Racial discrimination is the practice of dividing individuals or groups of individuals on the basis of race in daily life. Black people have frequently been discriminated against, prohibited from, or refused access to resources and amenities, including accommodation, transportation, migration, universal healthcare, and business operations throughout Canada’s history. Black people in Canada have traditionally been segregated based on race through legislation, judicial rulings, and societal standards. In the majority of British colonies, including Canada, the slave ownership concept of considering humans as movable objects that may be bought, sold, exchanged, and passed down through generations was outlawed. However, many years later, the separation of Black people in Canada was defended by upholding the notions of racist attitudes that had previously been employed to protect Black servitude. Traditionally, racial discrimination practices varied across the nation, frequently depending on the region or local jurisdiction.
By the middle of the 19th century, many Black Canadians attended racially separated primary and secondary schools. Black children and white students were kept apart in legally racially segregated Ontario and Nova Scotia. Students of color had to go to other schools or go at varying periods. In several different regions, white households kept Black students from starting classes, enforcing informal separation (Henry et al., 2017). Black community activists battled against racial inequality. Black students’ admissions to Canadian universities, especially medical institutions, were frequently refused on the grounds of race.
In the past, racial restrictions were applied to Black Canadians’ entitlement to imperial crown lands and residential accommodation. For example, several Black Loyalists in Ontario and Nova Scotia did not get the promised land allotment. Those who did were granted smaller lots on the less desirable property, sometimes in areas where white colonists were physically separated from them, such as the traditionally Black villages.
Restrictive restriction provisions in land titles are frequently used to limit the purchase or tenancy of real estate to individuals of African heritage and other marginalized groups. Restrictive agreements were also formalized by Calgary, Alberta, municipal officials in the 1920s to stop Black citizens from buying properties beyond the train yards (Henry, 2021). Additionally, there are instances where Black people are consistently denied rental housing on the basis of their race. Because of this, their alternatives for housing were frequently constrained. Due to institutional prejudice, there is a significant concentration of Black people in various areas of Canada’s largest cities, like Little Burgundy in Montreal.
In Canada, racial discrimination practices have spread across a wide range of occupations. Historically, irrespective of their level of schooling, black people were only allowed to work in the service industry as purpose to make, servers, janitors, sleeper car attendants, general workers, and hairstylists. Black individuals were typically not hired or promoted by significant white corporations or even by national or state governmental agencies. Aiming to enhance the workplace environment and employee standard of living, workers began gathering and creating organized labor as the working class gained traction in Canada near the end of the 19th century (Henry, 2021). Nevertheless, Black employees were often denied registration in these organizations, and white people were the only ones who received workers’ rights.
Even though they occasionally had to do so in racially separated formations, black men have served in organizations, the British Army, and the Canadian government. When the First World War began, black males who tried to enlist were frequently denied aside and told it was a “White Man’s War.” An all-Black regiment was planned and authorized in an attempt to recruit more men for the military effort and to satisfy the business needs of Black communities in Canada. White troops declined to engage in battle with Black men; therefore, the racially divided unit was spared.
Some theaters where performances and films were shown have separated seating. The theater owner restricted black seats to the balcony. A porter named Charles Daniels secured a ticket for the production of King Lear on the first floor of Calgary, Alberta’s Sherman Grand Theatre. Due to the hue of his skin, he was denied access to a large bed when he came to see the play. However, he was given seats on the top balcony, where Black people were allowed to sit by the ticket counter employee. Daniels disagreed with this and retained legal counsel to initiate a complaint.
Black men’s hair was frequently refused by White barbers. In several establishments across Canada, Black people were often denied service. Local pubs, breweries, and restaurants were familiar places for inter-racial contact, but they were also another type of public place where Black people were frequently turned away. Both in big cities and small communities, Black people were routinely turned away by hotels and resorts. There were very few Black-owned lodgings where Blacks could remain in the middle to end of the 19th century.
