July 24, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Remembrance and Resilience - August 1st, 2025
On March 24, 2021, Canada’s House of Commons voted unanimously to recognize August 1 as Emancipation Day. It marks the day when the British Empire abolished the practice of slavery for close to a million African people and their descendants across the former colonies in 1834. Different countries recognize different dates for Emancipation Day.
After years of campaigning by Black legislators and community advocates, Canada officially marked the abolishment of slavery nearly 200 years ago. However, many Canadians aren’t aware Indigenous people were enslaved along with African people on the land that is now Canada.
Those who fought enslavement are pivotal in shaping our society to be as diverse as it is today. Emancipation Day honours the strength and perseverance of Black communities in Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement on Emancipation Day in 2021, “despite the abolition of enslavement nearly two centuries ago, the legacy of anti-Black racism is still prevalent today, entrenched in our institutions, policies and practices. Canada’s history of enslavement, racial segregation and marginalization of people of African descent is a part of Canadian history that is often forgotten, functionally normalizing institutional and systemic forms of racism or rendering them invisible.”
Events Happening across Canada:
LONDON
DRESDEN
MANITOBA
In Solidarity,
BIWOC COMMITTEE
Yolanda Cornwall, Chairperson
Leanne Sookram, Co-Chairperson
Astraea Sam, Secretary
David Olawale, Liaison to the Executive Board