Black Canadians - Settlements

Settlements

Although many Black Canadians live in integrated communities, there have also been a number of notable Black communities, both as unique settlements and as Black-dominated neighbourhoods in urban centres.

The most famous and historically documented Black settlement in Canadian history is the community of Africville, a district located at the northern end of peninsular Halifax, Nova Scotia, which was demolished in the 1960s to facilitate the urban expansion of the city. Similarly, the Hogan's Alley neighbourhood in Vancouver was largely demolished in 1970, with only a single small laneway in Strathcona remaining.

The Wilberforce Colony in Ontario was also a historically Black settlement, which evolved demographically as Black settlers moved away and eventually became the Irish-dominated village of Lucan. A small group of Black settlers were also the original inhabitants of Saltspring Island.

Other notable Black settlements include North Preston in Nova Scotia, Priceville, Shanty Bay and parts of Chatham-Kent in Ontario such as South Buxton and Dresden, the Maidstone/Eldon area in Saskatchewan and Amber Valley in Alberta. North Preston currently has the highest concentration of Black Canadians in Canada, many of whom are descendants of Africville residents.

One of the most famous Black-dominated urban neighbourhoods in Canada is Montreal's Little Burgundy, regarded as the spiritual home of Canadian jazz due to its association with many of Canada's most influential early jazz musicians. In Toronto, many Blacks settled in St. John's Ward, a district which was located in the city's core. Others preferred to live in York Township, on the outskirts of the city. By 1850, there were more than a dozen Black businesses along King Street; the modern-day equivalent is Little Jamaica along Eglinton Avenue, which contains one of the largest concentrations of Black businesses in Canada.

Several urban neighbourhoods in Toronto, including Jane and Finch, Rexdale, Malvern, St. James Town, and Lawrence Heights, are popularly associated with Black Canadians, although all are much more racially diverse than is commonly believed. The Toronto suburbs of Brampton and Ajax also have sizeable black populations, which have migrated outward from Toronto over the last five to seven years. (Ajax has the highest percentage of blacks of any municipality of 5,000 or more in Canada, with 13%.) The Greater Toronto Area is home to a highly educated middle to upper middle class black population who continue to migrate out of the city limits, into surrounding suburbs.

Below is a list of provinces by the number of Black Canadians in each province with percentages.