before the opening of the pts, alberta's mentally disabled children that were not living with their families were usually grouped with psychiatric patients in care facilities as far away as brandon, manitoba. at its founding, the pts was viewed as a progressive step for canadians because it focused on segregating the "mentally retarded from the mentally ill," and was claimed to support the shift "from incarceration to education". in due time, the pts expanded its function to include occupational therapy and vocational training, which was meant to serve as stepping-stones for the residents' integration into the larger community. in the 1950s, the pts claimed to centre its efforts on "increasing the trainee's independence," and in the 1960s, on "resident training". the view of the school as "humane, well run, evolving as attitudes towards feeble-mindedness evolved," was upheld by albertans throughout the span of its operation. however, rising population figures indicated that most residents of the pts did not, in fact, return to their communities.