1605 — 2026
Black History in Canada
Four centuries of Black life in Canada — documented, illustrated and taught.
An introduction
Black history in Canada does not begin with the Underground Railroad, and it does not end with it. It begins with Mathieu Da Costa, who arrived as a free interpreter in the early 1600s, and continues through Black Loyalist settlements, the sleeping-car porters who built the country's first Black union, and the communities of Africville, Amber Valley and Hogan's Alley. Our books follow that thread from the archives to the classroom.
Historical highlights
1605
Educational Content
The first recorded person of African descent in what is now Canada arrives as a free multilingual interpreter.
1850s
Settlements in Canada West
Buxton, Dawn and Chatham grow into thriving free Black communities with their own schools and presses.
1783
The Black Loyalists
More than 3,000 free Black people settle in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick after the American Revolution.
1919
The Sleeping Car Porters
Black railway porters found the Order of Sleeping Car Porters, the first Black-led union in North America.
1834
Abolition across the Empire
Slavery is abolished throughout the British Empire, and Canada becomes the northern terminus of the Underground Railroad.
1964
Africville
The demolition of Halifax's Africville begins — a loss that reshaped Canadian conversations about race and land.
A timeline of Black Canada
1605
Mathieu Da Costa
The first recorded person of African descent in what is now Canada arrives as a free multilingual interpreter.
1783
The Black Loyalists
More than 3,000 free Black people settle in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick after the American Revolution.
1834
Abolition across the Empire
Slavery is abolished throughout the British Empire, and Canada becomes the northern terminus of the Underground Railroad.
1850s
Settlements in Canada West
Buxton, Dawn and Chatham grow into thriving free Black communities with their own schools and presses.
1919
The Sleeping Car Porters
Black railway porters found the Order of Sleeping Car Porters, the first Black-led union in North America.
1964
Africville
The demolition of Halifax's Africville begins — a loss that reshaped Canadian conversations about race and land.
From the archives
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