It’s Black History Month. How much do you know about the history of Black immigration to Canada?

It’s Black History Month: a time of the year for highlighting the ways that Black Canadians have shaped all aspects of our society. To fully appreciate the contributions of Canada’s Black communities, we need to understand how immigration has played a foundational role in their experience and continues to play a substantial role today. According to the 2021 census, 59% of Black people in Canada were born outside the country, while 41% were Canadian‑born, underscoring the diversity of experiences and the deep roots of Black communities across generations. As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, we invite you to join us in reflecting on how Black immigration to Canada has changed over time. 

The first Black Canadians 

Some of the first Black populations in Canada were enslaved people who were taken from New England or the Caribbean. From the mid-18th to mid-19th century, the majority of Black people arriving in Canada were fleeing war and slavery in the United States. However, this is not the whole story — there are records of Black people arriving in Canada since the beginning of colonialism. For example, the first person of African heritage reported to have arrived in Canada was in the 1600s. The person in question was an interpreter named Matthieu da Costa who worked for the then Governor of Nova Scotia, translating from Mi’qmak. He could speak at least five languages. Originally from Benin, he settled in Port Royal and became a national hero. 

Canada had many discriminatory practices targeting different immigrant groups throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. This included charging a “head tax” to restrict Chinese immigrants from entering Canada after the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed, and the Gentlemen’s Agreement with Japan to limit Japanese immigration. Black people were among the most affected groups from similar exclusionary policies and practices. Through bribery, deception, misconduct and arbitrary enforcement of rules, many Canadian immigration officials actively obstructed Black immigrants from entering Canada. 

Many African-Americans from the United States wanted to move to Canada due to discrimination and being subjected to various crimes in the early 20th century. However, very few ended up doing so. Many community-based organizations in Canada were campaigning for the government to issue a ban on Black immigration. The idea that “Canada was precarious and dangerous to Black people” was being promoted through media and other public networks to discourage newcomers. In addition, immigration officials were often not responsive to requests for support or information by African Americans and they rejected farmer certificates from Black immigrants. There are also accounts of medical officers being bribed to turn Black people back, due to “unsuitability to climate.” In 1911, the government even considered banning Black immigration all together and passed an Order-in-Council, but this was never invoked. 

The next large group of people of African descent to arrive was not until the 1960s. This was due to the changes in the Immigration Act — when an explicit bias against non-white and non-European immigrants was removed, in favour of a points-based system for economic immigrants. Following this change, Canada welcomed an increasing number of newcomers from the Caribbean as well as Africa — including from countries such as Nigeria and Ghana. 

Changing trajectories: the Caribbean to Africa 

With the adoption of the points-based system and subsequent immigration reforms, people continued to immigrate to Canada from an increasingly diverse list of countries. Migration patterns reveal two distinct recent waves of Black immigration to Canada: one from the Caribbean between the 1960s and 1990s, and a more recent one from Africa from 2011 to 2021. The 2001 census showed that among people of African descent who were born outside of Canada before 1961, only 1% were born in Africa — while over 70% came from the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Jamaica and Haiti in particular. By 2016, census data showed that recent immigrants were predominantly from Africa — with rising numbers of newcomers from Nigeria, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. By 2021, Canada’s Black communities included people born in over 180 different countries. Jamaica and Haiti were the top countries of birth for the Caribbean-born Black populations, while Nigeria, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were the most common for the African-born Black populations. 

Growing share of Canada’s population 

Over the last few decades, Black communities across Canada have been growing. They have more than doubled in size since 1996, reaching 1.5 million people and representing 4.3% of the total population and 16.1% of the total racialized populations in Canada in 2021. Black Canadians are projected to become the second-largest racialized group by 2041, according to projections from Statistics Canada. They will continue to play a vital role in the population growth of Canada, expected to represent 5% to 5.6% of the population by 2036. By 2023, the vast majority (97.6%) of Canada’s population growth came from international migration (both permanent and temporary immigration). Immigration is expected to drive 100% of population growth by 2032, as Canadian society continues to age. While there is a lack of precise data about the extent to which the future growth of Canada’s Black population will come from immigration, we can definitely say this will continue to play a major role. 

Toronto: Still the home of many Black Canadians? 

Back in 2001, almost half of Black Canadians — over 310,000 people — lived in Toronto. As of 2021, Toronto was still home to a significant Black community, with more than 480,000 people. While approximately 98% of Black Canadians reside in urban areas, with the largest populations in Toronto, Montréal, and Ottawa-Gatineau, this population has become more geographically dispersed across Canada over the years. Ontario and Quebec remain home to the majority of Black Canadians, but the number of Black residents in the Prairie provinces has doubled since 1996.  

With another census coming up, we will gain more insights into how the immigration journeys of current and future Black Canadians are evolving. However, let’s not forget that immigration data is only one part of the story. It doesn’t necessarily capture the lived experiences of Black Canadians — neither their accomplishments nor the challenges that they have faced. As Philip S. S. Howard, Assistant Professor of Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University puts it, “Black History Month is one of many opportunities that should be taken to highlight stories about Black life — both stories of pain, and stories of joy. These stories are too often erased or distorted, and without them, we cannot completely understand the world in which we live.” 

Editor’s note (2026): This blog was originally published in 2021. While some statistics reflect data from the 2021 census, the historical context and themes remain relevant as we continue to reflect on Black immigration and its role in shaping Canada.