Famous Black Canadians

Actors and directors
Philip Akin, director
Jeffers Amy, actress Degrassi: The Next Generation
Barbara Alexandre, actress
Ardon Bess, actor Heritage Minute commercial, Trailer Park Boys, King of Kensington
Cle Bennett, actor
Cory Bowles, actor Trailer Park Boys
Rae Dawn Chong, actress The Color Purple
Roger Cross, actor 24
Hubert Davis, Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker
Raven Dauda, actress Da Kink in My Hair
Troy Dixon, actor/comedian
Alison Duke, Director
Arlene Duncan, actress/singer Little Mosque On The Prairie
Melyssa Ford, professional model and actress
Aubrey Graham, actor Degrassi: The Next Generation
Clark Johnson, actor Homicide: Life on the Street
Djennie Laguerre, actress
Andrea Lewis, actress Degrassi: The Next Generation
Little X, director
Kandyse McClure, actress Battlestar Galactica
Yanna McIntosh, actress
Brandon Jay McLaren, actor Power Rangers S.P.D.
Ahdri Zhina Mandiela, director
Weyni Mengesha, director Da Kink in My Hair
Tyrone Parsons, actor Trailer Park Boys
Gloria Reuben, actress ER
RT!, director
Alison Sealy-Smith, actress This is Wonderland
Denis Simpson, actor and children's television host Polka Dot Door
Shawn Singleton, actor/musician
Frances-Anne Solomon, director
Ordena Stephens, actress Da Kink in My Hair
David Sudz Sutherland, director Love, Sex and Eating the Bones
Tamara Taylor, actress Bones
Yanic Truesdale, actor Gilmore Girls
Christian Vincent, actor Noah's Arc
Clement Virgo, director
Stephen Williams, director
Tonya Lee Williams, longtime actress on The Young and the Restless
Maurice Dean Wint, actor

Artists
Stan Douglas, installation artist
Sandra Brewster
Angela Francis, Feminist art movement
Artis Lane, sculptor and artist
Delio Delgado, painter/printmaker
Nicole Pena, painter/educator

Athletes
Joel Anthony, NBA basketball player with the Miami Heat
Donovan Bailey, first Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal in the 100m sprint 1996 Atlanta
Emery Barnes see under Politicians
Shawn Belle, NHL prospect
Tim Biakabutuka, former NFL player
Fred Brathwaite, NHL goalie
Denham Brown, professional basketball player in Europe currently in Poland
Nate Burleson, NFL player
Herb Carnegie star of Quebec professional hockey league
Anson Carter, NHL star
Samuel Dalembert, NBA player
Trevor Daley, NHL player with the Dallas Stars
Buddy Daye, former Boxer and activist in Nova Scotia
Nigel Dawes, NHL player with the New York Rangers
George Dixon, first black world boxing champion in any weight class
Ray Downey, former boxer that medalled in the 1988 Olympics
Rob Ducey, former Major League Baseball player
Ray Emery, NHL goaltender
Robert Esmie, Olympic gold medalist 4x100 relay Atlanta 1996
Pokey Reddick, Stanley Cup Champion, Edmonton Oilers goalie.
Perdita Felicien, Olympic athlete
Kofi Fosu, Track athlete
Rick Fox, NBA player
Grant Fuhr, ex-NHL goalie elected to Hockey Hall of Fame
George Godfrey, former boxer originally from Prince Edward Island
Glenroy Gilbert, Olympic gold medalist 4x100 relay Atlanta 1996
Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, former NHL defenseman, currently playing in Europe
Charmaine Hooper, soccer player; retired as leader in appearances and goals for the women's national team
Israel Idonije, defensive end for the NFL's Chicago Bears
Daniel Igali, Olympic gold medalist in wrestling Sydney 2000
Jarome Iginla, NHL All-Star and Olympic gold medalist Salt Lake 2002
Harry Jerome, runner and first Canadian to hold an official world track and field record
Ferguson Jenkins, baseball star and first Canadian elected to the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame
Ben Johnson, Olympic sprinter disqualified in 1988 drug scandal
Kirk Johnson, boxer
Rocky Johnson, professional wrestler also father of actor/wrestler Dwayne Johnson
Tommy Kane, former NFL wide receiver
Sam Langford, former boxer
Georges Laraque, NHL hockey player
Sandra Levy, Olympic field hockey player
Ray Lewis, first Canadian born Black to win a medal in the Olympics
Jamaal Magloire, NBA player
Mike Marson, second Black player in NHL history
Russell Martin, MLB player
Rueben Mayes, former NFL player
Mark McKoy, Olympic gold medalist 110 m hurdles Barcelona 1992
Rollie Miles, CFL player
Ray Neufeld, former NHL player
Willie O'Ree, first black hockey player in the National Hockey League
Milton Ottey, world champion high jumper
John Paris Jr., hockey coach
Eldon "Pokey" Reddick, former NHL goalie
Bill Riley, third Black player in NHL history
Tony Sharpe, sprinter
Chris Spence see under public servants
Anthony Stewart, NHL player with the Florida Panthers
Sylvia Sweeney, former Olympic backetball star
Bruny Surin, Olympic gold medalist 4x100 relay 1996 Atlanta
Angella Taylor-Issajenko, sprinter
Dwight Walton, former Team Canada Basketball player
Peter Worrell, NHL hockey player
Kevin Weekes, NHL goalie
Desai Williams, sprinter
Trevor C. Williams, former Team Canada Basketball player
Tyrone Williams, former CFL and NFL wide receiver
Nigel Wilson, baseball player First draft pick by the Florida Marlins 2nd overall in the 1992 Expansion Draft
Wayne Yearwood, former Team Canada Basketball player

