List of Black Canadians
Encyclopedia
This is a list of notable Black Canadians, inclusive of multiracial
people who are of partially Black heritage.
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
people who are of partially Black heritage.
A
- Anderson Ruffin AbbottAnderson Ruffin AbbottAnderson Ruffin Abbott, M.D. was the first Black Canadian to be a licensed physician. His career included participation in the American Civil War and attending the death bed of Abraham Lincoln.-Early life:...
, became, in 1861, the first Black Canadian physician and among a select few at the death bed of Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. - Wilson Ruffin AbbottWilson Ruffin AbbottWilson Ruffin Abbott was an American-born Black Canadian and successful businessman and landowner in Toronto, Ontario.Having to flee the United States in 1834, he became a wealthy man in Toronto and one of the largest landowners in the ward...
, successful businessman and landowner in Toronto - Wayne AdamsWayne AdamsWayne Adams, CM ONS is a former Canadian provincial politician who was the first Black Canadian member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and cabinet minister....
, Nova Scotia's first black MLA, Liberal - Zanana AkandeZanana AkandeZanana L. Akande is a former Canadian politician. She was the first black woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and the first black woman to serve as a cabinet minister in Canada....
, former Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament and cabinet minister - Philip AkinPhilip AkinPhilip Akin is a Canadian actor who has been active for over thirty years in stage, film, and television. He has had featured roles in major American films such as The Sum of All Fears, S.W.A.T., and Get Rich or Die Tryin’...
, director - Lincoln AlexanderLincoln Alexander-External links:* * *...
, first black Member of Parliament in Canada and former Lieutenant GovernorLieutenant governorA lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
of OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.... - Barbara Alexandre, actress
- Toya AlexisToya AlexisLaToya Lesmond , better known by her stage name Toya Alexis, is a Canadian R&B vocalist from Ajax, Ontario.- Career :...
, R&B/pop singer and Canadian IdolCanadian IdolCanadian Idol is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show Pop Idol. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Dore was the "roving reporter" for the first three seasons...
season 1 finalist - Lillian AllenLillian AllenLillian Allen is a Canadian dub poet, reggae musician, writer and Juno award winner.-Biography:Born in Spanish Town, Jamaica in 1951, she left that country in 1969, first moving to New York City, where she studied English at the City University of New York...
, dub poet - Jeffers Amy, actress (Degrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
) - Osborne Perry AndersonOsborne Perry AndersonOsborne Perry Anderson was an African-American abolitionist and the only surviving African-American member of John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, and later a soldier in the Union army of the American Civil War.-Early life:...
, was a resident of the Chatham-Kent area and was involved in the raid at Harper's Ferry - Marie-Joseph AngéliqueMarie-Joseph AngéliqueMarie-Joseph Angélique was the name given by her last owners to a Portuguese-born black slave in New France . She was tried and convicted of setting fire to her owner's home, burning much of what is now referred to as Old Montreal...
, executed for setting fire to Montreal - Joel AnthonyJoel AnthonyJoel Vincent Anthony is a Canadian professional basketball player in the NBA who is currently a member of the Miami Heat. He is also a key member of the Canadian national men's basketball team.-High school career:...
, NBA basketball player with the Miami HeatMiami HeatThe Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami... - Trey AnthonyTrey AnthonyTrey Anthony is a Canadian comedian and playwright.Born in England, Anthony is a regular on the Canadian comedy circuit. She began doing stand-up comedy during African Nubian Comedy Nights at Yuk-Yuk's....
, playwright (Da Kink in my Hair) - Gary ArchibaldGary ArchibaldGary Archibald is a television broadcast anchor and reporter for The Weather Network. He was an NBC Weather Plus weathercaster for NBC, MSNBC, and CNBC from 2006 to 2009. He has also appeared as a correspondent on NBC's number one rated programs - The Today Show and NBC Nightly News. He was a...
, weathercaster for NBC Weather Plus and MSNBC - Bromley ArmstrongBromley ArmstrongBromley Lloyd Armstrong is a black Canadian civil rights leader. He was active in the nascent civil rights era in Canada, beginning with his arrival in 1947. Armstrong was a committed union activist who worked to improve conditions for workers in industry...
, community activist - Yvonne AtwellYvonne AtwellYvonne Atwell is a Canadian provincial politician.She spent 20 years as an administrator at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, and returned to Nova Scotia in 1984....
, Nova Scotia's first black woman MLA, NDP - Arnold Auguste, ShareShare (newspaper)Share is a Caribbean and Black Canadian community newspaper based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Canada's largest ethnic newspaper, Share has two times the circulation of any other Canadian newspaper serving the same ethnic community...
newspaper publisher - Jean AugustineJean AugustineJean Augustine, PC, CM is a former Canadian politician.From 1993 to 2005, Augustine was a Liberal member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore. She is a former member of Cabinet, and a former school principal...
, former Member of Parliament, First Black Canadian Cabinet Minister, former deputy Speaker of the House of CommonsSpeaker of the Canadian House of CommonsThe Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...
. - Addie Aylestock, first ordained Black woman minister in Canada
- Malcolm AzaniaMalcolm AzaniaMalcolm Azania , also known as Minister Faust , is a Canadian teacher, writer, community activist, radio host and political aspirant....
, writer and activist
B
- Bruce B, rapper, founder of RAW Records
- Matte BabelMatte BabelMatte Babel is a Canadian television personality. Formerly a VJ for MuchMusic, where he co-hosted Much on Demand, The IT List and Much 911. He also served as a morning host on Toronto's all-news channel CablePulse 24. He has also made appearances in music videos such as Rich London's The Answer...
, MuchMusicMuchMusicMuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
VJ - Cameron Bailey, author and film critic
- Donovan BaileyDonovan BaileyDonovan Bailey is a retired Canadian sprinter, who once held the world record for the 100 metres race following his gold medal performance in the 1996 Olympic Games. He was the first Canadian to legally break the 10-second barrier in the 100 m...
, first Canadian to win an OlympicOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medal in the 100m sprint (1996 AtlantaAthletics at the 1996 Summer OlympicsAt the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, 44 events in athletics were contested, 24 by men and 20 by women. There were a total number of 2053 participating athletes from 191 countries.-Men:...
) - George Bancroft, educator, civil servant and Ontario Human Rights CommissionOntario Human Rights CommissionThe Ontario Human Rights Commission was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961 to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code...
er - Vivian BarbotVivian BarbotVivian Barbot is a teacher, activist, and politician. She is a former President of the Fédération des femmes du Québec, a former Member of Parliament and currently serves as interim president of the Bloc Québécois....
, Bloc QuébécoisBloc QuébécoisThe Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
member of parliament for the riding of PapineauPapineau (electoral district)Papineau is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1948 to 1988 and since 2004. Its population in 2006 was 101,019.... - Emery BarnesEmery BarnesEmery Barnes, OBC was a Canadian football player and Canadian politician.Born in Louisiana and raised in Oregon, Barnes was a gifted athlete, and was an alternate hi-jumper for the 1952 US Olympic Track and Field team...
, first black Speaker of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly and CFLCanadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
defensive end - Angèle Bassolé-OuédraogoAngèle Bassolé-OuédraogoAngèle Bassolé-Ouédraogo is an Ivoirian born Canadian poet and journalist. She was born in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire and raised in Burkina Faso, and was educated at the University of Ouagadougou...
, poet - Gary BealsGary BealsGary Beals is a Canadian singer who is best known for being the second-place finisher in the first season of the reality television series Canadian Idol...
, pop singer and Canadian IdolCanadian IdolCanadian Idol is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show Pop Idol. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Dore was the "roving reporter" for the first three seasons...
season 1 first runner-up - Shawn BelleShawn Belle-International:-Transactions:* June 21, 2003 - Drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 1st round, 30th overall.* June 25, 2004 - Traded to the Dallas Stars for Jason Bacashihua....
, NHL prospect - Cle BennettClé BennettClé Bennett is a Canadian television and film actor. He has had roles in the television series Instant Star, Soul Food, The Hoop Life, Code Name: Eternity, Odyssey 5, Total Drama and The Line, as well as the films Harvard Man, Treed Murray, Urban Legend, How She Move and Doomstown...
, actor - Tyrone BenskinTyrone BenskinTyrone Benskin is a Canadian actor and politician. He was elected Member of Parliament in the Jeanne-Le Ber riding, in Montreal, Quebec, in the 2011 Canadian federal election.-Life and career:...
, actor and director, and also member of parliament and national vice-president of ACTRAACTRAThe Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists is a Canadian labour union representing performers in English-language media. It has 22,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media.... - Ardon BessArdon BessArdon Bess is a Canadian actor best known for appearing in a Heritage Moment television commercial about the 1958 Springhill mining disaster portraying survivor Maurice Ruddick...
, actor (Heritage MinuteHeritage MinuteHeritage Minutes, also known officially as Historica Minutes: History by the Minute, are sixty-second short films, each illustrating an important moment in Canadian history. They appear frequently on Canadian television and in cinemas before movies...
commercial, Trailer Park BoysTrailer Park BoysTrailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...
, King of KensingtonKing of KensingtonKing of Kensington was a Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1980.The show starred Al Waxman as Larry King, a convenience store owner in Toronto's Kensington Market who was known for helping friends and neighbours solve problems. His multicultural group of friends...
) - Carrie BestCarrie BestCarrie M. Best, was a Black Canadian journalist.Born in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, a daughter to James and Georgina Ashe Prevoe, she married Albert T. Best in 1925. In 1946 she founded The Clarion, the first black-owned and published Nova Scotia newspaper. In 1952 she started a radio show, The...
, activist and humanitarian - James Calbert BestJames Calbert BestJames Calbert Best was a former Canadian diplomat. He was High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago. He was Canada’s first Black assistant deputy minister and first Black high commissioner....
, diplomat and public servant - Margarett BestMargarett BestMargarett Best is a Canadian politician. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2007 provincial election, representing the riding of Scarborough—Guildwood. She is a member of the Liberal Party.-Background:...
, Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament and Cabinet Minister - Salome BeySalome BeySalome Bey, CM is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and composer who has lived in Toronto, Ontario since 1966. In 2005, she was made an honorary Member of the Order of Canada....
, jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, bluesBluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and gospelGospel musicGospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
singer (U.S. citizen, Canadian permanent resident) - Tim BiakabutukaTim BiakabutukaTshimanga "Tim" Biakabutuka is a former American football running back for the Carolina Panthers of the NFL from 1996 to 2001.-College career at Michigan:...
, former NFLNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
player - Henry BibbHenry BibbHenry Walton Bibb was an author and abolitionist who was born a slave. After escaping from slavery to Canada, he returned to the US and lectured against slavery. Migrating to Canada, he founded a newspaper Voice of the Fugitive.-Biography:...
- Charlie BiddleCharlie BiddleCharlie Biddle, otherwise known as Charles Reed Biddle was a Canadian jazz bassist.-Biography:...
