Black Nova Scotians by share of overall Black Canadian population:
17th century Port Royal The first recorded Black person in Canada was
Mathieu da Costa. He arrived in Nova Scotia sometime between 1605 and 1608 as a translator for the French explorer
Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts. The first known Black person to live in Canada was an enslaved person from Madagascar named
Olivier Le Jeune (who may have been of partial
Malay ancestry).
18th century Louisbourg , May 30, 1752, p. 2 Of the 10,000 French living at
Louisbourg (1713–1760) and on the rest of
Ile Royale, 216 were African-descended slaves. According to historian Kenneth Donovan, slaves on Ile Royal worked as "servants, gardeners, bakers, tavern keepers, stone masons, musicians, laundry workers, soldiers, sailors, fishermen, hospital workers, ferry men, executioners and nursemaids." More than 90 per cent of the enslaved people were from the
French West Indies, which included Saint-Domingue, the chief sugar colony, and Guadeloupe.
Halifax Among the founders recorded for Halifax, were 17 free Black people. By 1767, there were 54 Black people living in Halifax. When
Halifax, Nova Scotia, was established (1749), some British people brought slaves to the city. For example, shipowner and trader
Joshua Mauger sold enslaved people at auction there. A few newspaper advertisements were published for runaway slaves. The first Black community in Halifax was on Albemarle Street, which later became the site of the first school for Black students in Nova Scotia (1786). The school for Black students was the only charitable school in Halifax for the next 26 years. Whites were not allowed to attend. Prior to 1799, 29 recorded Black people were buried in the
Old Burying Ground; 12 of them were listed with both first and last names, seven of the graves are from the
New England Planter migration (1763–1775), and 22 graves are from immediately following the arrival of the
Black Loyalists in 1776. Rev.
John Breynton reported that in 1783, he baptized 40 Black people and buried many because of disease. According to a 1783 report, 73 Black people arrived in Halifax from New York. Of the 4007 Black people who came to Nova Scotia in 1783 as part of promised resettlement by the Crown, 69% (2775) were free, 35% (1423) were former British soldiers, and 31% (1232) were slaves of white Loyalists. While 41 former slaves were sent to Dartmouth, none were sent to Halifax. 550 Jamaican Maroons lived in Halifax for four years (1796–1800); they were resettled in
Freetown (now
Sierra Leone). A return in December 1816 indicates there were 155 Black people who migrated to Halifax during the
War of 1812.
American Revolution The British had promised enslaved people of rebels freedom if they joined their forces (See
Dunmore's Proclamation and
Philipsburg Proclamation). Approximately three thousand Black Loyalists were evacuated by ship to Nova Scotia between April and November 1783, traveling on
Navy vessels or British chartered private transports. This group was made up largely of tradespeople and labourers. Many of these African Americans had roots in the American states of Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Maryland. Some came from Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York as well. Many of these African-American settlers were recorded in the
Book of Negroes. In 1785 in Halifax, educational opportunities began to develop with the establishment of
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (
Bray Schools). In Halifax, for example, the first teacher was a "capable and serious Negroe woman". After a year he was followed by Isaac Limerick. File:RoseFortuneNovaScotiaArchievesandRecordsManagement.jpg|
Rose Fortune,
Black Loyalist –
Annapolis Royal 1830 File:Lawrence Hartshorne, Old Burying Ground, Halifax, Nova Scotia.jpg|alt=Lawrence Hartshorne, d. 1822, a Quaker who was the chief assistant of John Clarkson (abolitionist) in helping the Black Nova Scotian Settlers emigrate to Sierra Leone (1792) – Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia)|
Lawrence Hartshorne, d. 1822, a
Quaker who was the chief assistant of
John Clarkson in helping the Black
Nova Scotian Settlers emigrate to
Sierra Leone (1792) –
Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia) File:William Furmage, Halifax, Nova Scotia.jpg|Reverend William Furmage,
Huntingdonian Missionary to the Black Loyalists, established black school in Halifax Many of the Black settled under the leadership of
Stephen Blucke, a prominent black leader of the Black Pioneers. Historian Barry Moody has referred to Blucke as "the true founder of the Afro-Nova Scotian community."
