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Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present now open

A black and white photo of a Black woman seated on a piano bench, twisted three-quarters towards a group of Black students. The students are seated in a semicircle in metal folding chairs and are holding notebooks. A table with two pens, a notebook with the top page filled with writing and a ripped piece of a poster is behind the students. Partially obscured.

Photo: Graeme Clyke, Concordia University Library, Special Collections and Archives

Discussions about the history of the European slave trade often focuses on Canada as a safe haven, commonly known as a destination on the Underground Railroad, where enslaved people fleeing the United States could expect freedom and the chance to build lives, families and community. However, Canada has its own history of enslavement. For more than 200 years, people of African descent and Indigenous nations in North America were kidnapped and trafficked under French and British rule across the country. Abolition happened across the British Empire in 1834, though it would take many years for legalized slavery to end and decades for racist policies to change. The legacies of racism, colonialism, and slavery continue to impact generations of people. This resource guide provides a selection of books, documentaries, articles and more that examine the immediate and intergenerational impacts of Canada’s involvement in the European slave‐trade.

Books

Many books for adults, children and young adults have been written on this topic. We’ve compiled a list below and have also made it available via Worldcat. You can use Worldcat to find the nearest library to you that holds the title.

Lived experience and identity‐based research are crucial when presenting history, as well as authentic representation. Titles indicated with an asterisk (*) identify that the text was written by a writer of African descent. 