(Sr.), one of Canada's greatest bassists - Jully BlackJully BlackJully Black |Julie]]"; born Jullyann Inderia Gordon; November 8, 1977) is a Canadian R&B singer–songwriter. She has collaborated and written for many artists, including Nas, Missy Elliott, Saukrates, Choclair, Kardinal Offishall, Destiny's Child, and Sean Paul.-Life & career:Black was born Jullyann...
, R&B/pop singer - Lindsay BlackettLindsay BlackettLindsay Blackett is a Canadian politician and current Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the constituency of Calgary-North West as a Progressive Conservative.-Early life:...
, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and the province's first Black cabinet minister - Cory BowlesCory BowlesCory Bowles is a Canadian actor and choreographer.Bowles was born in Montreal and raised in Truro, Nova Scotia. He is an African Nova Scotian with roots amongst Black Loyalists, Maroons and French Colonies....
, actor (Trailer Park BoysTrailer Park BoysTrailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...
) - George Boyd, playwright
- Lawrence Ytzhak BraithwaiteLawrence Ytzhak BraithwaiteLawrence Christopher Patrick Braithwaite was a novelist, spoken word artist, dub poet, essayist, digital drummer and short fiction writer....
, dub poet and novelist - Dionne BrandDionne BrandDionne Brand is a Canadian poet, novelist, essayist and documentarian. She was named Toronto's third Poet Laureate in September 2009.-Biography:...
, author - Fred BrathwaiteFred BrathwaiteFredrick Brathwaite is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. He previously played in the National Hockey League for the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets and Atlanta Thrashers...
, NHLNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
goalie - Dian Marie Bridge, playwright/ director
- Measha BrueggergosmanMeasha BrueggergosmanMeasha Brueggergosman is a Canadian soprano who performs both as an opera singer and concert artist. She has performed internationally and won numerous awards...
, operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer - Shelton BrooksShelton BrooksShelton Brooks was a popular music and jazz composer who wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century.Brooks was born in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada...
, popular music and jazz singer, songwriter, and pianist and vaudeville and musical theatre performer who wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century - Divine Brown, R&B/soulSoul musicSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer and musical theatre performer - Denham BrownDenham BrownDenham W. Brown is a Canadian professional basketball player who currently plays for the Ciclista Olímpico in the Liga Nacional de Basquet.- High school :...
, professional basketball player in Europe - Rosemary BrownRosemary Brown (politician)Rosemary Brown, PC, OC, OBC, née Wedderburn , was a Canadian politician.- Early years :Rosemary Brown was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1930, and moved to Canada in 1950 to study at McGill University in Montreal...
, British Columbia legislator, and the first black woman to run for the leadership of a political party in Canada (the federal New Democratic PartyNew Democratic PartyThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
) - Orval Clifford Browning, recognized as the longest serving African-Canadian member of the Canadian Armed Forces; provided the name for Canada's long-range patrol aircraft, "The Aurora"
- Matthew BullockMatthew BullockMatthew Bullock was an African American who fled to Canada and became a cause celebre in the early 1920s.Originally from Norlina, North Carolina, Bullock's saga began when his brother Plummer attempted to return 10 cents worth of apples, which he claimed were bad. The store keeper refused the...
, fugitive from the U.S. who became a cause celebre in the 1920s - Nate BurlesonNate BurlesonNathaniel Burleson is an American football player, who currently plays wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League . Burleson played college football for the University of Nevada Wolf Pack, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round of the 2003 NFL...
, NFL player
C
- Cadence WeaponCadence WeaponCadence Weapon is the stage name of Rollie Pemberton, a Canadian rapper.-Biography:Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, his father was Teddy Pemberton, a pioneering hip hop DJ on CJSR-FM, and his grandfather was Rollie Miles, a football player for the Edmonton Eskimos...
, rapper - Caine, VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
rapper - Herb CarnegieHerb CarnegieHerbert H. Carnegie, CM, O.Ont is a former Canadian ice hockey player. Born in Toronto, Ontario to Jamaican parents, Carnegie was the first African-Canadian hockey player to be offered an opportunity to play in the National Hockey League.-Playing career:Carnegie’s hockey career began in 1938 with...
, star of Quebec professional hockey league - Anson CarterAnson CarterAnson Carter is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey right winger of Barbadian descent who last played for HC Lugano in the Swiss Nationalliga A. In the past, he has played for eight different National Hockey League teams, most notably with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver...
, NHLNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
star - Gerry Carter, Youngest Canadian officer (WWII), sub lieutenant of aviation
- Rubin "Hurricane" CarterRubin CarterRubin "Hurricane" Carter fought professionally as a middleweight boxer from 1961 to 1966. In 1966, he was arrested for a triple homicide in the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey...
, African-American boxer controversially convicted of murder, now a Canadian activist and speaker - Mary Anne ChambersMary Anne ChambersMary Anne Veronica Chambers is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 until 2007, and served in the cabinet in the government of Premier Dalton McGuinty.-Background:...
, former Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament and cabinet minister - Keshia ChanteKeshia ChantéKeshia Chanté is a Canadian Juno Award-winning critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, model, and actress...
, singer - Gregory CharlesGregory CharlesGregory Charles is a Quebec performing artist of French Canadian and Trinidadian origin.-Biography:...
, pop and gospel singer - Ron Charles, television reporter for the CBCCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
- Ulrick ChérubinUlrick ChérubinUlrick Chérubin is a Haitian-born politician, who has served as mayor of Amos, Quebec since 2002. He is one of the first Black Canadians to be elected a mayor in Quebec...
, mayor of Amos, QuebecAmos, QuebecAmos is a ville in northwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Harricana River. It is the seat of Abitibi Regional County Municipality.Amos is the main city on the Harricana River, and the smallest of the three primary cities — after Rouyn-Noranda and Val-d'Or — in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec...
and one of the first black mayors of any city in Quebec - Sean CheesmanSean CheesmanSean Cheesman is a Canadian dancer and choreographer, best known as a judge and choreographer for television dance competitions such as So You Think You Can Dance, So You Think You Can Dance Canada and Dirty Dancing: The Time of Your Life....
, dancer and choreographer - Jojo ChintohJojo ChintohJojo Chintoh is a Canadian television journalist, who worked as a feature and documentary reporter for Citytv in Toronto until 2009/2010....
, longtime CitytvCitytvCitytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...
reporter - ChoclairChoclairKareem Blake, better known by his stage name Choclair, is a Canadian rapper. He helped develop Canadian hip hop in the 1990s, as a member of the Circle.-Career:...
, rapper - Rae Dawn ChongRae Dawn ChongRae Dawn Chong is a Canadian-American actress.-Life and career:Chong was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the daughter of Maxine Sneed and Tommy Chong. She and her sister Robbi were raised by her grandmother, Tommy Chong's mother. Chong's father is of Chinese and Scottish-Irish ancestry and her...
, actress (The Color PurpleThe Color PurpleThe Color Purple is an acclaimed 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker. It received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction...
) - Jarvis Church, singer (The Philosopher KingsThe Philosopher KingsThe Philosopher Kings are a Canadian rhythm and blues band who were most commercially successful in the late 1990s. The name of the band is derived from Plato's Republic, in which he outlines the design of an idealistic government, ruled by philosopher-kings...
and solo) and music producer (Nelly FurtadoNelly FurtadoNelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
) - Austin ClarkeAustin ClarkeAustin Ardinel Chesterfield Clarke, is a Canadian novelist, essayist and short story writer who lives in Toronto, Ontario. Born in St...
, novelist (The Polished Hoe, Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack) - George Elliott ClarkeGeorge Elliott ClarkeGeorge Elliott Clarke, OC is a Canadian poet and playwright. His work largely explores and chronicles the experience and history of the Black Canadian community of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, creating a cultural geography that Clarke refers to as "Africadia".-Life:Born to William and Geraldine...
, poet and playwright (Whylah Falls, George and Rue) - Caroline Cole, Vice President, Business Development Bank of Canada
- Wayde ComptonWayde ComptonWayde Compton is a Canadian writer. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.Compton has published two books of poetry, one book of essays, and edited the first comprehensive anthology of black writing from British Columbia. He co-founded Commodore Books with David Chariandy and Karina Vernon in...
, poet - Anne CoolsAnne CoolsAnne Clare Cools is a member of the Canadian Senate. Born in Barbados, with her appointment, she became the first Black Canadian to be appointed to Canada's upper house...
, Canada's first black senator - Afua CooperAfua CooperAfua Cooper is a Jamaican-born Canadian historian, author and dub poet.-Biography:Born in Westmoreland, Jamaica, Cooper grew up in Kingston, Jamaica and migrated to Toronto in 1980. She holds a Ph.D. in African-Canadian history with specialties in slavery and abolition...
, poet and historian - Michael CoteauMichael CoteauMichael Coteau is a Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario for the Don Valley East riding in Toronto. Prior to the election, Coteau was a public school trustee.-External links:...
, Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament - Deborah CoxDeborah CoxDeborah Cox is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter and actress. Her 1998 song "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" held the record for longest-running number one single on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart , a record held for nearly eight years. She has achieved ten number-one hits on...
, R&B singer - Roger CrossRoger CrossRoger Cross is a Canadian contemporary actor who has made numerous appearances in several movies and TV series, mostly on productions shot in Canada...
, actor (24) - Alvin CurlingAlvin CurlingAlvin Curling is a prominent Black Canadian. He was Canada's envoy to the Dominican Republic from 2005-2006. A former politician in Ontario, Canada, he was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario until he resigned on August 19, 2005 to accept his diplomatic appointment...
, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
Member of Provincial Parliament and Speaker of the Legislature of Ontario
D
- Samuel DalembertSamuel DalembertSamuel Davis Dalembert is a Haitian Canadian professional basketball player who most recently played center for the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Dalembert began playing in Montreal, Quebec and played college basketball at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, United States...
, NBANational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
player - Trevor DaleyTrevor DaleyTrevor Daley is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman with the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League.-Playing career:...
, NHL player with the Dallas Stars - Delos DavisDelos DavisDelos Rogest Davis was the first black lawyer in Canada. Davis came from the Colchester Township, Ontario area, and was the son of James Davis, a former slave from Virginia....
, first Black lawyer in Canada - Hubert DavisHubert Davis (filmmaker)Hubert Davis is a Canadian filmmaker who was nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Cultural and Artistic Programming for his directorial debut in Hardwood, a short documentary exploring the life of his father, former Harlem Globetrotter Mel...
, Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker - Rob Davis, former YorkYork, OntarioYork is a dissolved municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of Etobicoke, where it is bounded by the Humber River. Formerly a separate city, it was one of six municipalities that amalgamated in 1998 to form...
and TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
city councillor - Raven Dauda, actress (Da Kink in My HairDa Kink in My Hair (TV series)'da Kink in My Hair is a Canadian television sitcom. Based on the play of the same name by Trey Anthony, the story was adapted into a television show currently airing on Global.-Cast:...