Historically, there were not many community recreation amenities that Black Canadians could use. Skating rinks also turned away Black individuals, regardless of age. Black people were subjected to racial discrimination even after death with separate graves. Black people could not buy cabin-class reservations on a steamship in Chatham, Ontario, in the 1850s (Henry, 2021). Some modes of public transport services, including steamships and wagons, were subject to racial prohibitions. White males’ employment laws, procedures, and limitations were put in place around the start of the 20th century with the intention of keeping out Blacks and other non-white people. In order to maintain Canada’s British and Anglophone, the national government ordered race prejudice. In reaction to the active advocacy of white men and women to stop any additional Black immigration, there were enhanced discretion authorities.
Black Canadians have a track record of supporting discriminating laws and policies. Over the years, several people have pushed for integration and expanded rights and liberties in public areas. People from Black communities all over the nation participated in conferences and protests, publicized petitions, actively campaigned against legislators, refused to take their children to school segregation, forced their kids into white schools to get them admitted, sent representatives to government ministers, engaged in direct intervention, civil and human rights experimenting, and sit-ins, and newspaper numerous and opinion pieces in Black and conventional national papers. They coordinated financial assistance for those who took their case to the supreme court by filing cases, making appeals, and filing lawsuits. Black men and women established groups to work together in the cause of equality in work, property, and training.
Numerous Black people, other marginalized communities, and their supporters opposed and fought for fairness, fairness, and transformation, which helped to spark the fundamental struggle for equality in the middle of the 20th century. Starting in the 1940s, black resistance prompted the creation of anti-racism laws in many provinces and towns (Henry, 2021). Decades later, these laws were reorganized into regional civil rights laws. Black British subjects’ and subsequently Black Canadian citizens’ liberties have traditionally been constrained by racial segregation legislation and standard social norms. They forced Black Canadians into the second passport while granting white Canadians recourse to national privileges that were exclusively available to them.
Today, minorities in Canada who stand out from the majority of the mainstream due to their race, nationality, or religion must contend with a number of forms of discrimination. For instance, Black, Native American, and other racialized people may be subjected to racial discrimination and excessively severe treatment by law enforcement and the criminal justice system, including more excellent force usage and disproportionate confinement in preventive detention (McCormick & Green, 2005). Racism or harassment motivated by personal traits that are apparent aspects of identification can also have effects that go beyond the person being targeted. These events or encounters may also have an adverse effect on the larger group to which the sufferers or targets belong, having a detrimental effect on society as a whole.
All Canadians should be proud of the fact that diversity and inclusiveness are pillars of Canadian identity and a source of social and economic success. Different ethnic populations and Indigenous Peoples may have different experiences with racism and prejudice. By using an intersectional lens, one may see a nuanced picture of how many groups and people are hurt and excluded. By removing obstacles and fostering a nation where everyone can contribute and has an equal chance to flourish ultimately, the Canadian government is dedicated to laying the groundwork for change (Sunahara, 2020). Realizing this goal tackles the human costs of racism and prejudice in addition to helping to build a stronger country. A sustained commitment is required to create a racially tolerant society.
Indigenous peoples and marginalized groups continue to experience structural impediments, particularly in the areas of employment, governance, and social involvement. To be a leader, one must be proactive in removing these constraints that restrict one’s potential. Support must be given to indigenous peoples and local communities who are knowledgeable in combating different types of racism and prejudice. Their knowledge is acknowledged and enhanced via funding for community programs and capability building. It enables them to adapt projects to their unique situations by drawing on their personal experiences.
References
Henry, N. (2021). Racial Segregation of Black People in Canada. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Web.
Henry, F., Dua, E., Kobayashi, A., James, C., Li, P., Ramos, H., & Smith, M. S. (2017). Race, racialization, and Indigeneity in Canadian universities. Race Ethnicity and Education, 20(3), 300-314.
McCormick, C., & Green, L. (Eds.). (2005). Crime and Deviance in Canada: Historical Perspectives. Canadian Scholars’ Press.
Sunahara, A. G. (2020). The politics of racism: The uprooting of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre.