“When it comes to popular narratives about Black people in Canada, our Excellence is underrepresented. From aerospace engineers to political leaders, there is a world of Excellence being paved by Black Canadians.
“Worlds Within: Diverse Histories, Identities, and Experiences of Black People of African Ancestry in British Columbia”
“Worlds Within: Diverse Histories, Identities, and Experiences of Black People of African Ancestry in British Columbia” is an output of the African Ancestry Project highlighting the diversity of Black people in BC. It shares our stories in our own voice by centering stories of over 160 project participants. The report was published on March 5, 2022.
“ The report will be a resource for everyone in British Columbia, and particularly Black communities and those engaged in work around multiculturalism and racial equity. Understanding and acknowledging the diversity of the Black communities is an important step towards building authentic connections. The report will also form part of our historical records.” Alice Mũrage, project lead and author. More
Statistics Canada: Diversity of the Black population in Canada: An overview. Release date: February 27, 2019
“For this portrait, the population refers to persons who self-identified as “Black” in the population group question in the Census of Population. Since the 1996 census, “Black” is one of the population groups listed on the census questionnaire. Here is a brief list of the findings.
- In 2016 close to 1.2 million people in Canada self-identified as Black.
- The Black population was younger than the total population in Canada. The median age for the Black population was 29.6 years, while it was 40.7 years for the total population.
- More than four in ten Black people were born in Canada; we come from more than 170 different places of birth, and more than 200 ethnic or cultural origins.
- A higher percentage of people within the Black population (28%) speak French at home compared to the total population (23.3%).
- Atlantic Provinces: longest history.
- Ontario: largest population.
- Prairie Provinces: fastest growing.
- British Columbia: is growing, but at a slower pace compared to neighbouring provinces.
- Read the full report
AND …. we are also fighting against the denials and mis-perceptions in white Canada of this country’s racist history.
Race relations in Canada 2021: A survey of Canadian public opinion and experience
TORONTO, November 3, 2021— The results of a nationwide survey conducted by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) and the Environics Institute for Survey Research and sponsored by Pfizer Canada “Discrimination and mistreatment due to one’s race is a common experience in Canada. One-fifth of the population report that this happens to them regularly or from time to time, with another quarter indicating it occurs but very rarely. Such treatment is most widely reported by those who are Black or First Nations, and to a lesser but still notable extent by those who are South Asian, Chinese, East or Southeast Asian, or Métis, and even by a significant minority of those who identify as white”
Structural racism at the core of many Canadian institutions …
The United Nations experts that visited Canada in 2017 wrote in their report “The Working Group is deeply concerned about the structural racism that lies at the core of many Canadian institutions and the systemic anti-Black racism that continues to have a negative impact on the human rights situation of African Canadians”
UN Decade for People of African Descent
Photo Credits
Narrator, Photo by Anthony Shkraba, Pexels
Construction, Spencer Davis, Unsplash
Project Team, RFSTUDIO, Pexels
Scientists, National Cancer Institute
Restaurant, Paul Efe, Pexels
Female Entrepreneur Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels
Family, Auguste de Richelieu, Pexels