) - Nigel DawesNigel DawesNigel Dawes is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for Barys Astana. Before joining Barys, he played for the Montreal Canadiens, the Atlanta Thrashers and the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League...
, NHLNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
player with the New York Rangers - Buddy DayeBuddy DayeDelmore W. Daye was a Canadian boxer and community activist from Nova Scotia.Born in New Glasgow, Daye moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia some time later.As a young man Daye was a merchant mariner....
, former boxer and activist in Nova Scotia - Jonathan De GuzmanJonathan de GuzmánJonathan Alexander de Guzmán is a Canadian-born footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and is currently playing for Villarreal CF....
, soccer player - Julian De GuzmanJulian de GuzmánJulian de Guzman is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer.Previously, he played for Deportivo de La Coruña, and was the first Canadian to play in the Spanish La Liga...
, soccer player - Delio Delgado, painter/printmaker
- Simone DennySimone DennySimone Denny is a Canadian Pop/Dance/House/Techno vocalist, who was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario.-Personal background:Simone Denny was born in Toronto, Ontario. She is of Guyanese and Surinamese heritage...
, house musicHouse musicHouse music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
vocalist - Robert Nathaniel DettRobert Nathaniel DettRobert Nathaniel Dett , often known as R. Nathaniel Dett, was a composer in the United States and Canada...
, composer - Rita DeverellRita DeverellRita Shelton Deverell, CM is a Canadian television broadcaster and social activist, who was one of the founders of the Canadian television channel Vision TV...
, broadcaster and journalist, founder of Vision TVVision TVVisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic.... - DevonDevon (rapper)Devon Martin, better known as Devon, is a Canadian rapper.He released his first solo album, It's My Nature in 1992. He won the Juno Award for Best Rap Recording in 1993....
, hip-hop musician ("Mr. Metro") - Alpha Yaya DialloAlpha Yaya DialloAlpha Yaya Diallo is a guitarist and composer who is based in Vancouver, Canada. Alpha hails from Guinea and incorporates its rich musical tradition into his original compositions.-Discography:* 1993 Néné - nominated for a Juno Award...
, musician - George DixonGeorge Dixon (boxer)George Dixon was the first black world boxing champion in any weight class, while also being the first ever Canadian-born boxing champion.George was born in Africville, Halifax, Nova Scotia...
, first black world boxingBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
champion in any weight class - Troy Dixon, actor/comedian
- Fefe DobsonFefe DobsonFelicia Lily "Fefe" Dobson is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Her self-titled debut album earned her two Juno Award nominations. Her second album, Sunday Love, was not released and she was terminated from her recording company...
, pop punk singer - James DouglasJames Douglas (Governor)Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...
, early governor of Vancouver IslandVancouver IslandVancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794... - Orville Lloyd DouglasOrville Lloyd DouglasOrville Lloyd Douglas is a Canadian, feminist, poet, and writer.-Biography:Orville Lloyd Douglas was born in Toronto, Ontario to Jamaican-Canadian parents. He graduated from York University with two Bachelor of Arts degrees. He completed his first Bachelor's degree in History and the second...
, poet, writer, and journalist - Stan DouglasStan DouglasStan Douglas is an artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has exhibited internationally, including Documenta IX, 1992, Documenta X, 1997, Documenta XI, 2002 and the Venice Biennale in 1990, 2001 and 2005...
, installation artist - Ray DowneyRay DowneyRay Downey was a Canadian boxer, who won a light middleweight bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics. In 1990 he gained silver at the 1990 Commonwealth Games.-Amateur Highlights:...
, former boxer who medalled in the 1988 Olympics - Dream WarriorsDream WarriorsDream Warriors were a Canadian hip hop duo from Toronto, Ontario, comprising King Lou and Capital Q. Described as "a pair of deft, intelligent rappers" by Allmusic, they were major contributors to the jazz rap movement of the early 1990s. Their 1991 debut album, And Now the Legacy Begins, is...
, hip hop duo - Dwight DrummondDwight DrummondDwight Drummond is a Canadian television journalist, currently working for CBC Television in Toronto, Ontario.-Career:Drummond moved to Canada in 1976 and was raised in Toronto's Jane and Finch neighbourhood...
, television journalist - DubmatiqueDubmatiqueDubmatique are a Canadian hip hop group from Montreal. They were the first French language hip hop crew from Canada to break through to Canada's francophone pop charts...
, QuébecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
ois rap group - Emmanuel DubourgEmmanuel DubourgEmmanuel Dubourg is a Quebec politician, chartered accountant and teacher. He is the current the Member of National Assembly for the riding of Viau. He became the second black MNA after Yolande James....
, Quebec Liberal Party MNA for Viau - Rob DuceyRob DuceyRobert Thomas Ducey is a Canadian former outfielder in Major League Baseball.Raised in Cambridge, Ontario, Ducey graduated from Seminole Community College, and was first signed by the Toronto Blue Jays in...
, former Major League Baseball player - Alison Duke, director
- Arlene DuncanArlene DuncanArlene Duncan is a Canadian singer/actress from Oakville, Ontario. She is currently in the CBC sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie. Her half brother is Canadian Olympic sprinter Donovan Bailey.-External links:...
, actress/singer (Little Mosque On The PrairieLittle Mosque on the PrairieLittle Mosque on the Prairie is a Canadian sitcom on CBC, created by Zarqa Nawaz and produced by WestWind Pictures. It is filmed in Toronto, Ontario and Indian Head, Saskatchewan...
)
E
- Gordon EarleGordon EarleGordon S. Earle is a Canadian politician. Earle is a member of the New Democratic Party and a former member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Halifax West from 1997 to 2000...
, former NDP Member of Parliament for Halifax WestHalifax WestHalifax West is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979. Its population in 2006 was 88,756.-Demographics:From the 2006 census Ethnic groups:*White: 90.8%... - Rosey EdehRosey EdehRosey Edeh is a Canadian television personality, currently a correspondent for the entertainment newsmagazine series ET Canada.Edeh was born in London, England...
, ET Canada reporter and former MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
meteorologist - Esi EdugyanEsi EdugyanEsi Edugyan is a Canadian novelist. Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta to Ghanaian immigrant parents, she studied creative writing at the University of Victoria before publishing her debut novel, The Second Life of Samuel Tyne, in 2004....
, novelist - Nneka ElliottNneka ElliottNneka Elliott was a weather anchor, reporter and traffic specialist at CP24 from July 2008 until May 2011. She lived in St. Vincent and the Grenadines before moving to Canada. She graduated from Ryerson University's radio and television program in Toronto in 2006. Previous to joining The Weather...
, television weathercaster for The Weather NetworkThe Weather NetworkThe Weather Network is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts weather-related news and information 24 hours a day.... - Natasha EloiNatasha EloiNatasha Eloi is a Canadian television personality and videographer. She is most often seen on the Space channel as a space, science and technology reporter and on The Circuit as the resident toy expert. She also hosts a show called It Came From The Basement! where she takes a look at people's...
, Space science reporter - Ray EmeryRay EmeryRay Emery , often nicknamed Razor or Sugar Ray, is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, currently with the Chicago Blackhawks. He formerly played for the Anaheim Ducks, Philadelphia Flyers, and the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League and Atlant Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey...
, NHL goaltender - Jonathan EmileJonathan EmileJonathan Emile is a Jamaican Canadian singer, poet, musician and entrepreneur from Montreal, Quebec. He is the creator and the founder of Mindpeacelove Enterprises and a cancer survivor...
, poet, composer & entrepreneur - Robert EsmieRobert EsmieRobert Esmie is a Canadian athlete, winner of the gold medal in the 4x100 m relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics....
, Olympic gold medalist 4x100 relay (Atlanta 1996)
F
- Lennox FarrellLennox FarrellLennox Farrell is a Canadian community activist and retired teacher from Toronto, Ontario.Currently, he is head of the Caribbean Cultural Committee, which puts on the Caribana parade....
, community activist - Perdita FelicienPerdita FelicienPerdita Felicien is a Canadian hurdler.-Early life:Felicien carries her mother's maiden name, whose origins are in the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia...
, Olympic athlete - Melanie FionaMelanie FionaMelanie Fiona Hallim is a Canadian R&B and Grammy-nominated recording artist from Toronto, Ontario. She was born to Guyanese immigrant parents of African, Indian, and Portuguese descent and grew up in the inner city of Toronto. Living in a music filled household, Fiona says she always knew music...
, R&B singer - Farley FlexFarley FlexFarley Flex is a Canadian music promoter, artist manager, and motivational speaker. He is best known for being a judge on the reality television series Canadian Idol....
, music promoter and Canadian IdolCanadian IdolCanadian Idol is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show Pop Idol. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Dore was the "roving reporter" for the first three seasons...
judge - Melyssa FordMelyssa FordMelyssa Savannah Ford is a Canadian model and actress. She attended York University and studied in the field of forensic psychology. Ford's father is Afro-Barbadian and her mother is Russian and Norwegian...
, professional model and actress - Keith FordeKeith FordeKeith Forde is a singer-songwriter and musician from Limerick, Ireland.- Early Career - Sutras :Forde began his musical career as a guitarist with Irish Pop/Rock band Sutras. The band exploded on the scene by winning the 1999 Heineken battle of the bands competition...
, the first visible minority Deputy Chief of Police in the history of the Toronto Police ServiceToronto Police ServiceThe Toronto Police Service , formerly the Metropolitan Toronto Police, is the police service for the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Canada and second largest police force in Canada after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police... - Rose FortuneRose FortuneRose Fortune was an African American who came to Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia with the Black Loyalists where she became a successful businesswoman and the first female police officer in Canada.-Biography:...
, first female police officer in Canada - Cecil FosterCecil FosterCecil Foster is a Canadian novelist, essayist, journalist, and scholar. Born in Bridgetown, Barbados, where he began working for the Caribbean News Agency as the senior reporter and editor , and Barbados Advocate News as the reporter and columnist . He emigrated to Canada in 1979...
, novelist and sociologist - Kofi Fosu, track athlete
- Rick FoxRick FoxUlrich Alexander "Rick" Fox is a Canadian television actor and retired professional basketball player who last played for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers in 2004.-Early life:...
, NBANational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
player - Angela Francis, Feminist art movementFeminist art movementThe feminist art movement refers to the efforts and accomplishments of feminists internationally to make art that reflects women's lives and experiences, as well as to change the foundation for the production and reception of contemporary art. It also sought to bring more visibility to women within...
- Mayann E. FrancisMayann E. Francis-External links:*...
, Lieutenant Governor of Nova ScotiaLieutenant Governor of Nova ScotiaThe Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia is the viceregal representative in Nova Scotia of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the...
