"Gaines v. Canada" was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in 1938 that challenged the segregation of schools for African American students in the state of Missouri. Lloyd Gaines, an African American man, applied to the University of Missouri Law School, which did not admit Black students at the time.

Gaines argued that the university's refusal to admit him violated his rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court ruled in his favor, stating that Missouri must either admit Gaines to the law school or establish a separate law school for Black students of equal quality.

However, the state of Missouri chose not to comply with the ruling and instead offered to pay for Gaines to attend a neighboring state's law school. Gaines refused this offer and disappeared shortly after, leading to speculation that he may have been a victim of violence or intimidation.

Despite the unresolved circumstances surrounding Gaines' disappearance, the case set an important legal precedent for challenging segregation in education and was a stepping stone in the fight for desegregation in American schools.