Black Canadians
Canadiens Noirs | |
|---|---|
Black Canadians as per cent of population by census division | |
| Total population | |
| 1,547,870 (total, 2021) 4.26% of total Canadian population 749,155 Caribbean Canadians 3.4% of total Canadian population 2016 Census | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Toronto, Montreal, Brampton, Ajax, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa | |
| Ontario | 768,740 (5.5%) |
| Quebec | 422,405 (5.1%) |
| Alberta | 177,940 (4.3%) |
| British Columbia | 61,760 (1.3%) |
| Manitoba | 46,485 (3.6%) |
| Nova Scotia | 28,220 (3.0%) |
| Languages | |
| English (Canadian • Black Nova Scotian • Caribbean • African) French (Canadian • Haitian • African) Haitian Creole • African languages | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (69.1%), non-religious (18.2%), Islam (11.9%), other faiths (0.8%) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| African Nova Scotians • Black Ontarians • African Americans • Afro-Caribbean • Africans (Diaspora) | |
| Black people |
|---|
| African diaspora |
| Asia-Pacific |
| African-derived culture |
| History |
| Race-related |
| Related topics |
Black Canadians (French: Canadiens Noirs) are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent.
Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean and the African continent who arrived in Canada during significant migration waves, beginning in the post-war era of the 1950s and continuing into recent decades.
A smaller yet historically significant population includes the descendants of African Americans, including fugitive slaves, Black loyalists and refugees from the War of 1812. Their descendants primarily settled in Nova Scotia and Southern Ontario, where they formed distinctive identities such as Black Ontarians and African Nova Scotians.
Black Canadians have contributed to many areas of Canadian culture. Many of the first visible minorities to hold high public offices have been Black, including Michaëlle Jean, Donald Oliver, Stanley G. Grizzle, Rosemary Brown, and Lincoln Alexander. Black Canadians form the third-largest visible minority group in Canada, after South Asian and Chinese Canadians.