(2006- ), former director & CEO of the Nova Scotia Human Rights CommissionNova Scotia Human Rights CommissionThe Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission was established in the Nova Scotia, Canada in 1967 to administer the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act... - Grant FuhrGrant FuhrGrant Scott Fuhr is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League and currently the goaltending coach for the Phoenix Coyotes. In 2003, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame...
, ex-NHL goalie elected to Hockey Hall of FameHockey Hall of FameThe Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
G
- Harry Gairey Sr, community activist
- Larry W. Gaiters, theologian, international lecturer, human rights activist and a bishop
- Matt GallowayMatt GallowayMatt Galloway is a Canadian radio personality, who is host of Metro Morning at CBLA-FM in Toronto. Galloway succeeded Andy Barrie as host of Metro Morning effective March 1, 2010....
, CBC Radio host - Ghetto ConceptGhetto ConceptGhetto Concept is a Canadian hip-hop duo from Toronto, Ontario, composed of Kwajo Cinqo and Dolo. Infinite, who is currently a solo artist, is a former member of Ghetto Concept.-History:...
, hip hop group - Mifflin Gibbs, merchant and member of VictoriaVictoria, British ColumbiaVictoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
City Council in the 1860s - Glenroy GilbertGlenroy GilbertGlenroy John Gilbert is a Canadian former athlete, winner of gold medal in 4x100 m relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics....
, Olympic gold medalist 4x100 relay (Atlanta 1996) - Malcolm GladwellMalcolm GladwellMalcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...
, journalist - George GodfreyGeorge Godfrey (boxer born 1853)George Godfrey was the black Canadian heavyweight boxer that John L. Sullivan refused to fight as a champion. He is not to be confused with the American heavyweight George Godfrey who named himself after our subject....
, former boxer originally from Prince Edward Island - Rev. William H. Golar, former president of historically Black Livingstone College
- Kamala-Jean Gopie, activist and political candidate
- Aubrey GrahamDrake (entertainer)Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
, actor (Degrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
) - Dirk GrahamDirk GrahamDirk Milton Graham is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota North Stars in the National Hockey League. He was honored in 1991 as the Frank J. Selke Trophy winner for outstanding defensive play by a forward...
, first NHL captain of African descent - Jean-Luc Grand-PierreJean-Luc Grand-PierreJean-Luc Grand-Pierre is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman playing for Malmö Redhawks of the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan ....
, former NHL defenseman, currently playing in Europe - Hamlin Grange, newspaper editor (Contrast), television reporter and news anchor and consultant
- Anais GranofskyAnais GranofskyAnais Granofsky is a Canadian actress, screenwriter, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Lucy Fernandez in the Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High series.-Early life and career:...
, actor (Degrassi) - Stanley G. GrizzleStanley G. GrizzleStanley G. Grizzle, CM, O.Ont is a retired Canadian citizenship judge and labour union activist. Born in 1918 in Toronto, to Jamaican immigrants, he was the oldest of seven children.-Union experience:...
, judge, community activist
H
- William Hall, first Nova Scotian, and third Canadian and first black person to be awarded the Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
- Adrian HarewoodAdrian HarewoodAdrian Harewood is a Canadian television and radio journalist, and the anchor of CBOT's CBC News: Ottawa at 5/5:30/6 and CBC News: Late Night in Ottawa....
, CBC RadioCBC Radio OneCBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
journalist and host - Josiah HensonJosiah HensonJosiah Henson was an author, abolitionist, and minister. Born into slavery in Charles County, Maryland, he escaped to Ontario, Canada in 1830, and founded a settlement and laborer's school for other fugitive slaves at Dawn, near Dresden in Kent County...
, former slave, believed to be the inspiration for the novel Uncle Tom's CabinUncle Tom's CabinUncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
. - Daniel G. HillDaniel G. HillDaniel Grafton Hill III, was a Canadian sociologist, civil servant, human rights specialist, and Black Canadian historian....
, sociologist and first head of the Ontario Human Rights CommissionOntario Human Rights CommissionThe Ontario Human Rights Commission was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961 to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code... - Dan HillDan HillDaniel Grafton "Dan" Hill IV is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. He had two major hits with his songs, "Sometimes When We Touch" and "Can't We Try," a duet with Vonda Shepard.-Early life and career:...
, pop singer/songwriter - Lawrence HillLawrence HillLawrence Hill is an award-winning Canadian novelist and memoirist. He is best known for the 2001 memoir Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada and the 2007 novel The Book of Negroes....
, novelist and memoirist - Jennifer HolnessJennifer HolnessJennifer Holness is a Canadian film and television producer and screenwriter, who is the business partner of Sudz Sutherland, also her husband, in Hungry Eyes Film & Television...
, film and television writer and producer - Charmaine HooperCharmaine HooperCharmaine Hooper is a former striker for the Canadian women's national soccer team.-Career:A former star at North Carolina State University, she currently plays for the * of the Women's Premier Soccer League. In 2006 she played for the New Jersey Wildcats in the American W-League...
, soccer player; retired as leader in appearances and goals for the women's national teamCanada women's national soccer teamThe Canada women's national soccer team is overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association. The team reached its all-time high of 6th in the March 2011 rankings. The team reached international prominence finishing in 4th place at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2003, losing to their archrival American team... - Jay Hope, Deputy Minister, Ontario Public Service
- Nalo HopkinsonNalo HopkinsonNalo Hopkinson is a Jamaican science fiction and fantasy writer and editor who lives in Canada. Her novels and short stories such as those in her collection Skin Folk often draw on Caribbean history and language, and its traditions of oral and written storytelling.Hopkinson has...
, science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author - Jennifer HostenJennifer HostenJennifer Josephine Hosten won the Miss World 1970 contest, representing Grenada. She became the first woman from her country to win the title. Her winning made a complete outrage among newsmen, pageant fans and feminist groups....
, Canadian High CommissionerHigh CommissionerHigh Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
to Grenada and diplomat - William Peyton HubbardWilliam Peyton HubbardWilliam Peyton Hubbard , City of Toronto Alderman from 1894 to 1914, was a popular and influential politician, of particular historical note as the city's first politician of African descent.-Early years:...
, former Toronto alderman, controller and acting mayor - Wayne Hurst, mayor of Amherstburg, Ontario
I
- Israel IdonijeIsrael IdonijeIsrael Idonije is a Nigerian-Canadian defensive end for the National Football League's Chicago Bears. He was signed as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Manitoba...
, defensive end for the NFL's Chicago BearsChicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... - Marci IenMarci IenMarci Ien is a Canadian broadcast journalist. Born in Toronto, Ontario on July 29, 1969, Ien currently works as the host of Canada AM Early Edition and is the news anchor for CTV's Canada AM...
, Canada AMCanada AMCanada AM is a Canadian breakfast television news show, which has aired on the CTV Television Network since 1972. It is currently hosted by Beverly Thomson and Seamus O'Regan, with Marci Ien reporting from the headline news desk and Jeff Hutcheson presenting the weather forecast and sports...
and CTV News Channel anchor - Daniel IgaliDaniel IgaliBaraladei Daniel Igali is a Canadian freestyler wrestler who is an Olympic gold medalist. He lives in Surrey, British Columbia.-Wrestling career:...
, Olympic gold medalist in wrestling (Sydney 2000Wrestling at the 2000 Summer OlympicsWrestling at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place in the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre and was split into two disciplines, Freestyle and Greco-Roman which are further divided into different weight categories. The freestyle competitions were held from September 28 to October 1, and the...
) - Jarome IginlaJarome IginlaJarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League . A six-time NHL All-Star, he is the Flames' all-time leader in goals, points, and games played, and is second in assists to Al MacInnis...
, NHL All-Star and Olympic gold medalist (Salt Lake 2002Ice hockey at the 2002 Winter OlympicsIce hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics were held at the E Center in West Valley City and Peaks Ice Arena in Provo, Utah. Both the men's and women's tournaments were won by Canada, defeating the host USA in both games.-Men:...
) - Orin IsaacsOrin IsaacsOrin Isaacs is a Canadian bass guitarist, record and television music producer, best known as the bandleader on Mike Bullard's late-night talk shows Open Mike with Mike Bullard and The Mike Bullard Show....
, bandleader (Open Mike with Mike BullardOpen Mike with Mike BullardOpen Mike with Mike Bullard was a Canadian late-night talk show which was broadcast live from 1997 to 2003 on CTV and on The Comedy Network in primetime. It was hosted by comedian Mike Bullard and initially taped at a studio at the back of Wayne Gretzky's restaurant in Toronto, Ontario before CTV...
, The Mike Bullard ShowThe Mike Bullard ShowThe Mike Bullard Show was a Canadian late-night talk show which aired weeknights at 12:05 AM on Global from November 24, 2003 to March 11, 2004. The show was hosted by comedian Mike Bullard and taped at the Global Theatre in Toronto, Ontario...
), musician and music producer - Tajja IsenTajja IsenTajja Isen is a Canadian actress and singer-songwriter who is best known for voicing the titular character in the television series Atomic Betty...
, actress/singer (Atomic Betty)
J
- Ovid JacksonOvid JacksonOvid L. Jackson, O.Ont is a Canadian politician. He represented the federal riding of Bruce—Grey and Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound in the House of Commons for the Liberal Party from 1994 to 2004....
, former Member of Parliament and former mayor of Owen SoundOwen Sound, OntarioOwen Sound , the county seat of Grey County, is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada... - Royson JamesRoyson JamesRoyson James is the municipal affairs columnist of the Toronto Star, a major metropolitan newspaper in Toronto, Ontario. Before becoming a columnist, he worked at the Toronto Star covering municipal politics in Scarborough, North York and Metropolitan Toronto, and later served on the newspaper's...
, Toronto StarToronto StarThe Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
columnist - Yolande JamesYolande JamesYolande James is a Quebec provincial politician. She is the first black female MNA and the youngest, as well as the first black cabinet minister in Quebec history...
, Quebec Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities - Olivier JardaOlivier JardaOlivier Jarda is a Canadian pop music singer-songwriter. Born in Ottawa, Ontario to Haitian immigrants, he grew up mainly in Moncton, New Brunswick...
, singer-songwriter - Michaëlle JeanMichaëlle JeanMichaëlle Jean is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation, from 2005 to 2010....
, former broadcaster and former Governor General of CanadaGovernor General of CanadaThe Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
, the first black person in Canadian history appointed to that position - Marlene JenningsMarlene JenningsMarlene Jennings, PC, MP is a Canadian politician. She was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada in the Canadian House of Commons, and represented the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine from 1997 to 2011....
, first black woman from QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
to be elected to Parliament - Harry JeromeHarry JeromeHenry "Harry" Winston Jerome, was a Canadian track and field runner. He was the grandson of John Howard, a railway porter who represented Canada in the 1912 Summer Olympics....
, runner and first Canadian to hold an official world track and field record - Ferguson JenkinsFerguson JenkinsFerguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins, CM, is a Canadian former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was a three-time All-Star and the 1971 NL Cy Young Award winner. In 1991, Jenkins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 19-year career, he pitched for four different teams,...
