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Feb 19, 2013 · Published Online February 19, 2013. Last Edited July 27, 2021. 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.
February is Black History Month, a time to reflect on the stories, experiences, and accomplishments of Canada's black community. Here are 23 black Canadians who made major contributions to Canada ...
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- 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.
Brooks, a town in southeastern Alberta, is the census subdivision with the highest percentage of Black people, with 22.3%. The community there is mainly composed of East African immigrants. In the 2011 census, 945,665 Black Canadians were counted, making up 2.9% of Canada's population. [14]
In 1995, her proposed motion before Parliament to recognize February as Black History Month passed unanimously, thereby establishing a lasting tradition of celebrating the important contributions of Black Canadians to Canada’s history, culture, development, and heritage.
