Cameron Miranda
Although Canada has always been considered a forward-thinking land of freedom, it has a history of racial segregation. While there were no official Jim Crow laws, segregation was enforced through informal laws, court decisions, and social norms. This included the segregation of Black and White communities, as well as the removal of Aboriginal peoples to reserves. Segregation was also present in education, employment, housing, transportation, healthcare, and commercial establishments. In recent years, Canada has seen an increase in police-reported hate crimes, with racial profiling occurring in cities such as Halifax, Toronto, and Montreal.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Segregation laws | No official laws, but segregation was enforced through other laws, court decisions, and social norms. |
| Segregation in education | Yes, several provinces including Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia had segregated schools. Segregation in schools was upheld by provincial court systems. |
| Segregation in post-secondary institutions | Yes, some universities banned Black students from certain programs or admission altogether. |
| Segregation in the military | Yes, Canada's military had a segregated all-Black Battalion, and the Armed Forces denied Black volunteers until 1939. |
| Segregation in healthcare | Yes, Black women were denied admission to nursing schools, and those who could train were restricted to treating Black patients. |
| Segregation in public spaces | Yes, including in theatres and restaurants. |
| Segregation in employment | Yes, Black workers were paid less than White workers and had limited job opportunities. |
| Segregation in housing | Yes, Black communities were often settled outside urban areas, and racial segregation of residential neighbourhoods was common. |
| Racial profiling by law enforcement | Yes, Black individuals are more likely to be carded and incarcerated than White individuals. |
| Hate crimes | Yes, the number of police-reported hate crimes increased by 32% in 2023, with crimes motivated by race or ethnicity totaling 2,128 cases. |
| Racial discrimination | Yes, racialized individuals in Canada face discrimination in various areas, including employment and housing. |
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What You'll Learn
Segregation in education
While Canada did not have segregation (Jim Crow) laws like those in the United States, segregation did exist in the country. Several provinces, including Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia, had segregated schools. In 1850, an amendment to the Common School Act allowed for the creation of racially segregated schools. This amendment included the Separate School Clause, which allowed for the separation of different religions and races.
Racial segregation in education was reinforced and maintained by Ontario's provincial court system. Once the precedent of racially segregated schools was established, the courts upheld the practice. When Black parents sued common school trustees, their children were still refused admission to white schools. In Nova Scotia, there were amendments in the 1880s that did not allow Black children to be excluded from the schools where they lived. However, segregation in schools continued due to the racial segregation of residential neighbourhoods, especially in areas with many Black residents, such as Halifax. In some extreme cases, Black children were not allowed to access any local public schools in towns such as Fundy, where no separate school existed. The original provisions of racial segregation in education remained law in Nova Scotia until 1950.
Ontario and Nova Scotia were the only provinces to legislate racially segregated schools. However, informal segregation was present in other provinces, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. It was a common practice for white residents to deny Black families access to local public schools, and intimidation tactics were used to discourage Black parents from sending their children to these schools.
Racial segregation and exclusion were not limited to elementary and secondary schooling. They were also found and enforced in many post-secondary school institutions. For example, Queen's University banned Black students from admission into the medical program in 1918, claiming that racially intolerant local white residents would not want to have any physical contact with Black doctors. Additionally, until the 1940s, Black women were denied admission to nursing schools, as white patients did not want to be touched by Black nurses.
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Segregation in employment
While Canada did not have segregation (Jim Crow) laws like in the United States, segregation did exist in the country. This was historically enforced through laws, court decisions, and social norms. Segregation in employment was prevalent, with white business owners and even provincial and federal government agencies often refusing to hire Black people, with explicit rules preventing their employment.
Black workers were systematically denied membership in trade unions, and worker protections were reserved exclusively for whites. In 1911, the Edmonton city council passed a motion to end further Black immigration, claiming that Black and white Albertans could not coexist. In addition, Black people were relegated to working in the service sector as barbers, waiters, labourers, janitors, domestic servants, and sleeping car porters, regardless of their education or qualifications.
In the early 1900s, Alberta experienced an increased rate of Black immigration from the United States, partially due to Black fur traders seeking employment. However, they faced discrimination in various sectors. For example, in 1923, the Chinese Exclusion Act went into effect, making it difficult for Chinese Canadians like Yee Clun, an émigré to Regina, to hire employees.
In the healthcare sector, racial segregation in hospitals was also prevalent. Indigenous peoples of Canada were treated in racially segregated hospitals called "Indian hospitals" or segregated wards in regular hospitals. Additionally, blood transfusions were segregated based on the donor's race until the 1960s, with blood from Black individuals perceived as inferior and unsafe for use in white recipients.
In conclusion, while Canada did not have formal segregation laws, racial discrimination in employment was widespread, with Black and other racialized individuals facing explicit hiring barriers, exclusion from trade unions, and relegation to specific sectors, regardless of their qualifications.