, baseball star and first Canadian elected to the (U.S.) Baseball Hall of FameNational Baseball Hall of Fame and MuseumThe National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of... - Ben JohnsonBen Johnson (athlete)Benjamin Sinclair "Ben" Johnson, CM , is a former sprinter from Canada, who enjoyed a high-profile career during most of the 1980s, winning two Olympic bronze medals and an Olympic gold, which was subsequently rescinded...
, Olympic sprinter disqualified in 1988 drug scandal - Clark JohnsonClark JohnsonClark Johnson , sometimes credited as Clark 'Slappy' Jackson, Clarque Johnson, and J. Clark Johnson, is an American actor and director who has worked in both television and film.-Early years:...
, actor (Homicide: Life on the StreetHomicide: Life on the StreetHomicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
) - Kirk Johnson, boxer
- Molly JohnsonMolly JohnsonMolly Johnson, OC is a Canadian Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter of pop and jazz.-Biography:Johnson began as a child performer, receiving formal training from the National Ballet School and the Banff School of Fine Arts...
, rock and jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
vocalist - Rocky JohnsonRocky JohnsonRocky Johnson is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. Quite popular in his own right in the 1970s and 1980s, he is also known for being the father of actor and professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson...
, professional wrestler (also father of actor/wrestler Dwayne Johnson) - Taborah JohnsonTaborah JohnsonTaborah Johnson , also known as Tabby Johnson, is a Canadian singer and actor. She is the sister of actor Clark Johnson and rock and jazz singer Molly Johnson....
, singer, actor and radio broadcaster - Denham Jolly, entrepreneur and founder of Milestone RadioMilestone RadioMilestone Radio Incorporated was a Canadian radio broadcasting company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. They were the only broadcasting company in Canada that was owned and operated by Black Canadians. The company's president was Denham Jolly....
and Flow 93.5 Toronto - Danko JonesDanko JonesDanko Jones is a Canadian rock band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Danko Jones and JC...
, rock singer and guitarist - Oliver Jones, jazz pianist
- Ron JonesRon Jones (politician)Rev. Capt. Ronald Clyde "Ron" Jones is a former Methodist minister, Windsor District Fire Chief, Trustee for the Greater Essex County District School Board, and is currently a city councillor in Ward 2 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada's west end....
, Methodist minister, fire chief, WindsorWindsor, OntarioWindsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
school board trustee and city councillor, New Democratic PartyNew Democratic PartyThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
activist
K
- k-osK-osKevin Brereton , better known by his stage name k-os , is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer...
, hip-hopHip hop musicHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
musician - Tommy KaneTommy KaneThomas Henry Kane is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks and Toronto Argonauts.-Football career:...
, former NFL wide receiver - Kardinal OffishallKardinal OffishallJason D. Harrow , better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall , is a Canadian rapper and record producer. He is often credited as Canada's "hip-hop ambassador", and is best known for his distinctive reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip-hop.-Life and career:Harrow was born in...
, rapper - Peter-John Kerr, TV host and independent film maker
- Namugenyi KiwanukaNamugenyi KiwanukaNamugenyi "Nam" Kiwanuka is a Canadian television personality and journalist. Formerly a VJ for MuchMusic from 1999 to 2003, she was later a host of NBA XL and CFL Crunch on Rogers Sportsnet....
, Rogers SportsnetRogers SportsnetSportsnet was launched on October 9, 1998 as CTV Sportsnet. The name was chosen to match the regional "Fox Sports Net" operations across the United States...
basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
commentator and former MuchMusicMuchMusicMuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
VJ - Maka KottoMaka KottoMaka Kotto , is a provincial level politician from Quebec, Canada and a former member of the Canadian House of Commons. He is the husband of Longueuil mayor Caroline St-Hilaire. He is also a published author and has appeared in film...
, black author and actor from QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
elected to Canadian Parliament in 2004 (Bloc Québécois)
L
- Dany LaferrièreDany LaferrièreDany Laferrière is a francophone Haitian and Canadian novelist and journalist.Born in Port-au-Prince, Haïti, and raised in Petit Goâve, Laferrière worked as a journalist in Haïti before moving to Canada in 1976...
, novelist - Djennie Laguerre, actress
- Artis LaneArtis LaneArtis Lane is an award-winning Black Canadian sculptor and painter. She is an immigrant from Ontario, Canada, and was born and raised in a community populated by the descendants of slaves who came to Canada on the Underground Railroad.The St...
, sculptor and artist - Sam LangfordSam LangfordSam Langford was a Black Canadian boxing standout of the early part of the 20th century. Called the "Greatest Fighter Nobody Knows," by ESPN. He was rated #2 by The Ring on their list of "100 greatest punchers of all time". Langford was originally from Weymouth Falls, a small community in Nova...
, former boxer - Georges LaraqueGeorges LaraqueGeorges Laraque is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward, who last played with the Montreal Canadiens before his contract was bought out in 2010. He is also a host for CFRN and deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada. During his NHL career he played for the Edmonton Oilers,...
, NHL hockey player - Tobi LarkTobi LarkTobi Lark is an American-born Canadian soul and gospel singer, who also recorded under the names Bessie Watson and Tobi Legend...
, jazz, blues and gospel singer - Scott LaurieScott LaurieScott Laurie is a Canadian news reporter and news anchor for CTV News Channel and CTV News since May 2000. He appears on CTV News Channel during the weekend primetime hours from 8 p.m. to midnight....
, CTV News Channel anchor and reporter - Delores Lawrence, entrepreneur and community leader
- Olivier Le JeuneOlivier Le JeuneOlivier Le Jeune was the first recorded slave purchased in New France.Olivier was a young boy from Madagascar, believed to have been less than eight years of age when he was brought to the outpost of Quebec in New France, by British commander David Kirke when he captured the colony in 1629...
, believed to have been the first slave purchased in what later became Quebec - Ranee LeeRanee LeeRanee Lee, CM is a Canadian jazz vocalist and musician who resides in Montreal, Quebec.Lee toured North America in the 1970s as a jazz drummer and tenor saxophonist. She subsequently landed a starring role playing Billie Holiday in Lady Day, and won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for her performance...
, jazz singer - Michael Lee-ChinMichael Lee-ChinThe Honourable Michael Lee-Chin, OJ is a Jamaican-Canadian investor. He is the founder and Chairman of Portland Holdings Inc., a privately held investment company which owns a collection of diversified operating companies in sectors that include media, tourism, health care telecommunications and...
, business leader - Sandra LevySandra LevySandra Levy is a former field hockey player, who represented Canada at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain...
, Olympic field hockey player - Andrea LewisAndrea LewisAndrea Desiree Lewis is a Canadian-born actress and singer best known for her portrayal of Hazel Aden on the teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Television and Film:...
, actress (Degrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
) - Daurene LewisDaurene LewisDaurene E. Lewis, CM is a Canadian politician and educator.Born in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Lewis is a descendant of freed Loyalist African Americans who settled in Annapolis Royal in 1783...
, first black woman mayor in North America - Glenn LewisGlenn LewisGlenn Lewis is a Canadian R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter. Originally planning to pursue a career in animation as a teenager, Lewis instead decided to focus on music. His father was a member of the musical group Crack of Dawn...
, R&B/pop singer - Ray LewisRay Lewis (runner)Competitor for CanadaRaymond "Ray" Gray Lewis, CM was a Canadian track and field athlete, and the first Canadian-born black Olympic medalist....
, first Canadian born Black to win a medal in the Olympics - Murray LightburnMurray LightburnMurray Lightburn is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for The Dears.Lightburn has been called "the black Morrissey" due to his vocal similarity to the former The Smiths lead singer. Incidentally, The Dears toured as Morrissey's opening act during...
, rock singer/songwriter (The DearsThe Dears-History:The band formed in 1995 and released their first album, End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story, in 2000. Their orchestral, dark pop sound and dramatic live shows cemented The Dears at the foundation of the then-emerging Canadian indie renaissance...
) - Little XLittle XJulien Christian Lutz , better known as Little X, X or Director X, is a Canadian music video director. He also has his own clothing line X Fit...
, director - Rich LondonRich LondonRich London is a rapper from Toronto, Ontario, currently signed to Soul Clap Records/Universal Music. Canadian hip hop legend Maestro Fresh Wes is his cousin. His 2006 release The Answer was nominated for Rap Recording of the Year at the 2007 Juno Awards with music videos released in 2006 such as...
, rapper - Garry Lowe, bassist (Big SugarBig SugarBig Sugar is a Canadian blues-rock band, they were active from 1991 to 2004 and again since April 2010. The band has sold more than half a million albums in Canada.-History:...
) - Nicole LynNicole LynNicole Lyn is a television actress. She is known for her role in Student Bodies, a Canadian teen comedy series.-Biography:...
, actress
M
- Kandyse McClureKandyse McClureKandyse McClure is an actress, best known for playing Anastasia Dualla on the Sci Fi Channel's television program Battlestar Galactica.- Biography :...
, actress (Battlestar Galactica) - Elijah McCoyElijah McCoyElijah J. McCoy was a Canadian-American inventor and engineer, who was notable for his 57 U.S. patents, most to do with lubrication of steam engines. His family returned to the United States in 1847, where he lived for the rest of his life and became a US citizen.- Early life and education:Elijah J...
, origin of "the real McCoy", inventor - Howard McCurdyHoward McCurdyHoward Douglas McCurdy is a retired Canadian politician and university professor.McCurdy studied at the University of Western Ontario, where he received a Bachelor of Arts, and later at Assumption University, where he received a Bachelor of Science. He was awarded a Master of Science and a Ph.D...
, Member of Parliament and the first black male to run for the leadership of a political party (the federal New Democratic PartyNew Democratic PartyThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
) - Yanna McIntoshYanna McIntoshYanna McIntosh, sometimes credited as Yanna MacIntosh, is a Jamaican-born Canadian television, movie and theatrical actress.-Early life:...
, actress - Tony McKegneyTony McKegneyAnthony Syiid McKegney is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player, who played thirteen seasons in the National Hockey League from 1978–79 until 1990–91.-Career:...
- Mark McKoyMark McKoyMark Anthony McKoy is a former Canadian athlete, winner of 110 metres hurdles at the 1992 Summer Olympics.Born in Georgetown, Guyana, Mark McKoy spent his youth in England, before moving to Canada as a teenager...
, Olympic gold medalist 110 m hurdles (Barcelona 1992) - Brandon Jay McLarenBrandon Jay McLarenBrandon Jay McLaren is a Canadian actor. He is best known by his role of Jack Landors, the Red SPD Power Ranger, on Power Rangers: SPD, and Danny Brooks on Harper's Island. He was a guest star in the episode "Bloodlines" of Blade: The Series...
, actor (Power Rangers S.P.D.) - Tessa McWattTessa McWattTessa McWatt is a Guyanese-born Canadian writer.Her first novel, Out of My Skin, was published in 1998. Her second, Dragons Cry, was shortlisted for the City of Toronto Book Award and the Governor General's Award in 2001....
