada's current head of state.

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Trudeau had previously stated that the discovery of the graves had "rightfully pressed us to reflect on our country's historical failures and the injustices that still exist for Indigenous peoples and many others in Canada."

Meanwhile, the UK government has condemned the destruction caused to the two monuments.

"We obviously condemn any defacing of statues of the Queen," a spokesman said, per BBC News. "Our thoughts are with Canada's indigenous community following these tragic discoveries and we follow these issues closely and continue to engage with the government of Canada with indigenous matters."

Featured image credit: Design Pics Inc / Alamy

Protestors topple and deface statues of Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Victoria