List of Black Canadians
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This is a list of notable Black Canadians, inclusive of multiracial people who are of partially Black heritage.
[edit] A
- Anderson Ruffin Abbott, became, in 1861, the first Black Canadian physician and among a select few at the death bed of Abraham Lincoln.
- Wilson Ruffin Abbott, successful businessman and landowner in Toronto
- Wayne Adams, Nova Scotia's first black MLA, Liberal
- Zanana Akande, former Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament and cabinet minister
- Philip Akin, director
- Lincoln Alexander, first black Member of Parliament in Canada and former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
- Barbara Alexandre, actress
- Toya Alexis, R&B/pop singer and Canadian Idol season 1 finalist
- Lillian Allen, dub poet
- Jeffers Amy, actress (Degrassi: The Next Generation)
- Osborne Perry Anderson, was a resident of the Chatham-Kent area and was involved in the raid at Harper's Ferry
- Marie-Joseph Angélique, executed for setting fire to Montreal
- Joel Anthony, NBA basketball player with the Miami Heat
- Trey Anthony, playwright (Da Kink in my Hair)
- Gary Archibald, weathercaster for NBC Weather Plus and MSNBC
- Bromley Armstrong, community activist
- Yvonne Atwell, Nova Scotia's first black woman MLA, NDP
- Arnold Auguste, Share newspaper publisher
- Jean Augustine, former Member of Parliament, First Black Canadian Cabinet Minister, former deputy Speaker of the House of Commons.
- Addie Aylestock, first ordained Black woman minister in Canada
- Malcolm Azania, writer and activist
[edit] B
- Bruce B, artist, founder of RAW Records
- Matte Babel, MuchMusic VJ
- Cameron Bailey, author and film critic
- Donovan Bailey, first Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal in the 100m sprint (1996 Atlanta)
- George Bancroft, educator, civil servant and Ontario Human Rights Commissioner
- Vivian Barbot, Bloc Québécois member of parliament for the riding of Papineau
- Emery Barnes, first black Speaker of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly and CFL defensive end
- Angèle Bassolé-Ouédraogo, poet
- Gary Beals, pop singer and Canadian Idol season 1 first runner-up
- Shawn Belle, NHL prospect
- Cle Bennett, actor
- Tyrone Benskin, actor and director, and also member of parliament and national vice-president of ACTRA
- Ardon Bess, actor (Heritage Minute commercial, Trailer Park Boys, King of Kensington)
- Carrie Best, activist and humanitarian
- James Calbert Best, diplomat and public servant
- Margarett Best, Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament and Cabinet Minister
- Salome Bey, jazz, blues and gospel singer (U.S. citizen, Canadian permanent resident)
- Tim Biakabutuka, former NFL player
- Henry Bibb
- Charlie Biddle (Sr.), one of Canada's greatest bassists
- Jully Black, R&B/pop singer
- Lindsay Blackett, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and the province's first Black cabinet minister
- Cory Bowles, actor (Trailer Park Boys)
- George Boyd, playwright
- Lawrence Ytzhak Braithwaite, dub poet and novelist
- Dionne Brand, author
- Fred Brathwaite, NHL goalie
- Dian Marie Bridge, playwright/ director
- Measha Brueggergosman, opera singer
- Shelton Brooks, 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/soul singer and musical theatre performer
- Denham Brown, professional basketball player in Europe
- Rosemary Brown, British Columbia legislator, and the first black woman to run for the leadership of a political party in Canada (the federal New Democratic Party)
- 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 Bullock, fugitive from the U.S. who became a cause celebre in the 1920s
- Nate Burleson, NFL player
[edit] C
- Cadence Weapon, rapper
- Caine, Vancouver rapper
- Herb Carnegie, star of Quebec professional hockey league
- Anson Carter, NHL star
- Gerry Carter, Youngest Canadian officer (WWII), sub lieutenant of aviation
- Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, African-American boxer controversially convicted of murder, now a Canadian activist and speaker
- Mary Anne Chambers, former Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament and cabinet minister
- Keshia Chante, singer