, novelist - MaestroMaestro (rapper)Wesley Williams , better known as Maestro and formerly Maestro Fresh-Wes, is a Canadian rapper, record producer, and actor. His pioneering status and outstanding achievements have led to him being referred to as the "Godfather of Canadian hip hop".In 1989 he became the first Canadian rapper to have...
, hip-hop musician, first Canadian rapper to have a Top 40 hit - Jamaal MagloireJamaal MagloireJamaal Dane Magloire is a Canadian professional basketball player who last played for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . The , center was selected out of the University of Kentucky by the Charlotte Hornets with the 19th overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, after withdrawing...
, NBA player - Ahdri Zhina MandielaAhdri Zhina Mandielaahdri zhina mandiela is a Toronto-based dub poet, theatre producer, and artistic director. She has gained worldwide acclaim for her books, music recordings, film, theatre and dance productions....
, director - Amanda MarshallAmanda MarshallAmanda Meta Marshall is a Canadian pop-rock singer.She grew up in Toronto in a biracial family to a White Canadian father and a Black Trinidadian mother...
, pop singer/songwriter - Mike MarsonMike MarsonMichael Robert Marson is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played five seasons in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals and the Los Angeles Kings....
, second Black player in NHL history - Lesra MartinLesra MartinLesra Martin is a Canadian lawyer and motivational speaker. He is known for helping to bring about the release of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.-Background:Lesra Martin was born into a troubled family in 1963...
, crown attorneyCrown attorneyCrown Attorneys or Crown Counsel are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada.Crown Attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code of Canada...
and speaker, involved in his youth in freeing Rubin Carter - Russell MartinRussell MartinRussell Nathan Jeanson Coltrane Martin, Jr is a Canadian Major League Baseball catcher for the New York Yankees.Martin became the everyday catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers immediately upon his Major League debut, and continued in that role for nearly 5 years...
, MLB player - Beverly MascollBeverly MascollBeverly Mascoll is a Canadian businesswoman, fundraiser, community leader, and Member of the Order of Canada.-Overview:An astute businesswoman and community leader, Nova Scotia-born Beverly Mascoll was hailed as a Canadian trailblazer. After her family relocated to Toronto in her early teens,...
, entrepreneur and community leader - Denise Matthews, former model, actress and lead singer of Vanity 6 turned evangelist
- Rueben MayesRueben MayesRueben Mayes is a Canadian who played in the National Football League from 1986 to 1993.He first gained notoriety as a running back at North Battleford Comprehensive High School in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. In 1980 Mayes led the NBCHS Vikings to an undefeated season and the SHSAA 3A...
, former NFL player - Suzette MayrSuzette MayrSuzette Mayr is a Canadian poet and novelist who has written three critically acclaimed novels. Currently an associate professor at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Arts, Mayr's writing and teaching is often focused on issues of race and ethnicity in Canadian culture...
, writer - Alexis MazurinAlexis MazurinAlexis Mazurin was a Canadian comedian and radio personality, best known as one of the original hosts of CBC Radio 3....
, CBC RadioCBC RadioCBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
host - Weyni Mengesha, director (Da Kink in My HairDa Kink in My Hair (TV series)'da Kink in My Hair is a Canadian television sitcom. Based on the play of the same name by Trey Anthony, the story was adapted into a television show currently airing on Global.-Cast:...
) - Rollie MilesRollie MilesElmer Roland "Rollie" Miles was a professional football player for the Canadian Football League Edmonton Eskimos. Miles played offence , defence , and special teams , during his eleven career with the Eskimos...
, CFL player - Shadrach MinkinsShadrach MinkinsShadrach Minkins was an African American fugitive slave. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, he escaped from slavery in 1850 to settle in Boston, Massachusetts, where he became a waiter...
, American-born fugitive slave rescued from federal custody in Boston in 1851 who settled in Montreal. - Mojah, guitarist (Big SugarBig SugarBig Sugar is a Canadian blues-rock band, they were active from 1991 to 2004 and again since April 2010. The band has sold more than half a million albums in Canada.-History:...
) - Moka OnlyMoka OnlyDaniel Denton , known professionally as Moka Only, is a Canadian hip hop artist. Originally from Langford, British Columbia, near Victoria, he is now based in Vancouver. He was previously part of the hip hop group Swollen Members, and briefly a part of Len. His albums are released by Legendary...
, rapper of the Swollen MembersSwollen MembersSwollen Members is a Canadian hip hop group from Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada consisting mainly of the duo Mad Child, and Prevail. Frequent collaborators include vocalist Moka Only and producer Rob the Viking, an official group member since 2002... - Firmin MonestimeFirmin MonestimeDr. Saint-Firmin Monestime was a Haitian-Canadian politician and medical doctor, who was the first Black Canadian ever elected mayor of a Canadian municipality....
, mayor of MattawaMattawa, OntarioMattawa is a town in northeastern Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers in Nipissing District. Mattawa means "Meeting of the Waters" in Ojibwa...
, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and the first black mayor in Canada - Donald Willard Moore, community activist
- Paul S. MortonPaul S. MortonPaul Sylvester Morton is an American Baptist pastor. He is currently senior pastor ofChanging A Generation Full Gospel Baptist Church and Co-Pastor of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church...
, pastor of St. Stephen Baptist Church in New Orleans, a church with over 20,000 members - Aaron Albert MossellAaron Albert MossellAaron Albert Mossell II was the first African-American to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the father of Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander.-Life and career:...
, first Black person to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School - Nathan Francis MossellNathan Francis MossellNathan Francis Mossell was the first African American graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1882. He did post-graduate training at hospitals in Philadelphia and London. In 1888 he was the first black physician elected as member of the Philadelphia County Medical Society...
, first Black person to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School - Jane Musoke-NteyafasJane Musoke-NteyafasJane Musoke-Nteyafas is a poet, writer, visual artist, columnist and playwright.Born in Moscow, Russia, to Truman Musoke-Nteyafas, an Ugandan diplomat and politician, and Beatrice Musoke-Nteyafas, a visual artist and fashion designer....
, poet
O
- Willie O'ReeWillie O'ReeWillie Eldon O'Ree, OC, ONB is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, known best for being the first black player in the National Hockey League. O'Ree played as a winger for the Boston Bruins...
, first black hockey player in the National Hockey League - Lana OgilvieLana OgilvieLana Ogilvie is a Canadian fashion model. Ogilvie is best known as a model for the CoverGirl cosmetics brand. She was the first non-white model to be given a contract with CoverGirls. She was frequently paired with Rachel Hunter, as in a television advertisement where they climb a desert sand...
, fashion model/TV hostess - Donald OliverDonald OliverDonald H. Oliver, QC is a Canadian Senator.A lawyer and developer, Oliver is a member of Nova Scotia's Black minority. He is the nephew of Canadian opera singer Portia White, politician Bill White and labour union activist Jack White, and the cousin of political strategist Sheila White...
, first black senator from Nova Scotia - Rev. Dr. William P. Oliver, community leader and a long time pastor at Cornwallis Baptist Church in Halifax
- Milton Ottey, world champion high jumper
P
- John Paris Jr.John Paris Jr.John Paris, Jr. is the first Black person to coach a pro hockey team, when he coached the Atlanta Knights of the International Hockey League. His team won the Turner Cup championship in 1994....
, hockey coach - Stuart ParkerStuart ParkerStuart Parker was leader of the Green Party in British Columbia, Canada, from 1993 to 2000. In 2009, during the Ontario by-election to replace MPP Michael Byrant, he unsuccessfully sought the Ontario New Democratic Party nomination for the St...
, leader of the Green Party of British ColumbiaGreen Party of British ColumbiaThe Green Party of British Columbia is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is led by former Esquimalt municipal councillor, university professor and businessperson Jane Sterk, she was elected by the party in 2007. Penticton realtor and columnist Julius Bloomfield serves as the deputy...
1993 to 2000, the first (and only) black leader of a political party in Canada - Tyrone Parsons, actor (Trailer Park BoysTrailer Park BoysTrailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...
) - Stephnie Payne, community activist
- Nicole Pena, painter/educator
- Oscar PetersonOscar PetersonOscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
, jazz pianist - M. NourbeSe PhilipM. NourbeSe PhilipMarlene Nourbese Philip , usually credited as M. NourbeSe Philip, is a Canadian poet, novelist, playwright, essayist and short story writer.-Life and Works:...
, poet, novelist and essayist - Joseph Jomo Pierre, playwright (Born Ready)
- Burr PlatoBurr Plato-Background:Of an African-American background, he was born into slavery in Virginia.Burr succeeded in moving to Canada in 1856 after an arduous journey culminating in a swim to freedom across the Niagara River to the Canada, where he settled ....
, town councillor for Niagara FallsNiagara Falls, OntarioNiagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903...
(1886-1901) - Juliette PowellJuliette PowellJuliette Powell is a Canadian television host, producer and author. She was the Miss Canada titleholder in 1989, that contest's first Black Canadian winner....
, television host and the first black Miss CanadaMiss CanadaMiss Canada was a scholarship competition for young women in Canada. It was founded in Hamilton in 1946. The first broadcast of the Miss Canada pageant aired in 1963 on CTV. The late Peter Jennings was host of the pageant in 1964....
(1989) - Rev. Richard PrestonRichard Preston (clergyman)Richard Preston, , was religious leader and abolitionist who escaped slavery in Virginia to become an important leader for the African Nova Scotian community and in the international struggle against slavery.-Personal life:...
, anti-slavery activist and founder of African Baptist Association of Nova Scotia - PrevailPrevail (musician)Prevail is the stage name of Kiley Hendricks, a Canadian hip hop artist hailing from Victoria, British Columbia, went to Belmont secondary, part of Swollen Members which consists principally of him and Mad Child. They have been called "two of the most innovative people in hip-hop". Prevail released...
, rapper of the Swollen MembersSwollen MembersSwollen Members is a Canadian hip hop group from Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada consisting mainly of the duo Mad Child, and Prevail. Frequent collaborators include vocalist Moka Only and producer Rob the Viking, an official group member since 2002...
R
- RT!RT!Randall Thorne , better known by his pseudonym RT!, is a Canadian music video & commercial director of Trinidadian and Barbadian heritage. A prolific director, he has directed over 120 music videos for various Canadian and international music artists and is the most awarded music video director in...
, director - Mike RamsayMike RamsayMike Ramsay may refer to:*Mike Ramsay , candidate of the Liberal Party in the 2003 Ontario, Canada provincial election*Mike Ramsay , co-creator of TiVo and co-founder of the company, TiVo Inc....
