Last month a number of Trade Unionists from Canada travelled to the second inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama. While there we attended the American History Museum where we saw exhibits about the Emancipation and the March on Washington. What struck us about the exhibits was the connection of the two events to the labour movement and that of exploited workers.
Prior to1863 Slave labour was being used in both Canada and the United States to build the countries that many people of African descent call home. In his inauguration address, President Obama bridged the gap between Emancipation and the March on Washington while looking at events of the day. Making it very apparent that while some things have changed, much has also remained the same.
The Emancipation Proclamation was a promise from the government of the Day to Black Folks. One hundred years later in 1963, the March on Washington, was a message to the American government about their failure to deliver on that promise. 2013, one hundred and fifty years later and we are still looking for the fulfilment of those promises.
Here in Canada, it has been a long struggle to win positive change for our community, but an important struggle and we have made some gains. However, as a community we are still grossly under-represented in the life and structures of mainstream Canada. An integral part of the work that the Coalition of Black Trade Unionist does is to address racism, particularly anti-Black racism faced by people of African descent in the workplace. On a daily basis right across Canada, members of our community deal with the impact of colonialism, imperialism, slavery and the historical exploitation of our labour.
We have a long history of building the Canadian labour movement and fighting for social change which goes back hundreds of years.
As trade union members, we understand that all workers and people with little economic clout, are exploited by those with financial and political power. We can not therefore, separate the work we do on behalf of working people everywhere from the struggles of African and African descendants.
We must therefore, remind the “powers that be” of promises not yet filled and take time to celebrate all of our achievements and successes and hold them high for all to see.
So today, we celebrate the work of Black Trade Unionists in Canada, who together with our community leaders fought for changes.
We celebrate the Sleeping Car Porters; celebrate the establishment of Human Rights Commissions across the country; celebrate the legislative changes brought about in the 1950’s and 60’s; celebrate the battles to expose environmental racism; the fight for Employment Equity; celebrate the rights of domestic and migrant workers, the rights for healthcare sector workers; we celebrate contributions of all the people of African descent who built the labour movement. This history must include the unpaid labour during slavery, work done by agricultural labourers and domestic workers, the work of staff and elected leadership in the labour movement.
Black History Month 2013, we celebrate our history, and hold fast to the promises of the future to fulfil the dream.
A dream where exploitation, marginalization and injustice is a thing of the past and one day our Sisters and Brothers of African Descent in the Canadian Labour Movement will be judged on their character, and be treated with the dignity and respect deserving of a people who helped to build this country and this movement.
So as we celebrate Black History Month, we look forward to the hope, promise and dream realized, right here in Canada and also for our southern neighbours.
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Honouring Our Past. Advancing Justice. Building Our Future.
On August 1, 2026, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) Canada proudly joins Black communities, trade unionists, and Canadians across the country in commemorating Emancipation Day. This year carries special significance as CBTU-Canada also celebrates its 30th Anniversary—three decades of advancing racial justice, equity, and dignity for Black workers throughout Canada.
As we celebrate this milestone, we honour those whose struggles made our progress possible while recommitting ourselves to the work that still lies ahead.
Emancipation Day marks the coming into force of the Slavery Abolition Act, which took effect on August 1, 1834, abolishing the legal enslavement of Africans throughout most of the British Empire. While this legislation represented a historic step toward freedom, it did not erase centuries of injustice or their enduring consequences. To the contrary, the Act compensated slaveholders for the loss of their property while peoples of African descent around the world continue to advocate for reparatory justice almost 200 years after the passage of the Act.
Few Canadians realize that the enslavement of Africans existed on Canadian soil for nearly 200 years before the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act. Enslaved African men, women children and peoples of African descent were bought, sold, inherited, and forced to labour in French and British colonies across the country. Their lives, labour, and humanity were treated as property under Canadian law. The abolition of slavery ended a legal institution, but it did not end the discrimination and inequality that had been built upon it.
For Black Canadians, Emancipation Day is therefore much more than a celebration of freedom. It is an opportunity to reflect honestly upon our history, recognize the extraordinary resilience and courage of our ancestors, honour those who survived unimaginable injustice, and recommit ourselves to addressing the inequalities that continue to be shaped by that history.
This year's Emancipation Day carries even greater international significance.
On March 25, 2026, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution declaring the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans (slavery) a crime against humanity. The resolution passed with 123 Member States voting in favour, three voting against, while Canada abstained.
For many Black Canadians, Canada's decision to abstain was deeply hurtful and cast doubt upon the government’s commitment to reparatory justice for our community.
Canada often speaks proudly of its commitment to human rights, equality, and justice. Yet when presented with an opportunity to stand with the overwhelming majority of the international community in recognizing one of history's greatest crimes against humanity, Canada chose not to support the resolution.
The time for Canada to fully confront its own history is long overdue.
Earlier this year, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Prime Minister Mark Carney reminded the international community that "the power of the less powerful begins with honesty." He further stated that countries have the capacity to build a future grounded in respect for human rights, solidarity, and justice, and that we must strive to build a world that is "better, stronger, and more just." Those principles speak directly to the purpose of Emancipation Day and to Canada's responsibility to confront the history of the enslavement of Africans within its own soil..
An apology alone cannot erase history.
However, an apology can acknowledge historical truth, recognize the dignity of those whose humanity was denied, and demonstrate a national commitment to ensuring that such injustices are neither forgotten nor repeated.
A federal apology should also serve as the beginning—not the end—of a meaningful national conversation about reparatory justice. The United Nations has started such a worldwide consultation process toward reparatory justice as part of the International Second Decade of Peoples of African Decent. Canada should be leading the way not abstaining. As trade unionists, we understand that social progress has never occurred by accident. Every significant advance in human rights has required ordinary people to organize, educate, advocate, and persist.
The campaign calls upon the Government of Canada to formally acknowledge its historical role in the enslavement of Africans, explain its abstention at the United Nations, issue a formal federal apology, and begin a national dialogue on reparatory justice. This campaign is about accepting historical responsibility, honouring truth, and building a Canada that more fully reflects the values of justice, equality, and human dignity that we proudly proclaim.
As CBTU-Canada celebrates thirty years of advocacy for Black workers and communities, we remain inspired by those who came before us and encouraged by the generations who continue this struggle today.
On this Emancipation Day, we remember the lives stolen by slavery.
We honour the resilience of those who survived.
We celebrate the achievements of Black Canadians who continue to shape this nation.
And we recommit ourselves to the unfinished work of justice.
Only by honestly confronting our past can we build a future worthy of the generations yet to come.
Let freedom reign on Emancipation Day.
In solidarity,
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) Canada
August 1, 2026
