Segregation in Canada

Though slavery was abolished throughout the British empire in 1833, racism gained ground as the memory of enslavement receded. Whereas in some communities segregation was not readily apparent, in others it became the norm. Discriminatory rules and practices were put in place that limited, according to racial criteria, access to jobs, businesses, and housing. Schools also became places of racial segregation: some public schools were reserved for Black people, mainly because of pressure brought to bear by a number of white families. Such stigmatization also gave rise to the establishment of separate houses of worship: the Second Baptist Church came into existence in Nova Scotia in 1903 because Black people were not welcome at the First Baptist Church. Black people were not the only victims of segregation, but also Asians, particularly in British Columbia, as well as Indigenous people, who were kept together in reserves. These oppressed groups organized to fight against problems of racial discrimination and segregation, a battle that would stretch far into the future.