Birchtown Blucke led the founding of
Birchtown, Nova Scotia, in 1783. The community was the largest settlement of Black Loyalists and was the largest
free settlement of Africans in North America in the 18th century. One of these Loyalists was a woman named Mary Postell, whose status as a free woman was contested. This eventually led to a court trial. The community was named after British
Brigadier General Samuel Birch, an official who assisted in the evacuation of Black Loyalists from
New York. (Also named after the general was a much smaller settlement of Black Loyalists in
Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, called Birchtown.) The two other significant Black Loyalist communities established in Nova Scotia were Brindley town (present-day
Jordantown) and
Tracadie. Birchtown was located near the larger town of
Shelburne, with a majority white population. Racial tensions in Shelburne erupted into the 1784
Shelburne riots, when white
Loyalist residents drove Black residents out of Shelburne and into Birchtown. In the years after the riot, Shelbourne county lost population due to economic factors, and at least half of the families in Birchtown abandoned the settlement and emigrated to
Sierra Leone in 1792. To accommodate these British subjects, the British government approved 16,000 pounds for the emigration, three times the total annual budget for Nova Scotia. They were led to Sierra Leone by
John Clarkson and became known as the
Nova Scotian Settlers.
Tracadie The other significant Black Loyalist settlement is
Tracadie. Led by
Thomas Brownspriggs, Black Nova Scotians who had settled at Chedabucto Bay behind the present-day village of
Guysborough migrated to Tracadie (1787). None of the Black people in eastern Nova Scotia migrated to Sierra Leone. One of the Black Loyalists was Andrew Izard (c. 1755 – ?). He was formerly enslaved by Ralph Izard in
St. George, South Carolina. He worked on a rice plantation and grew up on Combahee. When he was young he was valued at 100 pounds. In 1778 Izard made his escape. During the American Revolution he worked for the British army in the wagonmaster-general's department. He was on one of the final ships to leave New York in 1783. He traveled on the Nisbett in November, which sailed to Port Mouton. The village burned to the ground in the spring of 1784 and he was transported to Guysborough. There he raised a family and still has descendants that live in the community. Education in the Black community was initially advocated by
Charles Inglis who sponsored the
Protestant Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Some of the schoolmasters were: Thomas Brownspriggs (c.1788–1790) and
Dempsey Jordan (1818–?). There were 23 Black families at Tracadie in 1808; by 1827 this number had increased to 30 or more.
Abolition of slavery, 1787–1812 While most Black people who arrived in Nova Scotia during the American Revolution were free, others were not. Enslaved Black peoples also arrived in Nova Scotia as the property of
White American Loyalists. In 1772, prior to the American Revolution, Britain
outlawed the slave trade in the British Isles followed by the
Knight v. Wedderburn decision in Scotland in 1778. This decision, in turn, influenced the colony of Nova Scotia. In 1788, abolitionist
James Drummond MacGregor from Pictou published the first anti-slavery literature in Canada and began purchasing slaves' freedom and chastising his colleagues in the Presbyterian church who enslaved people. Historian Alan Wilson describes the document as "a landmark on the road to personal freedom in province and country." Historian
Robin Winks writes "[it is] the sharpest attack to come from a Canadian pen even into the 1840s; he had also brought about a public debate which soon reached the courts." In 1790
John Burbidge freed the people he had enslaved. Led by
Richard John Uniacke, in 1787, 1789 and again on January 11, 1808, the Nova Scotian legislature refused to legalize slavery. Two chief justices,
Thomas Andrew Lumisden Strange (1790–1796) and
Sampson Salter Blowers (1797–1832) waged "judicial war" in their efforts to free enslaved people from their owners in Nova Scotia. They were held in high regard in the colony. Justice
Alexander Croke (1801–1815) also impounded American
slave ships during this time period (the most famous being the
Liverpool Packet). The last slave sale in Nova Scotia occurred in 1804. During the war, Nova Scotian Sir
William Winniett served as a crew on board in the effort to free enslaved people from America. (As the Governor of the
Gold Coast, Winniett would later also work to end the slave trade in Western Africa.) By the end of the
War of 1812 and the arrival of the Black Refugees, there were few people left enslaved in Nova Scotia. (The
Slave Trade Act 1807 outlawed the slave trade in the British Empire and the
Slavery Abolition Act 1833 outlawed slavery all together.) File:RichardJohnUniackeByRobertField.jpg|Abolitionist