- Gregory Charles, pop and gospel singer
- Ron Charles, television reporter for the CBC
- Ulrick Chérubin, mayor of Amos, Quebec and one of the first black mayors of any city in Quebec
- Sean Cheesman, dancer and choreographer
- Jojo Chintoh, longtime Citytv reporter
- Choclair, rapper
- Rae Dawn Chong, actress (The Color Purple)
- Jarvis Church, singer (The Philosopher Kings and solo) and music producer (Nelly Furtado)
- Austin Clarke, novelist (The Polished Hoe, Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack)
- George Elliott Clarke, poet and playwright (Whylah Falls, George and Rue)
- Caroline Cole, Vice President, Business Development Bank of Canada
- Wayde Compton, poet
- Anne Cools, Canada's first black senator
- Afua Cooper, poet and historian
- Michael Coteau, Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament
- Deborah Cox, R&B singer
- Roger Cross, actor (24)
- Alvin Curling, Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament and Speaker of the Legislature of Ontario
[edit] D
- Samuel Dalembert, NBA player
- Trevor Daley, NHL player with the Dallas Stars
- Delos Davis, first Black lawyer in Canada
- Hubert Davis, Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker
- Rob Davis, former York and Toronto city councillor
- Raven Dauda, actress (Da Kink in My Hair)
- Nigel Dawes, NHL player with the New York Rangers
- Buddy Daye, former boxer and activist in Nova Scotia
- Jonathan De Guzman, soccer player
- Julian De Guzman, soccer player
- Delio Delgado, painter/printmaker
- Simone Denny, house music vocalist
- Robert Nathaniel Dett, composer
- Rita Deverell, broadcaster and journalist, founder of Vision TV
- Devon, hip-hop musician ("Mr. Metro")
- Alpha Yaya Diallo, musician
- George Dixon, first black world boxing champion in any weight class
- Troy Dixon, actor/comedian
- Fefe Dobson, pop punk singer
- James Douglas, early governor of Vancouver Island
- Orville Lloyd Douglas, poet, writer, and journalist
- Stan Douglas, installation artist
- Ray Downey, former boxer who medalled in the 1988 Olympics
- Dream Warriors, hip hop duo
- Dwight Drummond, television journalist
- Dubmatique, Québecois rap group
- Emmanuel Dubourg, Quebec Liberal Party MNA for Viau
- Rob Ducey, former Major League Baseball player
- Alison Duke, director
- Arlene Duncan, actress/singer (Little Mosque On The Prairie)
[edit] E
- Gordon Earle, former NDP Member of Parliament for Halifax West
- Rosey Edeh, ET Canada reporter and former MSNBC meteorologist
- Esi Edugyan, novelist
- Nneka Elliott, television weathercaster for The Weather Network
- Natasha Eloi, Space science reporter
- Ray Emery, NHL goaltender
- Jonathan Emile, poet, composer & entrepreneur
- Robert Esmie, Olympic gold medalist 4x100 relay (Atlanta 1996)
[edit] F
- Lennox Farrell, community activist
- Perdita Felicien, Olympic athlete
- Melanie Fiona, R&B singer
- Farley Flex, music promoter and Canadian Idol judge
- Melyssa Ford, professional model and actress
- Keith Forde, the first visible minority Deputy Chief of Police in the history of the Toronto Police Service
- Rose Fortune, first female police officer in Canada
- Cecil Foster, novelist and sociologist
- Kofi Fosu, track athlete
- Rick Fox, NBA player
- Angela Francis, Feminist art movement
- Mayann E. Francis, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (2006- ), former director & CEO of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission
- Grant Fuhr, ex-NHL goalie elected to Hockey Hall of Fame
[edit] G
- Harry Gairey Sr, community activist
- Matt Galloway, CBC Radio host
- Ghetto Concept, hip hop group
- Mifflin Gibbs, merchant and member of Victoria City Council in the 1860s
- Glenroy Gilbert, Olympic gold medalist 4x100 relay (Atlanta 1996)
- Malcolm Gladwell, journalist
- George Godfrey, 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 Graham, actor (Degrassi: The Next Generation); artistically known as Drake
- Dirk Graham, first NHL captain of African descent
- Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, former NHL defenseman, currently playing in Europe
- Hamlin Grange, newspaper editor (Contrast), television reporter and news anchor and consultant
- Anais Granofsky, actor (Degrassi)
- Stanley G. Grizzle, judge, community activist
