The efforts of Black Canadians and allies from many communities led to anti-discrimination legislation in Ontario, which laid the foundation for human rights legislation in Ontario and across Canada. Today, these laws protect the rights of all Canadians, based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and a number of other grounds.;xNLx;;xNLx;The courage and struggle of Black Canadians for human rights led to revolutionary change in the course of Canadian law and Canadian history, which is now embedded in the Canadian Constitution through the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Their pursuit of fair non-discriminatory policies has changed the face of Canada.;xNLx;;xNLx;Barbara Hall, Chief Commissioner, Ontario Human Rights Commission
In the 1800s, many parents and leaders in White communities advocate for their children to be educated separately from Black students. The superintendent of schools for Canada West, Egerton Ryerson, responds by adding a provision to the Common School Act of 1850. This provision permitted separate schools to be established for Black students.
In 1852, Dennis Hill sues the school board when his son is not allowed to attend the local public school because he is Black.
George Washington accuses Charlotteville school board officials of changing school district boundaries to exclude Black children from the local public school while refusing to open a separate school for them.
Legislation is passed in Nova Scotia to allow local officials to create separate schools for Black children.
Jackson was just a toddler in 1858 when he accompanied his mother, Ann Maria Jackson, and six of his eight siblings on a perilous trip to Canada via the Underground Railroad. On May 12, 1882, Jackson became the first Black person ever to be appointed a mail carrier in Toronto.
The Black Cross Nurses was similar to the nurses of the Red Cross. Its first chapter was launched in Philadelphia in May 1920, under the leadership of Henrietta Vinton Davis.
On May 26, 1922, Lulu Anderson sued the Metropolitan Theatre in Edmonton for barring her entry for being Black.
Published by E.H. Packwood and William Trott, The Free Lance reaches a peak circulation of 5,000 copies.
Black Canadians are now accepted into the Canadian military.
On July 11, 1936, Fred Christie and some friends visited the Montréal Forum's tavern after a Canadiens hockey game. Christie, a Black man, was refused service because of his race.
The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was a labour union organized in the United States by African American employees of the Pullman Company in 1925. It was led by A. Philip Randolph and Milton P. Webster.
Poet. Author. Journalist. Activist.
World War II veteran. Carpenter. Activist.
This landmark legislation prohibits the publication or display of any notice, sign, symbol or emblem indicating ethnic, racial or religious discrimination.
Until 1944, Black women were barred from attending nursing schools in Canada. In the United States, Black women had been admitted to nursing schools since the 1890s.
Five brothers from the Carty family serve in the Canadian military during the Second World War.
Entrepreneur. Activist.
The Clarion is Nova Scotia's first Black-owned and published newspaper.
Viola Desmond is tried and convicted for tax evasion for sitting on the main floor "Whites only" section of the Roseland Theatre.
Saskatchewan enacts Canada's first general law prohibiting discrimination.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is ratified by the United Nations. This is the first international document recognizing human rights as the foundation of peace, justice and freedom.
Factory worker. Union activist. Human rights activist.
Lawyer. Activist.
In 1949, Dresden, Ontario put the question of whether local businesses can discriminate to a vote.
Premier Leslie Frost's government passes the country's first Fair Employment Practices legislation. By the 1960s most jurisdictions in Canada had passed some form of fair practices legislation.
This legislation protects workers against discrimination in employment and in trade union membership on the grounds of race, colour, national origin, and religion.
This newspaper reports on the news and issues within Toronto's Black community.
After the Fair Accommodation Practices Act is passed which prohibits discrimination in services, many Blacks and other people of colour find that they still are being denied service in restaurants, including Kay's Café in Dresden.
Ontario Premier Leslie Frost brings in the Fair Accommodation Practices Act which prohibits discrimination in services, facilities, and accommodations in public spaces.
Legal segregation of schools in Nova Scotia is ended.
Donald Moore leads a delegation to Ottawa to protest the country's racist immigration policy.
Tailor. Activist.
Canada introduces the West Indian Domestic Workers Scheme that allows women from the Caribbean to come to Canada as live-in domestic servants. They are permitted to apply for landed immigrant status after one year.
Owner of Kay's Café in Dresden, Ontario is taken to court for refusing to serve Black customers. This is the first successful prosecution under the Fair Accommodation Practices Act.
Under the government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, Canada enacts a Bill of Rights. Because it is not part of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights proves to have limited effectiveness.
World War II veteran. Sleeping car porter. Civil servant. Union activist. Citizenship court judge.
Ontario introduces the first Human Rights Code in Canada which prohibits discrimination in employment, services and housing. The Code replaces previous legislation and provides protections based on more grounds. It also puts mechanisms in place to redress and remedy the human rights violation.
Under Prime Minister Diefenbaker, Canada begins to reform its immigration policy to replace the "White Canada" immigration policy that was designed to accept mainly European immigrants.
Sociologist. Historian. Civil servant. Human rights champion.
Minister. Educator. Activist.
The Jamaican Canadian Association is founded by a group of Jamaicans living in Toronto.
World War II veteran. Lawyer. Politician.
The Separate Schools Act is amended to remove the provision that allows for the segregation of Black students. The last segregated school in Ontario is closed in 1965 following lobbying by African Canadians.
Encouraged by media attention to Africville's "American-style ghetto," the Halifax City Planning Commission expropriates the land from Black residents.
The last segregated Black school in Ontario, in Essex County, closes.
In Amherstburg, Ontario, a cross is burned in the town centre. In addition, threatening phone calls are made to Black residents and the Black Baptist Church is defaced. The town welcome sign is spray-painted "Amherstburg Home of the KKK."
The points system is introduced by Prime Minister Pearson to assess immigrants based on education, employment opportunities, age, and fluency in English or French.
In 1967 ten Torontonians with a common Caribbean heritage found the Caribana cultural festival to display their rich cultural heritage and celebrate the country's centennial.
The Congress of Black Writers is held over four days at McGill University in 1968.
Black students at Sir George Williams University riot over racism at the university.
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