UMUCCA Newsletter
In 1979, Toronto became the first municipality in Canada to proclaim Black History Month through the efforts of many individuals and organizations such as the Ontario Black History Society.
Source [The City of Toronto]
In 2021, 1.5 million people in Canada were reported to be Black. Overall, the Black population reported more than 300 different ethnic or cultural origins in the Canadian census. Of this population, 40.9% reported Canada as their main country of birth, and many have had ancestors in the country for several generations.
Nearly one-third (32.6%) of the Black population was born in Africa, including Nigeria (7.1%), Ethiopia (2.8%) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2.4%), while 21.0% were born in the Caribbean and Bermuda, mostly in Jamaica (8.8%) and Haiti (7.2%).
Among Black immigrants, 23.7% were admitted into Canada from 2016 to 2021, and 17.8% arrived from 2011 to 2015. The remaining share (36.1%) came to Canada before the 2000s.
Source[Statistics Canada]