, Trustee and current Chairperson of Waterloo Region District School BoardWaterloo Region District School BoardWaterloo Region District School Board is the public school board for the Region of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It operates 103 elementary schools, 16 secondary schools, and other facilities, serving 60,000 students in the Region of Waterloo. It has approximately 5500 staff and a budget of $675... - RascalzRascalzThe Rascalz are a Canadian hip-hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia, who played a crucial role in the artistic and commercial development of Canadian hip hop. The group consists of MCs Red1 and Misfit, and DJ Kemo. Breakdancers, Zebroc and Dedos were also part of the group.Formed in 1991, the...
, hip hop group - Pokey ReddickPokey ReddickEldon "Pokey" Wade Reddick is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League from 1986–87 to 1993–94.-Playing career:...
, Stanley Cup Champion, Edmonton OilersEdmonton OilersThe Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
goalie - Gloria ReubenGloria ReubenGloria Reuben is a Canadian singer and actress of film and television, known for her role as Jeanie Boulet on the popular medical drama ER and for her role of Rosalind Whitman in the TV show Raising the Bar.-Life and career:...
, actress (ERER (TV series)ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
) - Jackie RichardsonJackie RichardsonJackie Richardson is a Canadian singer and actress.She is known for her screen roles in The Gospel According to the Blues, The Doodlebops, and Sins of the Father....
, jazz, blues and gospel singer - Bill RileyBill RileyWilliam James "Bill" Riley is a retired Canadian ice hockey player, and was the third black player in the National Hockey League....
, third Black player in NHL history - Sharon Riley and Faith Chorale, gospel group
- Kenny RobinsonKenny Robinson (comedian)Kenny Robinson is a stand-up comic, actor, and occasional DJ. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he moved to Toronto in 1983 to pursue a career as a comedian.In 1998 he was chosen by Now Magazine as their Comic of the Year....
- stand-up comedian, TV host - George RogersGeorge Rogers (Canadian politician)George A. Rogers is a politician from Leduc, Alberta. After serving on city council from 1992 to 1998, he was mayor of Leduc from 1998 to 2004. He is currently the MLA for the riding of Leduc-Beaumont-Devon.-Early life:...
, former mayor of Leduc, AlbertaLeduc, Alberta- Demographics :The population of the City of Leduc according to its 2011 municipal census is 24,139, a 3.6% increase over its 2010 municipal census population of 23,293....
, current MLA for the riding of Leduc-Beaumont-Devon - Calvin RuckCalvin RuckCalvin Woodrow Ruck, CM was an anti-racism activist and a Canadian senator. He was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia; his parents were immigrants to Canada from Barbados.-Professional life:...
, senator
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- Shakura S'AidaShakura S'AidaShakura S'Aida is a Canadian blues and jazz vocalist, songwriter and actress. She is sometimes credited as simply Shakura, and should therefore not be confused with the Colombian pop star Shakira....
, jazz and blues singer - Bev Salmon, former North YorkNorth York, OntarioNorth York is a dissolved municipality within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the central part of the northern section of Toronto. As of the 2006 Census, it has a population of 635,370. The official 2001 census count was 608,288...
city councillor - Mairuth SarsfieldMairuth SarsfieldMairuth Hodge Sarsfield, CQ is a Canadian author, activist journalist, researcher and television personality.Sarsfield has had a long, varied and distinguished career. Born and bred in Montreal, she has worked as host for the CBC, CTV, and TV Ontario...
, novelist (No Crystal Stair) - John Saunders, sports journalist for ESPN and ABC
- Alison Sealy-SmithAlison Sealy-SmithAlison Sealy-Smith is a Canadian actress, born and raised in Barbados.Sealy-Smith attended Mount Allison University where she studied psychology on a scholarship. She is the founding director of Obsidian Theatre, a company that specializes in Black Canadian drama...
, actress (This is WonderlandThis Is WonderlandThis Is Wonderland was a Canadian television series which aired on CBC Television. The series is a legal drama with comedic elements, or a comedy-drama. It was created by playwright George F...
) - Djanet SearsDjanet SearsDjanet Sears is a Canadian playwright, actor and director. She was born in 1959 in England, to a Guyanese father and a Jamaican mother. Sears was raised in England and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan...
, playwright (Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God) - Terese Sears, Journalist
- Olive SeniorOlive SeniorOlive Marjorie Senior is a Jamaican poet and short story writer currently living in Canada.She went to Montego Bay High School For Girls, then at age 19 joined the staff of the Jamaica Gleaner in Kingston. She later won a scholarship to study journalism in Cardiff, Wales, and then at Carleton...
, poet and short story writer - Mary Ann ShaddMary Ann ShaddMary Ann Shadd Cary was born to Abraham and Harriett Shadd, both free-born blacks, in Wilmington, Delaware. She was the oldest in her family of 13 children...
, first female newspaper publisher - Tony SharpeTony SharpeTony Sharpe is a former sprinter from Canada who won an Olympic bronze medal in 4 x 100 metres relay in Los Angeles 1984...
, sprinter - Liberty SilverLiberty SilverLiberty Silver is a Canadian singer, based in Toronto, Ontario.She won two 1985 Juno Awards, one for Best R&B/Soul Recording of the Year and the other for Best Reggae/Calypso Recording .The American-born Silver was adopted into an Ontario family, where she spent her...
, R&B and jazz singer - Makeda SilveraMakeda SilveraMakeda Silvera is a Caribbean Canadian novelist and short story writer.Silvera emigrated to Canada at the age of 12 with her family, and currently lives in Toronto. She published two volumes of short stories in the 1990s before releasing her first novel, "The Revenge of Maria" in 1998, followed by...
, novelist - Denis SimpsonDenis SimpsonDenis Simpson was a Canadian actor and singer, best known as a host of the TV series Polka Dot Door...
, actor and children's television host (Polka Dot DoorPolka Dot DoorPolka Dot Door was a long-running children's television series produced and broadcast by TVOntario from 1971 until 1993. The show, which aired Monday to Friday, was set in a large playhouse...
) - Eon Sinclair, bassist (Bedouin SoundclashBedouin SoundclashBedouin Soundclash is a Canadian band currently based in Toronto. Their sound can be described as reggae and ska.-History:The band's current lineup consists of vocalist and guitarist Jay Malinowski, and bassist Eon Sinclair with Sekou Lumumba on drums. Their debut album, Root Fire, released in 2001...
) - Sean Simmonds, gospel artist
- Shawn SingletonShawn SingletonShawn Singleton is a Canadian actor and musician. His television roles have included the series Lord Have Mercy!, The Line, Doomstown and Instant Star, as well as guest appearances in Flashpoint and Da Kink in My Hair...
, actor/musician - Makyla SmithMakyla SmithMakyla Smith is a Canadian actress.She is best known for her supporting role as Justin's best friend Daphne on Queer as Folk...
, actress (Queer as Folk) - Frances-Anne SolomonFrances-Anne SolomonFrances-Anne Solomon is a Trinidadian-Canadian-British filmmaker, writer, producer, and entrepreneur.Born in England of Trinidadian parents, she began her professional life at the BBC in England, where she built a successful career as a Producer first with BBC Radio then with BBC television drama...
, director - Chris SpenceChris Spence (educator)Christopher M. Spence is a Canadian educator, author, and former Canadian football player. He is the Director of Education of the Toronto District School Board and former Director of Education of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board....
, Director of Education of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School BoardHamilton-Wentworth District School BoardHamilton-Wentworth District School Board is the public school board in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, which was formed January 1, 1997 via the amalgamation of the Hamilton and Wentworth County school boards. HWDSB teaches approximately 50,000 students in its 114 neighbourhood schools...
and then the Toronto District School BoardToronto District School BoardToronto District School Board, also known by the acronym TDSB, is the English-language public school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
, previously a CFL running back - Tony "Wild T" SpringerTony SpringerTony "Wild T" Springer is a Canadian blues-rock guitarist.Born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, Springer played with a number of reggae and calypso bands as a teenager. He later moved to Canada, settling in Toronto and playing local clubs in a Jimi Hendrix tribute band...
, blues rock guitarist - Ordena StephensOrdena StephensOrdena Stephens is a Canadian actress. She currently stars in the television series Da Kink in My Hair. She is also credited as Ordena Stephens-Thomas.Her other roles include Blue Murder.-External links:*...
, actress (Da Kink in My HairDa Kink in My Hair (TV series)'da Kink in My Hair is a Canadian television sitcom. Based on the play of the same name by Trey Anthony, the story was adapted into a television show currently airing on Global.-Cast:...
) - Anthony Stewart, NHL player with the Florida Panthers
- Addena Sumter-Freitag, playwright, poet (Stay Black & Die)
- Sylvia SweeneySylvia SweeneySylvia Sweeney is a Canadian Executive Television Producer and Olympian. Sweeney is the daughter of music teacher Daisy Sweeney and railway cook James Sweeney, and the niece of jazz musician Oscar Peterson....
, television broadcaster (W-FIVEW-FIVEW5 is a Canadian news magazine television series produced by CTV News. The program is currently initially broadcast Saturday nights at 7 p.m...
) and former basketball player - Bruny SurinBruny SurinBruny Surin is a Canadian athlete, winner of a gold medal in the 4x100 m relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In 2008 he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame as part of the 1996 Summer Olympics 4x100 relay team.-Career:...
, Olympic gold medalist 4x100 relay (1996 Atlanta) - David (Sudz) SutherlandSudz SutherlandDavid "Sudz" Sutherland is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. His credits include the films Doomstown, Love, Sex and Eating the Bones and Guns, as well as episodes of Da Kink in My Hair, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Wild Roses and Jozi-H...
, director (Love, Sex and Eating the BonesLove, Sex and Eating the BonesLove, Sex and Eating the Bones is a 2003 Canadian romantic comedy film directed and written by Sudz Sutherland featuring a mostly African American leading cast...
)
T
- TamiaTamiaTamia Hill , and known professionally as Tamia, is a four-time Grammy-nominated Canadian R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, model, entrepreneur and philanthropist, as well as an occasional actress.She is best known for her 2000 hit "Stranger In My House" and Fabolous' 2003...
, R&B singer and actress - Bobby TaylorBobby Taylor & the VancouversBobby Taylor & the Vancouvers were a soul band from Vancouver, British Columbia. Briefly signed to Motown Records in the late 1960s, they had one top 30 hit single, "Does Your Mama Know About Me". As a producer and solo artist, Bobby Taylor contributed to several other soul recordings, both inside...
and his band, The Vancouvers, a popular Motown act who were instrumental in getting The Jackson 5The Jackson 5The Jackson 5 , later known as The Jacksons, were an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana...
signed to the label and produced the earliest Jackson 5 records. - Dione TaylorDione TaylorDione Taylor is a Canadian jazz singer.Born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, Taylor released her first album, Open Your Eyes, in 2004. That album was nominated for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2005. Taylor followed up with I Love Being Here With You in 2006....
, jazz singer - Julian TaylorJulian Taylor (singer)Julian Taylor is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter. Formerly associated with the band Staggered Crossing, he has continued to record and perform as a solo artist since that band's breakup in 2007....
