Ontario is taking action to address the intergenerational impacts of slavery, an extended history of racial stigmatization and ongoing systemic racism.

The province released the Anti-Black Racism Strategy, which creates a roadmap for how government and its institutions will work to eliminate disparities for Black Ontarians in the child welfare, education and justice sectors. The strategy focuses on improving outcomes by:

• Setting long-term targets to reduce disparities for Black Ontarians in the child welfare, justice and education systems.
• Creating anti-racism tools to support transformation within the government.
• Partnering with organizations that serve a high percentage of Black Ontarians to run pilot projects to understand how anti-Black racism manifests and work in real time to address it.
• Fostering stronger relationships with the Black community.
• Increasing public awareness and understanding of systemic racism and its impacts on Black communities.

Quick Facts

• In February 2017, the Ontario government recognized the United Nations (UN) Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024), and is taking action to eliminate anti-Black racism.
• Between 2001 and 2016, Ontario’s Black population increased by more than 50 per cent, to approximately 627,000, or 5 per cent of Ontario’s population.
• Of all racialized people in Ontario under the age of 15, 20 per cent are Black.
• By 2036, racialized people will account for an estimated 48 per cent of Ontario’s population.
• The Anti-Black Racism Strategy is a commitment outlined in A Better Way Forward: Ontario’s 3-Year Anti-Racism Strategic Plan, released earlier this year, which builds on decades of activism, research and reports calling for government action to address anti-Black racism.
• Systemic racism occurs when institutions or systems create or maintain racial inequity, often as a result of hidden institutional biases in policies, practices and procedures that privilege some groups and disadvantage others.