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Segregation in housing
Although Canada did not have the same kind of Jim Crow laws as the United States, segregation did exist in the country and was enforced through laws, court decisions, and social norms. One example of this is a 1939 Supreme Court ruling which allowed private businesses to discriminate. This ruling came after Fred Christie, a Black man, was refused service in a Montreal bar in 1936. Christie sued the bar and won, but the ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada, which stated that bars and restaurants had a right to refuse service to anyone.
Racial segregation in Canada was also enforced through land titles that used covenant clauses to prevent the sale or rental of property to Black people and other racialized groups. For instance, a clause in Vancouver real estate deeds, included as late as 1965, stated that the property could not be sold or rented to "any person of Chinese, Japanese or other Asiatic race or to any Indian or Negro." In the 1920s, city officials in Calgary, Alberta, wrote restrictive contract clauses to prevent Black residents from purchasing homes outside of the boundaries of the railway yards. In addition, some Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia and Ontario did not receive any promised land grants, and those who did were given smaller allotments of poorer quality land in segregated areas.
Residential segregation in Canada was also influenced by social and economic factors. For example, French-language retention was found to be highest in Québec City, Montréal, Trois-Rivières, and Ottawa, and the concentrations of the French-speaking population in these cities were also the highest. Similarly, recent immigrants from low-status, non-white racial groups were found to live near the center of cities, while higher-status families, such as the British, tended to live in the suburbs.
In addition to facing discrimination in housing and education, Black Canadians were also subject to segregation in employment. Black men and women were often restricted to working in the service sector, regardless of their education or qualifications.
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Segregation in healthcare
Canada has long been regarded as a forward-thinking, multicultural society where citizens are free from racial discrimination. However, while Canada did not have segregation (Jim Crow) laws like those in the United States, segregation and racial discrimination did exist and persist in the country.
Racial segregation in Canada was historically enforced through laws, court decisions, and social norms. Even after the abolition of slavery in 1834, the segregation of Black people continued for many years, justified by ideas of racial inferiority. Segregation was enforced differently across the country, depending on the province or local community.
One example of segregation in healthcare in Canada is the exclusion of Black people from nursing schools until the 1940s. The justification for this discriminatory practice was that white patients did not want to be touched by Black nurses. In some places, such as Montreal, Black women who were able to train as nurses were restricted to treating only Black patients.
Another example is Queen's University's ban on Black students from its medical program in 1918. The university claimed that racially intolerant local white residents would not want physical contact with Black doctors. The influence of the American Medical Association, which did not welcome Black physicians until the late 1960s, also played a role in this decision. This restriction remained in place until 1965 and was only removed from the books in 2018, though it was no longer enforced.
In addition to educational segregation, racial inequality in access to healthcare services in Canada is also prevalent. This inequality is often indirect and systemic, influenced by socio-economic factors, under-representation of racialised groups in medicine, communication barriers, and evidence of discrimination in clinical decision-making.
Furthermore, a study on COVID-19 vaccination in Black individuals in Canada found that 32.55% of participants experienced racial discrimination in healthcare services. This discrimination was associated with lower COVID-19 vaccination rates, higher vaccine mistrust, conspiracy beliefs, COVID-19-related stressors, and adverse mental health outcomes.
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Segregation in entertainment
While Canada did not have the same kind of Jim Crow segregation laws as the United States, racial segregation did exist in the country and was enforced through laws, court decisions, and social norms. Segregation in entertainment is evident when examining the history of racial segregation in Canada.
In 1939, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that bars and restaurants had the right to refuse service to anyone. This ruling was the result of a case brought by Fred Christie, a Black man who was denied service in a Montreal bar in 1936. The court's decision effectively allowed private businesses to discriminate against customers based on race.
In the early 20th century, racial segregation was also present in Canadian universities. For example, Queen's University in Kingston banned Black students from enrolling in its medical program in 1918, citing concerns from racially intolerant local white residents about physical contact with Black doctors. This ban remained in place until 1965, and it was only in 2018 that it was formally removed from the university's policy books. McGill University, Queen's University, and the University of Toronto also admitted Black male students before the American Civil War, but this changed along with shifting attitudes in the 1900s.
Additionally, racial segregation in Canadian society extended beyond just educational and employment settings. It was prevalent in various aspects of public life, including stores and public services, until 1965 in provinces like Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. This segregation was not limited to a specific province or community but varied across the country.
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Frequently asked questions
While Canada never passed official segregation laws, it was affected by the racism that was prevalent across North America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Segregation was enforced through laws, court decisions, and social norms.
Segregation was enforced through various means, including legislation regarding relationships between white and non-white races, and segregation of blacks and whites within public spaces, such as schools, theatres, and restaurants.
Yes, several provinces, including Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia, had segregated schools. In Nova Scotia, there were amendments in the 1880s that did not allow Black children to be excluded from the schools where they lived. However, segregation in schools continued due to the racial segregation of residential neighbourhoods. The last segregated school in Canada closed in 1983 just outside Halifax, in Lincolnville, Nova Scotia.
Yes, segregation was also found in post-secondary school institutions. For example, Queen's University banned Black students from admission into the medical program in 1918. Additionally, Black women were denied admission to nursing schools until the 1940s.