, rock musician (Staggered CrossingStaggered CrossingStaggered Crossing, sometimes nicknamed StagX, are a Canadian roots rock band.-Early years:The original group was formed in 1996 in Toronto by four high school friends, Julian Taylor , David E.G. Marshall, Dan Black and Jeremy Elliott. The group quickly gained a local following in North Toronto...
) - Tamara TaylorTamara TaylorTamara Taylor is a Canadian television actress.Born in Toronto to a black Canadian father and a Scottish Canadian mother, her most famous role is that of Dr. Camille Saroyan, head of the Forensic Division, on the forensic crime drama Bones...
, actress (BonesBones (TV series)Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...
) - Angella Taylor-Issajenko, sprinter
- TebeyTebeyTebey is a Canadian country music singer and multi-genre songwriter. His only chart hit to date is 2003's "We Shook Hands ", a #47 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and a Top 5 single on the Canadian country music charts...
, country and pop songwriter and singer - Michael ThompsonMichael Thompson (Canadian politician)Michael Thompson is a city councillor in Toronto, Canada. He represents Ward 37, the western half of Scarborough Centre. Raised in Scarborough he has a BA in Economics from Concordia University. He is a Black Canadian....
, current TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
city councillor - ThrustThrust (rapper)Chris France , better known by his stage name Thrust, is a Canadian rapper from Toronto, Ontario. He is most known for his appearance on the Rascalz' 1998 single "Northern Touch" which also features Kardinal Offishall, Choclair, and Checkmate...
, rapper - Yanic TruesdaleYanic TruesdaleYanic Truesdale is a Canadian actor best known for his portrayal of Michel Gerard in the television series Gilmore Girls, a role that prompted Daily Variety to name him one of "10 Actors to Watch".-Biography:...
, actor (Gilmore GirlsGilmore GirlsGilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
) - Kreesha TurnerKreesha TurnerKreesha Turner , is a Canadian R&B/pPop recording artist. She cites as her inspirations R&B acts such as Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and D'Angelo, hip-hop acts including A Tribe Called Quest, Andre 3000 and Common and rock acts like the Foo Fighters and Our Lady Peace.-Early life:The oldest of three...
, R&B singer
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- VanityVanity (performer)Denise Katrina Matthews , better known as Vanity, but sometimes credited as Denise Matthews-Smith or D.D. Winters, is a Canadian-born former singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and model from the 1980s until the early mid-90s...
, performer - Christian VincentChristian VincentChristian Vincent is a Canadian-American professional dancer, choreographer, actor and model. His most visible role has been as Ricky Davis on the LOGO sitcom Noah's Arc, which chronicles the lives of four gay African-American friends in Los Angeles.Vincent has also appeared in the films She's All...
, actor (Noah's Arc) - Nerene VirginNerene VirginNerene Virgin is a Canadian journalist, actress and television host, best known for her role on the children's television series Today's Special.-Background:After growing up in Toronto, Ontario, she attended Toronto Teacher's College...
, CBC anchor Network Saturday ReportSaturday ReportSaturday Report was the primary Saturday newscast aired on CBC Television and CBC Newsworld from 1982 to 2009. Jacquie Perrin was the program's most recent regular anchor, although that position had rotated frequently among CBC personalities in the newscast's later years...
, Newsworld, Newsworld InternationalNewsworld InternationalNewsworld International was a cable TV news channel broadcasting in the United States, whose content contained a mix of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and other international newscasts. The channel reached about 20 million homes and provided its audience with the news from a variety of global...
, host CTVCTV television networkCTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
, co-star of Today's SpecialToday's SpecialToday's Special is a Canadian children's television show produced by Clive VanderBurgh at TVOntario from 1982 to 1987. It also ran on Nickelodeon and the Faith and Values Channel as well as many PBS stations throughout the United States. It was set in a department store, based on the flagship... - Clement VirgoClement VirgoClément Virgo is a Canadian filmmaker of international acclaim. His latest feature, the boxing drama Poor Boy's Game, stars Danny Glover and Rossif Sutherland...
, director
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- Rinaldo WalcottRinaldo WalcottRinaldo Walcott is a Black Canadian academic and writer, currently employed as an associate professor at OISE/University of Toronto in the Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education. He was previously an assistant professor in the Division of Humanities at York University...
, professor and Canada Research Chair at OISEOiseOise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.-History:Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
/The University of Toronto - Carol WallCarol WallA long-time labour and social justice activist, Carol Wall ran for the presidency of the Canadian Labour Congress in 2005, gaining 37% of the popular vote while running against incumbent Ken Georgetti...
, social activist and labour leader - Dwight WaltonDwight WaltonDwight Walton is a former basketball player from Canada, who played at Dawson College in Montreal with teammates Trevor C. Williams, Wayne Yearwood and Boyd Bailey. He later would go on to join the Canadian National Team.Before Dawson college, Dwight Walton play basketball at Wagar High School in...
, former Team Canada Basketball player - John WareJohn WareJohn Ware was an African-American and later African-Canadian cowboy, best remembered for his ability to ride and train horses and for bringing the first cattle to southern Alberta in 1882, helping to create that province's important ranching industry.Ware was born into slavery in South Carolina...
, former slave, AlbertaAlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
cowboyCowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of... - Jackie WashingtonJackie WashingtonJackie Washington was a Canadian blues musician.Born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Washington became Canada's first black disk jockey in 1948, at CHML in Hamilton....
, bluesBluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician - Kevin WeekesKevin WeekesKevin Weekes is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who most recently played for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League . He is now a color commentator on Hockey Night in Canada, and a studio analyst for NHL on the Fly.- Player :Weekes' career began with the Owen...
, NHL goalie - Juanita Westmoreland-TraoréJuanita Westmoreland-TraoréJuanita Westmoreland-Traoré, is the first appointed black judge in the history of Quebec. She also holds the distinction of being the first black dean of a law school in Canada’s history....
, first appointed black judge in the history of Quebec - Bill WhiteBill White (Canadian politician)William Andrew White, III, OC was a Canadian composer and social justice activist, who was the first Black Canadian to run for federal office in Canada.-1949 federal election:...
, musician and political candidate - Jack WhiteJack White (politician)Jack White was a Canadian labour union activist. He was the first elected black representative of the Ironworkers, and one of the first CUPE national staff representatives from a minority background....
, union activist - Portia WhitePortia WhitePortia May White , was a singer who achieved international fame because of her voice and stage presence. As a Black Canadian, her popularity helped to open previously closed doors for talented blacks who followed....
, gospel singer - Sheila WhiteSheila White (politician)Sheila White is a Canadian political activist and a member of the New Democratic Party. She has run for office unsuccessfully five times, to date, in Toronto, Canada....
, political strategist - William A. WhiteWilliam A. WhiteReverend Captain William Andrew White, II, D.D. was an American-born Canadian missionary and World War I chaplain, the only black chaplain in the entire British Army during the war. He was the father of singer Portia White....
, only black officer of the No. 2 Construction Battalion - Denise M. Williams, gospel singer
- Desai WilliamsDesai WilliamsDesai Williams is a former sprinter from Canada, who won an Olympic bronze medal in 4 x 100 metres relay in Los Angeles 1984....
, sprinter - Janice J. Williams, gospel singer
- Stephen WilliamsStephen Williams (director)Stephen Williams is a Canadian film and television director. Williams has directed several modern day television programs including work as a regular director on the ABC drama series Lost, where he was also a co-executive producer...
, director - Tonya Lee WilliamsTonya Lee WilliamsTonya Lee Williams is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Dr. Olivia Barber Winters on the American soap opera The Young and the Restless, from 1990 to 2005, and for a brief time in 2007. She returned to the series in the fall of 2008.-Early life:Williams was born in London, England to...
, longtime actress on The Young and the RestlessThe Young and the RestlessThe Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin... - Trevor C. WilliamsTrevor C. WilliamsTrevor C. Williams is a retired Canadian basketball player.Williams is a former member of the Canadian national men's basketball team and currently the head coach of the Dawson College Lady Blues AAA basketball team in Montreal, which won a provincial championship in 2002...
, former Team Canada Basketball player - Tyrone WilliamsTyrone Williams (wide receiver)Tyrone Williams is a retired wide receiver who played in the National Football League as well as the Canadian Football League. He won two Super Bowl rings as a member of the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII, though he did not participate in either game...
, former CFL and NFL wide receiver - Nigel WilsonNigel WilsonNigel Edward Wilson is a former major league baseball player from Oshawa, Ontario. He played for the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Indians...
, baseball player (First draft pick by the Florida Marlins (2nd overall) in the 1992 Expansion Draft) - Paul Winn, human rights activist, director of Canadian Race Relations Foundation, former television personality
- Mary Matilda WinslowMary Matilda WinslowMary Matilda Winslow, sometimes referred to as Mary Matilda Winslow McAlpine ' or Tillie Winslow, was the first Black Canadian female graduate of the University of New Brunswick. She graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in Classics in 1905, ranking at the top of her class. She...
, first Black female graduate of the University of New Brunswick - Maurice Dean WintMaurice Dean WintMaurice Dean Wint is a British-born, Canadian-based actor who has starred in several television shows and movies; the most notable ones include "Cube", "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", RoboCop: Prime Directives, Psi Factor and the TekWar movies and television series.Wint moved to Canada in 1969 with...
, actor - Ken WiwaKen WiwaKen Wiwa , also known as Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr., is a Nigerian journalist and author. His book In the Shadow of a Saint is a memoir of his father, executed activist and political prisoner Ken Saro-Wiwa....
, journalist and author, and son of executed NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n political prisoner Ken Saro-WiwaKen Saro-WiwaKenule "Ken" Beeson Saro Wiwa was a Nigerian author, television producer, environmental activist, and winner of the Right Livelihood Award and the Goldman Environmental Prize... - Peter WorrellPeter WorrellPeter Worrell , is a retired professional ice hockey player. Worrell played seven seasons in the National Hockey League for the Florida Panthers and the Colorado Avalanche. During that time he was considered one of the most feared enforcers in the game.-Junior career:Worrell was a member of the...
, NHL hockey player
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- Wayne YearwoodWayne YearwoodWayne Yearwood is a former professional and Olympic basketball player from Canada, who was with the Canadian national team...
, former Team Canada Basketball player - D'bi YoungD'bi YoungD'bi Young is a Jamaican-Canadian dub poet, monodramatist, and educator, as well as a Dora-winning actor and playwright. Raised Debbie Young in Jamaica, she moved to Canada in 1993...
, dub poetDub poetryDub poetry is a form of performance poetry of West Indian origin, which evolved out of dub music consisting of spoken word over reggae rhythms in Jamaica in the 1970s.... - Marcia YoungMarcia YoungMarcia Young is a Canadian broadcast journalist and host of The World This Weekend, a national current events program on CBC Radio.-Early life:...
, CBC RadioCBC Radio OneCBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
broadcaster and host of The World This Hour