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CBC News. Last Updated: Feb. 4, 2013. February is Black History Month, a time to reflect on the stories, experiences, and accomplishments of Canada's black community. Here are 23 black...
- Black Communities in The Early 20th Century
- First World War
- Interwar Period
- Great Depression
- Second World War
- Immigration
- Human and Civil Rights
- Integration as Leisure
After the 19th-century influx of Fugitives (see Underground Railroad), the next great migration was African American railroad workers. These men were mainly recruited out of Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montrealfor jobs on Canada’s burgeoning railroads. For the first half of the 20th century, Black community development was deeply connected with the fort...
At the outbreak of the First World War, a large number of Black Canadians tried to volunteer for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. They became painfully aware of the concept of “a white man’s war” when they were refused. Black Canadians protested their exclusion. In response, General Willoughby Gwatkin proposed the formation of one or more Black la...
Close to 90 per cent of all Black men in Canada were associated with railway employment (see Sleeping Car Porters; Black Canadians). These jobs were severely underpaid and had abysmal working conditions. Since the turn of the century, Black men had agitated in secret for a labour union. As negrophobia ( see Racism) got its second wind after the war...
During the 1929 Great Depression, upwards of 80 per cent of porters were unemployed. Other Black workers were also hit hard. (See also Black Canadians.) The situation strained community resources, but organizations continued to play a vital role in maintaining stability. As the decade wore on, some African Americans returned to the United States. W...
As the Second World War began, the military once again restricted Black enlistment. Moreover, until 1942, the National Selective Service, Canada’s national employment agency, also allowed for employers’ racial restrictions in hiring practices. (See Racism.) Local leaders led the charge against the government’s discriminatory policies in the militar...
At the turn of the century, Canada as a young nation was very aggressive in its recruitment from Europe, South Africa and America. In contrast, Canadian immigration policies severely limited Black immigration. (See also Immigration to Canada.) The exception was male rail workers. Right into the 1950s, railway companies provided Black workers a way ...
During this period, a significant portion of Black activism centred on acquiring human and civil rights. As early as the 1920s, Black organizations challenged local ordinances, provincial laws and national policies that aimed to segregate Black Canadians. (See Racial Segregation of Black People in Canada.) The struggles varied. In some communities,...
Prior to 1960, Canada made significant gains in the integration of Black athletes in professional sports. Despite barriers that blocked integration in many spheres of daily life, Canadians were willing to consider integration in sports entertainment. The first and most high profile was Jackie Robinson. Robinson signed on with the Montreal Royals in...
- Amanda Roberts
- Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823–1893) Mary Ann Shadd Cary was an activist, educator, publisher and journalist. She was the first Black woman to publish a newspaper – called The Provincial Freeman – in North America.
- Lucie and Thornton Blackburn (Thornton 1812–1890) Lucie and Thornton Blackburn were a couple who escaped from enslavement in Louisville, Kentucky. They initially escaped to Michigan when slave hunters found, re-captured and arrested the couple.
- Mifflin Wistar Gibbs (1823–1915) Mifflin Wistar Gibbs was a businessman, politician and community leader who moved from San Francisco to Victoria, British Columbia because of racial injustices in the United States.
- Viola Davis Desmond (1914–1965) Businesswoman Viola Davis Desmond owned and operated a beauty parlor and beauty school in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1946, she went to a movie theatre and chose to sit on the ground floor, a section of the theatre reserved for white patrons only.
- January 01, 1608. Black History. First Black Person in Canada. The first Black person thought to have set foot on Canadian soil was Mathieu Da Costa, a free man who was hired by Europeans to act as a translator.
- August 20, 1619. Black History. British North America's First Enslaved Peoples Arrive at Jamestown. The first shipload of enslaved Africans to reach British North America landed at Jamestown in 1619.
- January 01, 1628. Black History. First Black Resident of New France. The first named enslaved African to reside in Canada was a six-year-old boy, the property of Sir David Kirke.
- March 01, 1685. Black History. Code Noir. In 1685, Louis XIV's Code Noir code permitted slavery for economic purposes only and established strict guidelines for the ownership and treatment of slaves.
Feb 19, 2013 · Black Canadians, or African Canadians, are people of African or Caribbean ancestry who live in Canada. According to the 2016 Canadian census, 1.2 million Canadians (3.5 per cent of the population) identified as being Black. This is a summary of Black history in Canada.
The majority of Black Canadians are of Afro-Caribbean and African origin, though the Black Canadian population also consists of African Americans in Canada and their descendants (including Black Nova Scotians). Black Canadians have contributed to many areas of Canadian culture.
Noteworthy figures. Read the biographies of some notable Black people in Canada who have helped shape Canadian heritage and identity, and who have made and continue to make enormous contributions to the wellbeing, and prosperity of our country.