Richard John Uniacke, helped free Black Nova Scotian slaves File:Sampson Salter Blowers 2.jpg|Chief Justice
Sampson Salter Blowers, freed Black Nova Scotian slaves File:Thomas Andrew Lumisden Strange by Benjamin West.png|Chief Justice
Thomas Andrew Lumisden Strange, freed Black Nova Scotian slaves File:Sir Alexander Croke.png|Sir
Alexander Croke File:RevJamesMacgregorMonumentPictouNovaScotia.jpg|
James Drummond MacGregor Monument,
Pictou, Nova Scotia Jamaican Maroons According to historian Richard Cannon, on June 26, 1796, 543 men, women and children,
Jamaican Maroons, were deported on board the ships Dover, Mary and Anne, from Jamaica after being defeated in an uprising against the British colonial government. However, many historians disagree on the number who were transported from Jamaica to Nova Scotia, with one saying that 568 Maroons of
Cudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town) made the trip in 1796. It seems that just under 600 left Jamaica, with 17 dying on the ship, and 19 in their first winter in Nova Scotia. A Canadian surgeon counted 571 Maroons in Nova Scotia in 1797. Their initial destination was Lower Canada but on July 21 and 23, the ships arrived in Nova Scotia. At this time Halifax was experiencing a major construction boom initiated by
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn's efforts to modernize the city's defenses. The many building projects had created a labour shortage. Edward was impressed by the Maroons and immediately put them to work at the
Citadel in Halifax, Government House, and other defense works throughout the city. The British Lieutenant Governor
Sir John Wentworth, from the monies provided by the Jamaican Government, procured an annual stipend of £240 for the support of a school and religious education. The Maroons complained about the bitterly cold winters, their segregated conditions, unfamiliar farming methods, and less than adequate accommodation. The Maroon leader,
Montague James, petitioned the British government for the right to passage to
Sierra Leone, and they were eventually granted that opportunity in the face of opposition from Wentworth. On August 6, 1800, the Maroons departed Halifax, arriving on October 1 at
Freetown,
Sierra Leone. In their new home, the Maroons established a new community at
Maroon Town, Sierra Leone.
19th century In 1808,
George Prevost authorized a Black regiment to be formed in the colony under captain Silas Hardy and Col.
Christopher Benson.
War of 1812 . The next major migration of Black people into Nova Scotia occurred between 1813 and 1815.
Black Refugees from the
United States settled in many parts of Nova Scotia including Hammonds Plains, Preston,
Beechville,
Lucasville and
Africville. Canada was not suited to the large-scale
plantation agriculture practiced in the southern United States, and slavery became increasingly rare. In 1793, in one of the first acts of the new
Upper Canadian colonial
parliament, slavery was abolished. It was all but abolished throughout the other British North American colonies by 1800, and was illegal throughout the
British Empire after 1834. This made Canada an attractive destination for those fleeing slavery in the United States, such as
American minister
Boston King.
Royal Acadian School In 1814,
Walter Bromley opened the
Royal Acadian School which included many Black students – children and adults – whom he taught on the weekends because they were employed during the week. Some of the Black students entered into business in Halifax while others were hired as servants. In 1836, the African School was established in Halifax from the Protestant Gospel School (Bray School) and was soon followed by similar schools at Preston, Hammond's Plains and
Beech Hill.
New Horizons Baptist Church – founder of one of the first integrated black and white congregations in Nova Scotia (c. 1811) Following Black Loyalist preacher
David George, Baptist minister
John Burton was one of the first ministers to integrate Black and white Nova Scotians into the same congregation. In 1811 Burton's church had 33 members, the majority of whom were free Black people from Halifax and the neighbouring settlements of Preston and Hammonds Plains. According to historian Stephen Davidson, they were "shunned, or merely tolerated, by the rest of Christian Halifax, they were first warmly received in the Baptist Church." Under the direction of Richard Preston, the church laid the foundation for social action to address the plight of Black Nova Scotians. Preston and others went on to establish a network of socially active Black baptist churches throughout Nova Scotia, with the Halifax church being referred to as the "Mother Church." From meetings held at the church, they also established the African Friendly Society, the African Abolition Society, and the
African United Baptist Association. The church remained the centre of social activism throughout the 20th century. Reverends at the church included
William A. White (1919–1936) and
William Pearly Oliver (1937–1962).