Books for Adults

  • Africville: The Life and Death of a Canadian Black Community
    Clairmont, Donald H. J., and Dennis W. Magill. Africville: The Life and Death of a Canadian Black Community. McClelland and Stewart, 1974.
  • An Enduring Heritage: Black Contributions to Early Ontario
    Fish, Susan, and Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture. An Enduring Heritage: Black Contributions to Early Ontario. Dundurn Press, 1984.
  • Anti‐slavery Issues in Canada, 1830–1870: A Selective Bibliography
    National Library of Canada and National Archives of Canada. Anti‐slavery Issues in Canada, 1830–1870: A Selective Bibliography. National Library of Canada, 2001.
  • Biographical Dictionary of Enslaved Black People in the Maritimes
    Whitfield, Harvey Amani. Biographical Dictionary of Enslaved Black People in the Maritimes. University of Toronto Press; Acadiensis Press, 2022.*
  • Black Harbour: Slavery and the Forgotten Histories of Black People in Newfoundland and Labrador
    Barrett, Heather, and Xaiver Campbell. Black Harbour: Slavery and the Forgotten Histories of Black People in Newfoundland and Labrador. Boulder Books, 2023.*
  • Black Islanders: Prince Edward Island’s Historical Black Community
    Hornby, Jim, and University of Prince Edward Island Institute of Island Studies. Black Islanders: Prince Edward Island’s Historical Black Community. Institute of Island Studies, 1991.
  • Black Then: Blacks and Montreal, 1780s‐1880s
    Mackey, Frank. Black Then: Blacks and Montreal, 1780s‐1880s. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004.
  • Blacks in Canada: A History
    Winks, Robin W. and George Elliott Clarke. Blacks in Canada: A History. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2021.*
  • Blacks in Montreal, 1628–1986: An Urban Demography
    Williams, Dorothy W. Blacks in Montreal, 1628–1986: An Urban Demography. D.W. Williams, 2008.*
  • Canada’s Forgotten Slaves: Two Centuries of Bondage
    Trudel, Marcel, and Micheline d’Allaire. Canada’s Forgotten Slaves: Two Centuries of Bondage. Translated by George Tombs, Véhicule Press, 2013.
  • Cross‐Border Cosmopolitans: The Making of a Pan‐African North America
    Adjetey, Wendell Nii Laryea. Cross‐Border Cosmopolitans: The Making of a Pan‐African North America. The University of North Carolina Press, 2023.*
  • Deux siècles d’esclavage au Québec
    Trudel, Marcel, and Micheline d’Allaire. Deux siècles d’esclavage au Québec. Bibliothèque québécoise, 2009.
  • Dictionnaire des esclaves et de leurs propriétaires au Canada français
    Trudel, Marcel. Dictionnaire des esclaves et de leurs propriétaires au Canada français. Hurtubise HMH, 1990.
  • Done with Slavery: The Black Fact in Montreal, 1760–1840
    Mackey, Frank. Done with Slavery: The Black Fact in Montreal, 1760–1840. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2010.
  • Emancipation Day: Celebrating Freedom in Canada
    Henry‐Dixon, Natasha L. Emancipation Day: Celebrating Freedom in Canada. Natural Heritage Books, 2010.*
  • Every Goodbye Ain’t Gone: A Photo Narrative of Black Heritage on Salt Spring Island
    White, Evelyn C., and Joanne Bealy. Every Goodbye Ain’t Gone: A Photo Narrative of Black Heritage on Salt Spring Island. Dancing Crow Press, 2009.*
  • Go Do Some Great Thing: The Black Pioneers of British Columbia
    Kilian, Crawford. Go Do Some Great Thing: The Black Pioneers of British Columbia. Harbour Publishing, 2021.
  • Historic Black Nova Scotia
    Pachai, Bridglal, and Henry Bishop. Historic Black Nova Scotia. Nimbus, 2006.*
  • In the Light of Dawn: The History and Legacy of a Black Canadian Community
    Carter, Marie. In the Light of Dawn: The History and Legacy of a Black Canadian Community. University of Regina Press, 2025.
  • I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad
    Smardz Frost, Karolyn. I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007.
  • L’esclavage et les Noirs à Montréal, 1760–1840
    Mackey, Frank. L’esclavage et les Noirs à Montréal, 1760–1840. Hurtubise, 2013.
  • La pendaison d’Angélique : L’histoire de l’esclavage au Canada et de l’incendie de Montréal
    Cooper, Afua. La pendaison d’Angélique : L’histoire de l’esclavage au Canada et de l’incendie de Montréal. Les Éditions de l’Homme, 2007.*
  • Le contrat racial
    Mills, Charles W. Le contrat racial. Translated by Aly Ndiaye (a.k.a. Webster), Mémoire d’encrier, 2023.
  • Les loyalistes noirs et la guerre d’indépendance des États‐Unis : étude comparée d’une communauté réfugiée au Canada, 1775–1815
    Thiam‐Pereira, Seynabou. Les loyalistes noirs et la guerre d’indépendance des États‐Unis : étude comparée d’une communauté réfugiée au Canada, 1775–1815. Éditions Honoré Champion, 2025.*
  • Les Noirs à Montréal, 1628–1986 : Essai de démographie urbaine
    Williams, Dorothy W., and Pierre DesRuisseaux. Les Noirs à Montréal, 1628–1986 : Essai de démographie urbaine. VLB, 1998.*
  • Les Noirs du Québec, 1629–1900
    Gay, Daniel. Les Noirs du Québec, 1629–1900. Les éditions du Septentrion, 2010.*
  • NoirEs sous surveillance : Esclavage, répression et violence d’état au Canada
    Maynard, Robyn. NoirEs sous surveillance : Esclavage, répression et violence d’état au Canada. Translated by Catherine Ego, Mémoire d’encrier, 2018.*
  • North to Bondage: Loyalist Slavery in the Maritimes
    Whitfield, Harvey Amani. North to Bondage: Loyalist Slavery in the Maritimes. UBC Press, 2016.*
  • Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present
    Maynard, Robyn. Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present. Fernwood Publishing, 2017.
  • Questions concernant l’antiesclavagisme au Canada, 1830–1870 : Une bibliographie sélective
    Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, and Archives nationales du Canada. Questions concernant l’antiesclavagisme au Canada, 1830–1870 : Une bibliographie sélective. Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001.
  • Razing Africville: A Geography of Racism
    Nelson, Jennifer J. Razing Africville: A Geography of Racism. University of Toronto Press, 2008.
  • Slavery, Geography and Empire in Nineteenth‐Century Marine Landscapes of Montreal and Jamaica
    Nelson, Charmaine. Slavery, Geography and Empire in Nineteenth‐Century Marine Landscapes of Montreal and Jamaica. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016.*
  • The Freedom‐Seekers: Blacks in Early Canada
    Hill, Daniel G. The Freedom‐Seekers: Blacks in Early Canada. Stoddard Publishing Co. Limited, 1995.*
  • The Hanging of Angélique: The Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montréal
    Cooper, Afua. The Hanging of Angélique: The Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montréal. University of Georgia Press, 2006.*
  • The History of Blacks in Canada: A Selectively Annotated Bibliography
    Junne, George. The History of Blacks in Canada: A Selectively Annotated Bibliography. Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc, 2003.*
  • The Promised Land: History and Historiography of the Black Experience in Chatham-Kent’s Settlements and Beyond
    Cooper, Afua. The Promised Land: History and Historiography of the Black Experience in Chatham-Kent’s Settlements and Beyond. Edited by Nina Reid‐Maroney et al. University of Toronto Press, 2014.*
  • The Racial Contract
    Mills, Charles W. The Racial Contract. Cornell University Press, 2014.
  • The Road to Now: A History of Blacks in Montreal
    Williams, Dorothy W. The Road to Now: A History of Blacks in Montreal. Véhicule Press, 2006.*
  • Unsettling the Great White North: Black Canadian History
    Aladejebi, Funké, and Michele A. Johnson. Unsettling the Great White North: Black Canadian History. University of Toronto Press, 2022.*

