By Erin Fowler, William Zeh Herbig, Karen Jordan
September 27, 2023
By many accounts, Toronto, Canada is the most multicultural city in the world. More than 200 ethnic groups are represented amongst the more than three million residents who call Toronto home, and 4.3 percent of residents identify as Black, per the 2021 Canadian Census. Although many may consider Canada to be a model of multiculturalism, Canada, in fact, has a long history of colonialism. Deep and systemic structural racism continues to permeate all facets of life across Toronto.
To help document and build awareness around the legacy of this little-known history, ULI Toronto, in partnership with The Black Planning Project, embarked on an 18-month research project to track historical Black displacement in Toronto. The focus, the neighborhood of Mount Dennis, is one of the city’s most diverse areas and the primary entry point for Black individuals and families immigrating and starting new lives in Canada.
The ULI team set out to research and document historical Black settlement and displacement in the Toronto area. “We wanted to ask questions [about] what the legacy barriers are facing Black populations living in the city today, and what are the enduring impacts of these barriers on the population’s ability to survive and thrive in our city going forward,” says Abigail Moriah, founder of The Black Planning Project and chair of the ULI Toronto program…
