Black Conservatism in Canada

A Brief History Of Black Canadian Conservatism

Canadian conservative thought is rooted in British Toryism which believes in traditional national principals, social cohesion and order. It can be argued that the first Black Canadians to subscribe to this political philosophy were the Black Loyalists. These were people of African descent who sided with and fought for the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).

Over 3,000 Black Loyalists were evacuated from New York to Nova Scotia, which at the time was a British colony. Black Loyalists were given certificates of freedom and the Crown provided them with land grants and supplies to assist with their resettlement in Nova Scotia. The Black Nova Scotian or African Nova Scotian community are ancestors of the Black Loyalists.

Black Canadians came to Canada in various waves of immigration. This includes former enslaved African-Americans that came to Canada via the Underground Railway. Particularly after 1967*, with each new wave of migration to Canada, Black immigrants, primarily from Africa and the Caribbean, were often from countries that were former French and English colonies. So, many Black immigrants had conservative political values that were similar to those that could be found in Quebec and the rest of Canada. These conservative values include fiscal conservativism, opportunity, self-reliance, faith and family. Moreover, many Black Canadians came to the country to escape political tyranny and economic injustice that is the antithesis of conservative tenets such as: respect for the rule of law; robust capitalism; fairness; and personal freedom.

With conservative philosophy and beliefs rooted in many Black immigrant families, Black conservative politicians began to emerge. Many Black conservative politicians have made significant contributions to Canada. These notable Black conservative politicians are highlighted below: