The First Black . . .

• Anderson Ruffin Abbott, became the first Black Canadian physician  in 1861;
• Wayne Adams, Nova Scotia's first black MLA, Liberal;
• Lincoln Alexander, first black Member of Parliament in Canada and former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario;
• Yvonne Atwell, Nova Scotia's first black woman MLA, NDP;
• Jean Augustine, former Member of Parliament, First Black Canadian Cabinet Minister, former deputy Speaker of the House of Commons;
• Addie Aylestock, first ordained Black woman minister in Canada;
• Donovan Bailey, first Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal in the 100m sprint (1996 Atlanta);
• Emery Barnes, first black Speaker of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly and CFL defensive end;
• Lindsay Blackett, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and the province's first Black cabinet minister;
• Rosemary Brown, British Columbia legislator, and the first black woman to run for the leadership of a political party in Canada (the federal New Democratic Party);
• Ulrick Chérubin, mayor of Amos, Quebec and one of the first black mayors of any city in Quebec;
• Anne Cools, Canada's first black senator;
• Delos Davis, first Black lawyer in Canada;
• George Dixon, first black world boxing champion in any weight class;
• Keith Forde, the first visible minority Deputy Chief of Police in the history of the Toronto Police Service;
• Rose Fortune, first female police officer in Canada;
• William Hall, first Nova Scotian, and third Canadian and first black person to be awarded the Victoria Cross;
• Daniel G. Hill, sociologist and first head of the Ontario Human Rights Commission;
• Michaëlle Jean, former broadcaster and former Governor General of Canada, the first black person in Canadian history appointed to that position;
• Marlene Jennings, first black woman from Quebec to be elected to Parliament;
• Harry Jerome, runner and first Canadian to hold an official world track and field record;
• Olivier Le Jeune, believed to have been the first slave purchased in what later became Quebec;
• Sandra Levy, Olympic field hockey player;
• Daurene Lewis, first black woman mayor in North America;
• Ray Lewis, first Canadian born Black to win a medal in the Olympics;
• Howard McCurdy, Member of Parliament and the first black male to run for the leadership of a political party (the federal New Democratic Party);
• Firmin Monestime, mayor of Mattawa, Ontario and the first black mayor in Canada;
• Aaron Albert Mossell, first Black person to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School;
• Nathan Francis Mossell, first Black person to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School;
• Willie O'Ree, first black hockey player in the National Hockey League;
• Donald Oliver, first black senator from Nova Scotia;
• Stuart Parker, leader of the Green Party of British Columbia 1993 to 2000, the first (and only) black leader of a political party in Canada;
• Juliette Powell, television host and the first black Miss Canada (1989);
• Bill Riley, third Black player in NHL history;
• Mary Ann Shadd, first female newspaper publisher;
• John Ware, former slave, Alberta cowboy;
• William A. White, only black officer of the No. 2 Construction Battalion; and
• Mary Matilda Winslow, first Black female graduate of the University of New Brunswick.