American Civil War ,
Boston Numerous Black Nova Scotians fought in the
American Civil War in the effort to end slavery. Perhaps the most well known Nova Scotians to fight in the war effort are
Joseph B. Noil and
Benjamin Jackson. Three Black Nova Scotians served in the famous
54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry: Hammel Gilyer, Samuel Hazzard, and Thomas Page.
20th century Coloured Hockey League In 1894, an all-Black
ice hockey league, known as the
Coloured Hockey League, was founded in Nova Scotia. Black players from Canada's
Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick,
Prince Edward Island) participated in competition. The league began to play 23 years before the
National Hockey League was founded, and as such, it has been credited with some innovations which exist in the NHL today. Most notably, it is claimed that the first player to use the
slapshot was Eddie Martin of the Halifax Eurekas, more than 100 years ago. The league remained in operation until 1930.
World War One – first black officer in the British Empire The
No. 2 Construction Battalion,
Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), was the only predominantly Black
battalion in
Canadian military history and also the only Canadian Battalion composed of Black soldiers to serve in
World War I. The battalion was raised in Nova Scotia and 56% of battalion members (500 soldiers) came from the province. Reverend
William A. White of the Battalion became the first Black officer in the British Empire. An earlier black military unit in Nova Scotia was the
Victoria Rifles.
Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People Founded by
Pearleen Oliver and led by minister
William Pearly Oliver, the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People was formed in 1945 out of the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church. The organization was intent of improving the standard of living for Black Nova Scotians. The organization also attempted to improve Black-white relations in co-operation with private and governmental agencies. The organization was joined by 500 Black Nova Scotians. By 1956, the NSAACP had branches in Halifax, Cobequid Road, Digby, Weymouth Falls, Beechville, Inglewooe, Hammonds Plains and Yarmouth. Preston and Africville branches were added in 1962, the same year New Road, Cherry Brook, and Preston East requested branches. In 1947, the Association successfully took the case of
Viola Desmond to the Supreme Court of Canada. It also pressured the Children's Hospital in Halifax to allow for Black women to become nurses; it advocated for inclusion and challenged racist curriculum in the Department of Education. The Association also developed an Adult Education program with the government department. By 1970, over one-third of the 270 members were white. Originally the mandate of the commission was primarily to address the plight of Black Nova Scotians. The first employee and administrative officer of the commission was
Gordon Earle.
Black United Front (1934) – founder of the four leading organizations to support Black Nova Scotians in the 20th century In keeping with the times, Reverend William Oliver began the
Black United Front in 1969, which explicitly adopted a Black separatist agenda. The
Black separatist movement of the United States had a significant influence on the mobilization of the Black community in 20th Century Nova Scotia. This Black separatist approach to address racism and black empowerment was introduced to Nova Scotia by
Marcus Garvey in the 1920s. Garvey argued that Black people would never get a fair deal in white society, so they ought to form separate republics or return to Africa. White people are considered a
homogenous group who are
essentially racist and, in that sense, are considered unredeemable in efforts to address racism. Garvey visited Nova Scotia twice, first in the 1920s, which led to a
Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA) office in Cape Breton, and then the famous 1937 visit. He was initially drawn by the founding of an African Orthodox Church in Sydney in 1921 and maintained contact with the ex-pat West Indian community. The UNIA invited him to visit in 1937. Francis Beaufils (a.k.a. Ronald Hill) was a fugitive Black Panther facing charges in the U.S. who had found refuge in rural Nova Scotia.
Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia Reverend William Oliver eventually left the BUF and became instrumental in establishing the
Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, which opened in 1983. The organization houses a museum, library and archival area. Oliver designed the Black Cultural Centre to help all Nova Scotians become aware of how Black culture is woven into the heritage of the province. The centre also helps Nova Scotians trace their history of championing human rights and overcoming racism in the province. For his efforts in establishing the four leading organizations in the 20th century to support Black Nova Scotians and, ultimately, all Nova Scotians, William Oliver was awarded the
Order of Canada in 1984.
Migration out of Nova Scotia Beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, African Nova Scotians began leaving their settlements in order to find work in larger cities and towns such as Halifax, Sydney, Truro and New Glasgow. Many left Nova Scotia for cities such as Toronto and
Montreal, while others left Canada altogether for the United States.
