Provincial Training School
The Provincial Training School (PTS) for what was then termed 'Mental Defectives' in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada operated as an institution for mentally disabled children and adults between 1923 and 1977, at which time it was renamed the Michener Centre. It aimed to provide care and training to facilitate the integration of individuals with intellectual disabilities into their communities. While today it houses a service for persons with developmental disabilities, the nearly one-century-old facility is preceded by a diverse history, marked by eugenic practices like involuntary sterilization. History of the building The three-storey building, which once housed the Provincial Training School, has undergone many administrative changes since its construction in 1913. Located on the Michener hill in the city of Red Deer, Alberta, it originally housed the Alberta Ladies' College of Red Deer as one of Western Canada's finest residential college buildings at the time. In 1916, the provincial government converted the college into a psychiatric hospital for shell-shocked soldiers. It was not until 1923 that the facility saw the inception of the Provincial Training School for Mental Defectives, which would serve as a care facility for mentally disabled people until 1973. Today, it functions as Alberta Health Services Administration