Twenty. That’s it. That’s the total number of Black Canadians ever elected to the House of Commons of Canada. There have been 372 Johns and 77 Jeans. You can easily find data on women parliamentarians, members of Parliament with military experience and even parliamentarians who have died in office. However, you’d be hard-pressed to find a complete list of Black Canadians in politics, never mind a comprehensive account of their experiences.
Because of their relative absence from accounts of Canada’s political history, Black Canadians’ contributions to politics are often overlooked or ignored. This erasure prevents governments, political parties, and researchers from crafting strategies to address political inequality.
When we lack relevant racial data on political candidacy and electoral outcomes, we can’t track progress or identify barriers. And when Black Canadians aren’t present in politics, public policies are less likely to reflect their circumstances and less responsive to their needs.
Groundbreaking new research from Carleton University and Operation Black Vote Canada aims to change that. Through archival research, a survey and more than 30 in-depth interviews, our report, Black on the Ballot documents the presence, backgrounds, motivations and experiences of Black Canadians in politics. Here’s what we found.