[edit] H
- William Hall, first Nova Scotian, and third Canadian and first black person to be awarded the Victoria Cross
- Adrian Harewood, CBC Radio journalist and host
- Josiah Henson, former slave, believed to be the inspiration for the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Daniel G. Hill, sociologist and first head of the Ontario Human Rights Commission
- Dan Hill, pop singer/songwriter
- Lawrence Hill, novelist and memoirist
- Jennifer Holness, film and television writer and producer
- Charmaine Hooper, soccer player; retired as leader in appearances and goals for the women's national team
- Jay Hope, Deputy Minister, Ontario Public Service
- Nalo Hopkinson, science fiction author
- Jennifer Hosten, Canadian High Commissioner to Grenada and diplomat
- William Peyton Hubbard, former Toronto alderman, controller and acting mayor
- Wayne Hurst, mayor of Amherstburg, Ontario
[edit] I
- Israel Idonije, defensive end for the NFL's Chicago Bears
- Marci Ien, Canada AM and CTV News Channel anchor
- Daniel Igali, Olympic gold medalist in wrestling (Sydney 2000)
- Jarome Iginla, NHL All-Star and Olympic gold medalist (Salt Lake 2002)
- Orin Isaacs, bandleader (Open Mike with Mike Bullard, The Mike Bullard Show), musician and music producer
- Tajja Isen, actress/singer (Atomic Betty)
[edit] J
- Ovid Jackson, former Member of Parliament and former mayor of Owen Sound
- Royson James, Toronto Star columnist
- Yolande James, Quebec Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities
- Olivier Jarda, singer-songwriter
- Michaëlle Jean, former broadcaster and former Governor General of Canada, the first black person in Canadian history appointed to that position
- Marlene Jennings, first black woman from Quebec to be elected to Parliament
- Harry Jerome, runner and first Canadian to hold an official world track and field record
- Ferguson Jenkins, baseball star and first Canadian elected to the (U.S.) Baseball Hall of Fame
- Ben Johnson, Olympic sprinter disqualified in 1988 drug scandal
- Clark Johnson, actor (Homicide: Life on the Street)
- Kirk Johnson, boxer
- Molly Johnson, rock and jazz vocalist
- Rocky Johnson, professional wrestler (also father of actor/wrestler Dwayne Johnson)
- Taborah Johnson, singer, actor and radio broadcaster
- Denham Jolly, entrepreneur and founder of Milestone Radio and Flow 93.5 Toronto
- Danko Jones, rock singer and guitarist
- Oliver Jones, jazz pianist
- Ron Jones, Methodist minister, fire chief, Windsor, Ontario school board trustee and city councillor, New Democratic Party activist
[edit] K
- k-os, hip-hop musician
- Tommy Kane, former NFL wide receiver
- Shadrach Kabango, hip hop artist
- Kardinal Offishall, rapper
- Peter-John Kerr, TV host and independent film maker
- Namugenyi Kiwanuka, Rogers Sportsnet basketball commentator and former MuchMusic VJ
- Maka Kotto, black author and actor from Quebec elected to Canadian Parliament in 2004 (Bloc Québécois)
[edit] L
- Dany Laferrière, novelist
- Djennie Laguerre, actress
- Artis Lane, sculptor and artist
- Sam Langford, former boxer
- Georges Laraque, NHL hockey player
- Tobi Lark, jazz, blues and gospel singer
- Scott Laurie, CTV News Channel anchor and reporter
- Delores Lawrence, entrepreneur and community leader
- Olivier Le Jeune, believed to have been the first slave purchased in what later became Quebec
- Ranee Lee, jazz singer
- Michael Lee-Chin, business leader
- Sandra Levy, Olympic field hockey player
- Andrea Lewis, actress (Degrassi: The Next Generation)
- Daurene Lewis, first black woman mayor in North America
- Glenn Lewis, R&B/pop singer
- Ray Lewis, first Canadian born Black to win a medal in the Olympics
- Murray Lightburn, rock singer/songwriter (The Dears)
- Little X, director
- Rich London, rapper
- Garry Lowe, bassist (Big Sugar)
- Nicole Lyn, actress
[edit] M
- Kandyse McClure, actress (Battlestar Galactica)
- Elijah McCoy, origin of "the real McCoy", inventor
- Howard McCurdy, Member of Parliament and the first black male to run for the leadership of a political party (the federal New Democratic Party)
- Yanna McIntosh, actress
- Tony McKegney
- Mark McKoy, Olympic gold medalist 110 m hurdles (Barcelona 1992)
- Brandon Jay McLaren, actor (Power Rangers S.P.D.)
