Well, it is true that there wasn't the same level of blood shed via the American "Indian Wars" in Canada as there was in the States during their manifest destiny. When Canada bought the Northwest from the HBC, they wanted to avoid the costs (human, but mostly financial) they saw happening in America that came with resistance from Natives during Westward expansion. The RCMP (then called the Northwest Mounted Police) were partially created to smooth over relations with Native tribes in preparation for settlement and to help with treaties (as well as to kick Americans out of Canada) and were actually quite effective in this regard until the settlement of farmers evened the numbers and the NWMP's relationship with the natives went from fairly positive to absolutely discriminatory. That's not to say violence didn't occur, it did, and often (Red River being a prime example of Native, or in this case Metis, resistance, along with many other battles), but nothing comparable to the level of violence and deaths during the Indian Wars.

However, your friend's ignorance is appalling; Canada's treatment towards First Nations was absolutely atrocious and (I believe) was even worse than the American experience post-western expansion. South Africa even took a page from Canadian residential schools. Discriminatory laws, the broken promises, the cultural genocide, sterilization policies that favoured Natives, etc.; Canada has it's fair share of atrocities. I had a history professor who had to review old letters written by staff from a residential school (for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission), and he came upon one correspondence where a priest was expressing concern that a male member of the staff was sneaking into the boys' dorm at night, and the response told him to ignore it as the school couldn't afford to lose that employee.