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They Not Like U.S.
The myth of Canada’s racial innocence
Canada is often portrayed as much more racially tolerant than the United States.
But this national mythology masks a deep-rooted history and present reality of the anti-Black racism of our neighbors up north.
Did you know there was slavery in Canada? Discriminatory immigration policies? Systemic inequities? And the erasure of Black voices?
The U.S. obviously has a dark history when it comes to race. And it maintains systems today that still produce racially disparate results.
But Canada likes to fly under the shadow of America’s ugly racism while proclaiming how peaceful and loving they are. “Look at the U.S.,” they say all while pretending racism isn’t a Canadian thing.
The facts tell a different story.
Canada’s Racist History
Under British and French rule, Canadians enslaved Black men, women and children for 200 years, from the 1600s all the way to 1834.
Canadians brag about their history as the final destination of the Underground Railroad but conveniently ignores its own history of the enslavement of Black and indigenous populations. I recommend reading Canada’s Forgotten Slaves: Two Centuries of Bondage by Marcel Trudel if you…
