Black History Month 2023

Viola Desmond was designated as a national historic person in 2017.

Desmond was an African-Canadian business woman and civil rights activist.

Commemorative plaque: Former Roseland Theatre, 188 Provost Street, and Viola’s Way, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia

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John Ware was designated a national historic person in 2022.

John Ware was a black cowboy who forged a successful ranching career despite racism, rough frontier conditions, and having been enslaved.

Commemorative plaque: Bar U Ranch National Historic Site, Longview, Alberta

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Ernest Melville DuPorte was designated a national historic person in 2010.

One of Canada's foremost insect morphologists, Melville DuPorte' significant contributions in entomology in the area of Orthoptera (crickets/grasshoppers) were recognized worldwide.

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Griffin House was designated a national historic site in 2007.

Built in 1827, this home is associated with Black settlement in British North America during the first half of the 19th century.

Commemorative plaque: 733 Mineral Springs Road, Hamilton, Ontario

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Breaking racial barriers in the National Hockey League was designated a national historic event in 2022.

This designation commemorates hockey players overcoming racial barriers in professional hockey.

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The Nº 2 Construction Battalion, C. E. F. was designated a national historic event in 1992.

This designation reflects the strong determination of Black men to overcome racism and contribute to Canada’s First World War effort.

Commemorative plaque: On Caladh Avenue by Market Street, Pictou, Nova Scotia

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Portia May White was designated a national historic person in 1995.

The first African-Canadian woman to win international acclaim, contralto Portia White had a remarkable career on the concert stage.

Commemorative plaque: 454 Prince Street, Truro, Nova Scotia

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The Salem Chapel British Methodist Episcopal Church was designated a national historic site in 2000.

Salem Chapel, built in 1855, was an important center of 19th-century abolitionist and civil rights activity in Canada.

Commemorative plaque: 92 Geneva Street, St. Catharines, Ontario

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The R. Nathaniel Dett British Methodist Episcopal Church was designated a national historic site in 2000.

An important community icon, this chapel bears witness to the early black settlement of the Niagara region and marks the role of the church in assisting newly arrived Underground Railroad refugees.

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Amherstburg First Baptist Church was designated as a national historic site in 2012.

Constructed by 1848–1849 at a terminus of the Underground Railroad near the United States border, this church offered sanctuary to African Americans fleeing slavery and helped foster a distinctive Black Baptist tradition in Ontario.

Commemorative plaque: 232 George Street, Amherstburg, Ontario

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Sandwich First Baptist Church was designated a national historic site in 2000.

Erected in 1851 on land donated by the Crown, the Sandwich First Baptist Church represents the once numerous Black border-town churches which were built to serve the rapidly increasing numbers of Underground Railroad settlers.

Commemorative plaque: 3652 Peter Street, Windsor, Ontario

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