Sports
He won three world championships in either the 100 metres and 4x100-metre relay and two gold medals at the 1996 Olympics. Who is he?
Donovan Bailey was born in Jamaica and emigrated to Canada as a teenager. He is one of the country's most highly decorated track athletes and once held the world record for the 100-metre sprint.
He patented over 50 inventions including the ironing board. Who is he?
Elijah McCoy was born to former slaves who escaped to Canada from the United States. He studied mechanical engineering in Scotland and became known for inventing a device that lubricated a train's moving parts while the train was in motion. He is also credited with inventing the portable ironing boards, and held more than 50 patents in total.
She was the first woman publisher in Canada. Who was she?
Mary Ann Shadd Cary was the first woman to become a publisher in Canada. She arrived in the country as American slaves were escaping to freedom via the Underground Railroad and devoted herself to teaching the children of former slaves arriving in Canada.
She later returned to the United States and was active in the women's suffrage movement.
Who was the first black member of Parliament?
Lincoln Alexander was a lawyer, member of parliament, cabinet minister and war veteran, but he is perhaps best known as the former lieutenant governor of Ontario. Alexander was the first person from a visible minority to take on the role, and the first black member of parliament in Canadian history.
Thornton and Lucy Blackburn were slaves in the United States who escaped their Kentucky owner and settled in Detroit. They then had to escape a second time, this time to Canada, after their owner tracked them down and attempted to re-enslave them.
The Thorntons were allowed to stay in Canada after the court system refused to extradite them to the United States. ''This was seen nationally and internationally as a symbol of Upper Canada's role as a safe haven for black refugees,' Citizenship and Immigration Canada says.
Who was the first black player in the National Hockey League?
Fredericton-born Willie O'Ree was the first black player in the National Hockey League. O'Ree made his debut with the Boston Bruins in the 1957-58 season. O'Ree later played in the Western Hockey League before retiring in 1979.
This English cheese is known as the 'King of Cheeses'
Stilton
Who is one of Canada's most most acclaimed concert singers and performed for the Queen?
Portia White was an acclaimed concert singer and performed concerts across Canada, the U.S., and Central and South America. She performed for the Queen at Charlottetown's Confederation Cenre in 1964.
She is one of Canada's first black female activists and is now on the Canadian ten-dollar bill. Who is she?
Viola Davis Desmond was at the centre of one of Nova Scotia's most controversial episodes. In 1946, she refused to sit in the balcony of the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, N.S. and sat on the floor reserved exclusively for white people instead. She was arrested and found guilty of not paying the full tax on a floor-seat ticket. She was jailed and fined.
Who was the first black person to be awarded the Victoria Cross?
William Hall was the first black person to receive the Victoria Cross. He was born in Nova Scotia to former slaves who left the United States because of the War of 1812. He became a sailor in his twenties, eventually joining the Royal Navy.
He was awarded the Victoria Cross after securing a British garrison in Lucknow, India, while serving on HMS Shannon. Hall was one of two sailors to survive the attack, but was the only one able to continue to fight. He fought until the garrison was safe.
He embodied Canadian track and field during the 1960s and made important contributions to the development and promotion of amateur sport and fitness in Canada through the 1970s and early 1980s.
Harry Jerome equaled or established numerous Canadian sprint records, as well as several world records, including in the 100-metre, 100-yard, 60-yard and 4x110-yard relay disciplines. He was the first sprinter to (co-)hold the world record in both the 100-yard and 100-metre distances and was on a short list of the fastest men in the world for the better part of the decade.
His determination and perseverance have served as a point of pride for African Canadians and an inspiration for all Canadians.
Who was Canada's first licensed black physician?
Anderson Ruffin Abbott (7 April 1837 – 29 December 1913) was the first Black Canadian to be licensed as a physician. His career included participation in the American Civil War.[1][2] Significant roles included coroner of Kent County, Ontario, and surgeon-in-chief.[3]
She founded Nova Scotia's first black-owned and published newspaper the Clarion and hosted The Quiet Corner radio program. Who is she?
Nova Scotia's Carrie Best was a poet, writer, journalist and activist. She founded The Clarion, the province's first black-owned and published newspaper in Nova Scotia in 1946 and in 1952 she began hosting The Quiet Corner radio program which would run for 12 years. Best was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1979. She died in 2001.
Who is the first black Canadian Senator?
