Celebrating Black History Month in Canada

As we mark Black History Month in Canada in February, it’s worth reflecting on the legacy of Canada’s Black communities and the prejudice Black people have faced.

Even before it formally became a country, Canada made both the grievous error of enslaving thousands of Africans and took steps to end such injustice ahead of some other countries.

In 1793, Upper Canada (Ontario) passed an anti-slavery measure with the Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada. Although it stopped short of a ban, it instead instituted a gradual prohibition. As a result, from 1815 to 1860, Canada welcomed tens of thousands of Blacks fleeing enslavement in the United States via the Underground Railroad. [MORE]