What is the history of slavery in Canada?
European colonists brought enslaved people to Turtle Island (what we now call North America) in the early 1600s. As part of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, people from Africa were uprooted from their homes and forcibly brought to Europe and European colonies in the Americas and the Caribbean.
These colonies also enslaved the Indigenous people who lived here and forced them to work in British and French settlements. The European colonizers would then trade and profit from the labour produced by enslaved people.
For 200 years, slavery in Canada continued until the anti-slavery movement in colonies across the world finally led to the abolishment of slavery in Canada and throughout the British Empire by 1834. Slavery did not end in the United States until 1863, so as many as 30,000 enslaved people escaped to Canada between 1815 and 1860.
What are segregation and anti-Black laws?
Long after the abolishment of slavery, anti-Black laws and practices were maintained in Canada for years to come. Communities were segregated to exclude and deny Black people equal access to public services throughout the 1900’s.
Some examples of segregation include:
- Legally segregated public schools in Ontario until 1965 and in Nova Scotia until 1983
- Preventing home ownership or renting to people of African descent
- Restricted employment for Black people in low-paying jobs
- Racial restrictions on public transportation
How does this history impact our society today?
Although many anti-Black laws have been repealed over the years, structural and systemic anti-Black racism still exists in Canada.
For further reading, please check out the following:
- Organizations and educational resources on the history of Black communities in Canada: Resource by the Government of Canada
- Black History in Canada: Learn more about important Black historical persons, places, and events that have contributed to the history of Canada.
- Racial Segregation of Black People in Canada: A breakdown of systemic anti-Black racism by The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Significant events in Black history in Canada: Significant events that contributed to the story of Black communities in Canada.
- Canada's slavery secret: The whitewashing of 200 years of enslavement: 2-part CBC series about the erasure of Black history and impact of 200 years of slavery
- Black History in Canada Education Guide: A guide for middle school students on Black History
- The Sir George Williams Affair: Black activism in Montreal in the 1960s and info about the occupation of Sir George Williams University in Montreal by 200+ students