Books for Young Adults and Children

  • Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians: Inspiring Stories of Courage and Achievement
    Ruck, Lindsay. Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians: Inspiring Stories of Courage and Achievement. Illustrated by James Bentley, Nimbus Publishing, 2021.*
  • Black Heritage
    Livesey, Robert, and A. G. Smith. Black Heritage. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2006.
  • Des Canadiens noirs célèbres
    Heikel, Ramona. Des Canadiens noirs célèbres. Translated by Nathalie Thompson, Coast2Coast2Coast series, Beech Street Books, 2023.
  • Enslaved People in Canada
    Kentner, Julie. Enslaved People in Canada. Coast 2 Coast 2 Coast series, Beech Street Books, 2020.
  • Famous Black Canadians
    Heikel, Ramona. Famous Black Canadians. Coast 2 Coast 2 Coast series, Beech Street Books, 2020.
  • L’esclavage au Canada
    Kentner, Julie. L’esclavage au Canada. Translated by Nathalie Thompson, Coast 2 Coast 2 Coast series, Beech Street Books, 2023.
  • Movers, Shakers, History Makers: The Canadian Black History Book of Rhyme
    Newton, Akilah, and Danielle Murrell Cox. Movers, Shakers, History Makers: The Canadian Black History Book of Rhymes. Akilah Newton Projects Inc. / Big Dreamers, 2021.*
  • Talking About Freedom: Celebrating Emancipation Day in Canada
    Henry, Natasha L. Talking About Freedom: Celebrating Emancipation Day in Canada. Dundurn Natural Heritage, 2012.
  • The ABCs of Black Stories in Canada
    Williams, Dorothy W. The ABCs of Black Stories in Canada. Illustrated by Joseph Osei Bonsu, DC Canada Education Publishing, 2026.*
  • The Kids Book of Black History in Canada
    Sadlier, Rosemary. The Kids Book of Black History in Canada. Illustrated by Arden Taylor, Revised and updated edition, Kids Can Press, 2024.*

Resources for Teachers

Documentaries, Films and Podcasts

Articles, Academic Papers and Research

Research Projects and Reports

Articles

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