Black Canadian History

The rich and proud legacy of the diverse Black Canadian Population stems from the Underground Railroad from the USA, The Maroons from Jamaica in 1765, Along with multiple wave of migration from Africa, The Caribbean, Europe, Australasia and from the Americas.

Black People have helped to establish Canada as a Nation from the earliest settlers who arrived in this Country prior to all European and Asian migrants. According to Western History, the first named Black person to set foot on Canadian soil was Mathieu Da Costa, a free man who was hired as a First Nations, French, English and Portuguese translator by Explorer Samuel de Champlain's for his 1605 excursion. The first shipload of African slaves to reach British North America landed at Jamestown in 1619 long before Canada was established as a Country in 1867.

Since Mathieu Da Costa was born on March 1st, 1589 in Africa and was able to translate between French, Portuguese and the Aboriginal First Nations languages, it is evident that he had visited The North American Continent in the late 1500s prior to the Europeans arriving who then hired him for his Translation services. He lived among Canada’s First Nations and Aboriginal People for some time to have understood their Languages, Customs and way of life.

Canadian Black Population

According to Statistics Canada in the year 2011, the Black Canadian population was listed at 945,665 approximately 3% of the total Canadian population. According to Census Canada this population is expected to exceed 1 million people by the year 2017.

• Location, an estimated 85% of the Ontario Black Canadian Population lives within Southern Ontario region. Primarily in the Greater Toronto area and adjoining regions such as York Region, Peel Region and Durham Region which are all located in the most industrialized area of Canada.
• Strategically located and ready access to markets and major metropolitan areas
• Within 500 miles radius to 25 million African Americans
• Labour and the unemployment rate remains above Provincial and Federal averages
• Diverse Industrial Base
• Strong Economic Growth
• Affordable housing
• Good quality lifestyle