- Tessa McWatt, novelist
- Maestro, hip-hop musician, first Canadian rapper to have a Top 40 hit
- Jamaal Magloire, NBA player
- Ahdri Zhina Mandiela, director
- Amanda Marshall, pop singer/songwriter
- Mike Marson, second Black player in NHL history
- Lesra Martin, crown attorney and speaker, involved in his youth in freeing Rubin Carter
- Russell Martin, MLB player
- Beverly Mascoll, entrepreneur and community leader
- Denise Matthews, former model, actress and lead singer of Vanity 6 turned evangelist
- Rueben Mayes, former NFL player
- Suzette Mayr, writer
- Alexis Mazurin, CBC Radio host
- Weyni Mengesha, director (Da Kink in My Hair)
- Rollie Miles, CFL player
- Shadrach Minkins, American-born fugitive slave rescued from federal custody in Boston in 1851 who settled in Montreal.
- Mojah, guitarist (Big Sugar)
- Moka Only, rapper of the Swollen Members
- Firmin Monestime, mayor of Mattawa, Ontario and the first black mayor in Canada
- Donald Willard Moore, community activist
- Paul S. Morton, pastor of St. Stephen Baptist Church in New Orleans, a church with over 20,000 members
- Aaron Albert Mossell, first Black person to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School
- Nathan Francis Mossell, first Black person to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School
- Jane Musoke-Nteyafas, poet
[edit] N
- Haydain Neale, singer (Jacksoul)
- Ray Neufeld, former NHL player
[edit] O
- Willie O'Ree, first black hockey player in the National Hockey League
- Lana Ogilvie, fashion model/TV hostess
- Donald Oliver, 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
[edit] P
- John Paris Jr., hockey coach
- Stuart Parker, leader of the Green Party of British Columbia 1993 to 2000, the first (and only) black leader of a political party in Canada
- Tyrone Parsons, actor (Trailer Park Boys)
- Stephnie Payne, community activist
- Nicole Pena, painter/educator
- Oscar Peterson, jazz pianist
- M. NourbeSe Philip, poet, novelist and essayist
- Joseph Jomo Pierre, playwright (Born Ready)
- Burr Plato, town councillor for Niagara Falls (1886-1901)
- Juliette Powell, television host and the first black Miss Canada (1989)
- Rev. Richard Preston, anti-slavery activist and founder of African Baptist Association of Nova Scotia
- Prevail, rapper of the Swollen Members
[edit] Q
- Quanteisha, R&B singer
- Quddus, MTV VJ
[edit] R
- RT!, director
- Mike Ramsay, Trustee and current Chairperson of Waterloo Region District School Board
- Rascalz, hip hop group
- Pokey Reddick, Stanley Cup Champion, Edmonton Oilers goalie
- Gloria Reuben, actress (ER)
- Jackie Richardson, jazz, blues and gospel singer
- Bill Riley, third Black player in NHL history
- Sharon Riley and Faith Chorale, gospel group
- Kenny Robinson - stand-up comedian, TV host
- George Rogers, former mayor of Leduc, Alberta, current MLA for the riding of Leduc-Beaumont-Devon
- Calvin Ruck, senator
[edit] S
- Shakura S'Aida, jazz and blues singer
- Bev Salmon, former North York city councillor
- Mairuth Sarsfield, novelist (No Crystal Stair)
- John Saunders, sports journalist for ESPN and ABC
- Alison Sealy-Smith, actress (This is Wonderland)
- Djanet Sears, playwright (Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God)
- Terese Sears, Journalist
- Olive Senior, poet and short story writer
- Mary Ann Shadd, first female newspaper publisher