Bangor, Maine's lumber industry attracted Black people from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for decades. They formed a sizeable community on the town's west end throughout the early 1900s. A small African Nova Scotian community had also developed in
Sudbury in the late 1940s due to aggressive recruitment efforts in Black Nova Scotian settlements by
Vale Inco. Beginning in the early and mid‑20th century, Black Nova Scotians were part of a broader pattern of migration from Atlantic Canada to Montreal. Academic studies note that Black mobility has long been a feature of Atlantic Canadian history, with migrations occurring throughout the 19th and 20th centuries for economic and social reasons. Many Black workers from Nova Scotia and other Atlantic provinces moved to Montreal to work as railway porters, contributing to the growth of the Black community in Little Burgundy and later in neighbourhoods such as Côte‑des‑Neiges, Verdun, Ville‑Émard, and Côte‑Saint‑Paul. Oral histories document that these families formed part of Montreal's early Black population decades before the more widely recognized migration of Black Nova Scotians to Toronto in the late 20th century. Some Black Nova Scotians have Afro‑Indigenous ancestry, reflecting long‑standing relationships between African‑descended and Indigenous communities in Atlantic Canada. These connections continued into later migrations, including those who settled in Montreal during the 20th century. In Montreal, institutions such as the Negro Community Centre in Little Burgundy played a central role in supporting Black anglophone migrants. The centre was led for many years by executive director Stanley Clyke (of Truro, Nova Scotia), whose work emphasized cultural education and community empowerment. By the 1960s, a Black Nova Scotian neighbourhood had developed in Toronto, around the
Kensington Market-
Alexandra Park area.
First Baptist Church, the oldest Black institution in Toronto, became the spiritual centre of this community. In 1972, Alexandra Park is said to have had a Black Nova Scotian population of over 2,000 – making it more populous than any of the Black settlements in Nova Scotia at the time. Escaping rural communities with little education or skills, young Black Nova Scotians in Toronto faced high poverty and unemployment rates. In 1977, between 1,200 and 2,400 Black Nova Scotians lived in Montreal. Though dispersed throughout the city, many settled among African-Americans and English-speaking West Indians in
Little Burgundy.
Dwayne Johnson,
Arlene Duncan,
Beverly Mascoll,
Tommy Kane, and
Wayne Simmonds are examples of prominent individuals who have at least one Black Nova Scotian parent that settled outside the province.
21st century Organizations Several organizations have been created by Black Nova Scotians to serve the community. Some of these include the
Black Educators Association of Nova Scotia,
African Nova Scotian Music Association,
Health Association of African Canadians and the
Black Business Initiative. Individuals involved in these and other organizations worked together with various officials to orchestrate the government apologies and pardons for past incidents of racial discrimination.
Africville Apology The
Africville Apology was delivered on February 24, 2010, by
Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the eviction and eventual destruction of
Africville, a Black Nova Scotian community.
Viola Desmond pardon On April 14, 2010, the
Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia,
Mayann Francis, on the advice of
her premier, invoked the
Royal Prerogative and granted
Viola Desmond a
posthumous free pardon, the first such to be granted in Canada. The free pardon, an extraordinary remedy granted under the
Royal Prerogative of Mercy only in the rarest of circumstances and the first one granted posthumously, differs from a simple pardon in that it is based on innocence and recognizes that a conviction was in error. The government of Nova Scotia also apologised. This initiative happened through Desmond's younger sister Wanda Robson, and a professor of Cape Breton University, Graham Reynolds, working with the Government of Nova Scotia to ensure that Desmond's name was cleared and the government admitted its error. In honour of Desmond, the provincial government has named the first
Nova Scotia Heritage Day after her.
Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children apology Children in an orphanage that opened in 1921, the
Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children, suffered physical, psychological and sexual abuse by staff over a 50-year period. Ray Wagner is the lead counsel for the former residents who successfully made a case against the orphanage. In 2014, the Premier of Nova Scotia
Stephen McNeil wrote a letter of apology and about 300 claimants are to receive monetary compensation for their damages.
Immigration Since the
immigration reforms of the 1970s, a growing number of people of African descent have moved to Nova Scotia. Members of these groups are not considered a part of the distinct Black Nova Scotian community, although they are Black Canadian. The last group to be accepted as members of the Black Nova Scotian ethnic group are
Bajans who came to Cape Breton in the early 1900s, referred to as the "later arrivals". Top 5 immigrant ethnic origins for people of African descent in Nova Scotia: ==Notable Black Nova Scotians==