Anne Cools was the first black person to become a Canadian senator. Born in Barbados, she arrived in Canada as a teenager and studied at McGill University.
Who led a black militia during the Upper Canada rebellion of 1837?
Josiah Henson was an American slave who escaped to Canada in 1830. He devoted the rest of his life to helping other former slaves, particularly in terms of developing farms. He also led a militia unit of black men in the Upper Canadian Rebellion of 1837.
Who is the member of Canada's women national Ice Hockey team?
Sarah Nurse has become one of the most inspirational Canadian athletes of our time. As a record-breaking member of Canada’s women’s national ice hockey team, Nurse has helped secure both silver and gold medals at the PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. At present, find her on the ice playing for the Toronto Sceptres.
Who was the first black graduate of the Nova Scotia Hospital of Nursing and went onto to be appointed to the Order of Canada in 2003?
Dr. Clotilda Douglas-Yakimchuk was the first Black graduate of the Nova Scotia Hospital School of Nursing. She became the first ever elected, and only, Black president of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Nova Scotia. She founded the Black Community Development Organization and advocated for Cape Breton University to create a nursing degree program. Dr. Clotilda Douglas-Yakimchuk received several awards for her cultural and community achievements. In 2003, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada and in 2018, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Nova Scotia.
Who is one of Canada's most influential African-Canadian composers and conductors.
Nathaniel Dett's parents were both African American refugees who had fled from the U.S.A. to Canada via the Underground Railroad. Dett was a composer, conductor, and pianist. His education included an MA from the Eastman School of Music, and time at Harvard. Mr. Dett’s compositions are still performed, most notably by the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, a professional chamber choir devoted to performing Afro-centric music.
An educator, activist and politician, Jean Augustine broke barriers when she became the first Black woman to be elected to parliament in Canada in 1993. She went on to become the first Black woman in cabinet, taking on the role of minister of state for multiculturalism and the status of women. While in office, Augustine was instrumental in championing legislation to recognize February as Black History Month, a motion that passed unanimously in 1995.
One of Alberta's first black pioneers and settlers, he was famous for his skill as a cowboy. Who is he?
John Ware was a former slave who settled in Alberta and gained recognition for his skill as a cowboy. He established two ranches before his death in 1905.
Who was the first Canadian to legally break the 10 -second barrier in the 100 m?
Donovan Bailey once held the world record for the 100 metres. He recorded a time of 9.84 seconds to become Olympic champion in 1996. He was the first Canadian to legally break the 10-second barrier in the 100 m. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 as an individual athlete and in 2008 as part of the 1996 Summer Olympics 4x100 relay team.[4] In 2005, he was also inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.[5]
He invented the first internet search engine before Google was even a word. Who was he?
In 1989, Alan Emtage was graduate student at McGill University in Montreal, where he’d moved from his native Barbados. As a systems administrator in the university’s information technology department, it was his job to find software for students and faculty members—which at that time involved manually digging around the various FTP (File Transfer Protocol) servers scattered across the nascent internet. To save his own time, he wrote some code that would do the searching for him, and named his FTP search engine “ARCHIE” (after “archive”, without the “v”.)
Who is the Canadian film and television writer, producer and director who co-wrote and directed "A Book of Negros"?
Clement Virgo (born June 1, 1966) is a Canadian film and television writer, producer and director who runs the production company, Conquering Lion Pictures, with producer Damon D'Oliveira. In 2023, Virgo directed Brother, which was critically acclaimed and received numerous accolades, including a nomination at the 24th Annual Black Reel Awards for Outstanding International Film and 12 awards at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards.[1]
Who was the first Black person to serve as Governor General of Canada?
Michaëlle Jean served as Canada’s Governor General between 2005 and 2010. Born in Haiti, Jean fled with her family to Quebec in 1968, after her father was arrested and tortured by members of dictator François “Papa Doc” Duvalier’s regime. In the 1980s, she became the first Black reporter to be featured on French television network news in Canada and went on to host her own current affairs show, Michaëlle.
He was the first black man to receive the Order of Canada. Who was he?
Isaac C. Phills, OC (January 11, 1896 – March 9, 1985) was a Canadian steel worker and the first Black man to receive the Order of Canada. He served in the First World War with the 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Isaac Phills was awarded the Order of Canada in Canada's centennial year of 1967. Isaac's appointment was in the inaugural list of 90 and was the only person of African descent to be recognised in the first list.