- Tony Sharpe, sprinter
- Liberty Silver, R&B and jazz singer
- Makeda Silvera, novelist
- Denis Simpson, actor and children's television host (Polka Dot Door)
- Eon Sinclair, bassist (Bedouin Soundclash)
- Sean Simmonds, gospel artist
- Shawn Singleton, actor/musician
- Makyla Smith, actress (Queer as Folk)
- Frances-Anne Solomon, director
- Chris Spence, Director of Education of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and then the Toronto District School Board, previously a CFL running back
- Tony "Wild T" Springer, blues rock guitarist
- Ordena Stephens, actress (Da Kink in My Hair)
- Anthony Stewart, NHL player with the Florida Panthers
- Addena Sumter-Freitag, playwright, poet (Stay Black & Die)
- Sylvia Sweeney, television broadcaster (W-FIVE) and former basketball player
- Bruny Surin, Olympic gold medalist 4x100 relay (1996 Atlanta)
- David (Sudz) Sutherland, director (Love, Sex and Eating the Bones)
[edit] T
- Tamia, R&B singer and actress
- Bobby Taylor and his band, The Vancouvers, a popular Motown act who were instrumental in getting The Jackson 5 signed to the label and produced the earliest Jackson 5 records.
- Dione Taylor, jazz singer
- Julian Taylor, rock musician (Staggered Crossing)
- Angella Taylor-Issajenko, sprinter
- Tebey, country and pop songwriter and singer
- Michael Thompson, current Toronto city councillor
- Thrust, rapper
- Yanic Truesdale, actor (Gilmore Girls)
- Kreesha Turner, R&B singer
[edit] V
- Vanity, performer
- Christian Vincent, actor (Noah's Arc)
- Nerene Virgin, CBC anchor Network Saturday Report, Newsworld, Newsworld International, host CTV, co-star of Today's Special
- Clement Virgo, director
[edit] W
- Rinaldo Walcott, professor and Canada Research Chair at OISE/The University of Toronto
- Carol Wall, social activist and labour leader
- Dwight Walton, former Team Canada Basketball player
- John Ware, former slave, Alberta cowboy
- Jackie Washington, blues musician
- Kevin Weekes, NHL goalie
- Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré, first appointed black judge in the history of Quebec
- Bill White, musician and political candidate
- Jack White, union activist
- Portia White, gospel singer
- Sheila White, political strategist
- William A. White, only black officer of the No. 2 Construction Battalion
- Denise M. Williams, gospel singer
- Desai Williams, sprinter
- Janice J. Williams, gospel singer
- Stephen Williams, director
- Tonya Lee Williams, longtime actress on The Young and the Restless
- Trevor C. Williams, former Team Canada Basketball player
- Tyrone Williams, former CFL and NFL wide receiver
- Nigel Wilson, 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 Winslow, first Black female graduate of the University of New Brunswick
- Maurice Dean Wint, actor
- Ken Wiwa, journalist and author, and son of executed Nigerian political prisoner Ken Saro-Wiwa
- Peter Worrell, NHL hockey player
[edit] Y
- Wayne Yearwood, former Team Canada Basketball player
- D'bi Young, dub poet
- Marcia Young, CBC Radio broadcaster and host of The World This Hour
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- Williams, Dawn P (2006), Who's who in Black Canada two, Volume 2, D.P. Williams, ISBN 0973138424, http://books.google.ca/books?id=_UtdQ6NsvYkC&lpg=PA291&dq=Black%20Canadians&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true