Business people
Wilson Ruffin Abbott, successful businessman and landowner in Toronto
Farley Flex, music promoter and Canadian Idol judge
Denham Jolly, entrepreneur and founder of Milestone Radio and Flow 93.5 Toronto
Beverly Mascoll, entrepreneur and community leader
Delores Lawrence,entrepreneur and community leader

Musicians
Drake, rapper
Toya Alexis, R&B/pop singer and Canadian Idol season 1 finalist
Lillian Allen, dub poet
A-Train and Fatbone, rappers with Social Deviantz
Gary Beals, pop singer and Canadian Idol season 1 first runner-up
Salome Bey, jazz, blues and gospel singer U.S. citizen, Canadian permanent resident
Charlie Biddle Sr., one of Canada's greatest bassists
Jully Black, R&B/pop singer
Lawrence Ytzhak Braithwaite wordcore, dub poet
Kheaven Brereton, known professionally as k-os, hip-hop musician
Measha Brueggergosman, opera singer
Shelton Brooks, popular music and jazz singer, songwriter, and pianist and vaudeville and musical theatre performer who wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century
Divine Brown, R&B/soul singer and musical theatre performer
Bruce B rapper, founder of RAW Records
Cadence Weapon, rapper
Caine, Vancouver rapper
Gregory Charles, pop and gospel singer
Choclair, rapper
Jarvis Church, singer The Philosopher Kings and solo and music producer Nelly Furtado
Deborah Cox, pop/R&B singer, holds the record for the longest-running #1 single "Nobody's Supposed to be Here" in the history of Billboard magazine's R&B charts
Simone Denny, house music vocalist
Robert Nathaniel Dett, composer
Devon, hip-hop musician "Mr. Metro"
Alpha Yaya Diallo, musician
Fefe Dobson, pop punk singer
Dream Warriors, rap duo
Dubmatique, Québecois rap group
Jonathan Emile, poet, composer & entrepreneur
Ghetto Concept, group from Rexdale, Ontario
Orin Isaacs, bandleader Open Mike with Mike Bullard, The Mike Bullard Show, musician and music producer
Olivier Jarda, singer-songwriter
Molly Johnson, rock and jazz vocalist
Danko Jones, rock singer and guitarist
Oliver Jones, one of Canada's greatest Jazz pianists
Kardinal Offishall, rapper
Tobi Lark, jazz, blues and gospel singer
Ranee Lee, jazz singer
Murray Lightburn, rock singer/songwriter The Dears
Rich London, rapper
Lowell Eiser, infamous pump rapper
Garry Lowe, bassist Big Sugar
Mojah, guitarist Big Sugar
Moka Only, rapper of the Swollen Members
Maestro, hip-hop musician, first Canadian rapper to have a Top 40 hit
Haydain Neale, singer Jacksoul
Oscar Peterson, the greatest Canadian jazz pianist
Prevail, rapper of the Swollen Members
Quanteisha, R&B singer
Rascalz, rap group
Jackie Richardson, jazz, blues and gospel singer
Sharon Riley and Faith Chorale, gospel group
Shakura S'Aida, jazz and blues singer
Eon Sinclair, bassist Bedouin Soundclash
Liberty Silver, R&B and jazz singer
Sean Simmonds, gospel artist
Tony "Wild T" Springer, blues rock guitarist
Tamia, R&B singer and actress
Bobby Taylor and his band, The Vancouvers, a popular Motown act who were instrumental in getting The Jackson 5 signed to the label and produced the earliest Jackson 5 records.
Dione Taylor, jazz singer
Julian Taylor, rock musician Staggered Crossing
Tebey, country and pop songwriter and singer
Thrust, rapper
Jackie Washington, blues musician
Portia White, gospel singer
Janice J. Williams, gospel singer
Denise M. Williams, gospel singer
D'bi Young, dub poet

Politicians, public servants and soldiers
Gerry Carter, Youngest Canadian officer WWII, sub lieutenant of aviation
Wayne Adams, Nova Scotia's first black MLA, Liberal
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.
Zanana Akande, former Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament and cabinet minister
Lincoln Alexander, first black Member of Parliament in Canada and former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
Bromley Armstrong, community activist
Addie Aylestock, First ordained Black woman minister in Canada
George Bancroft, educator, civil servant and Ontario Human Rights Commissioner
Vivian Barbot, Bloc Québécois member of parliament for the riding of Papineau
Emery Barnes, first black Speaker of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly and CFL defensive end
James Calbert Best, diplomat and public servant
Margarett Best, Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament and Cabinet Minister
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
Orval Clifford Browning, recognized as the longest serving African-Canadian member of the Canadian Armed Forces; provided the name for Canada's long-range patrol aircraft, "The Aurora".
Mary Anne Chambers, former Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament and cabinet minister
Ulrick Chérubin, mayor of Amos, Quebec and one of the first black mayors of any city in Quebec
Caroline Cole, Vice President, Business Development Bank of Canada
Anne Cools, Canada's first black senator
Alvin Curling, Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament and Speaker of the Legislature of Ontario
Delos Davis, first Black lawyer in Canada
Rob Davis, former York and Toronto city councillor
Emmanuel Dubourg, Quebec Liberal Party MNA for Viau
Gordon Earle, former NDP Member of Parliament for Halifax West
Lennox Farrell, community activist
Keith Forde, the first visible minority Deputy Chief of Police in the history of the Toronto Police Service
Mayann E. Francis, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia 2006- , former director & CEO of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission
Harry Gairey Sr, community activist
Mifflin Gibbs, merchant and member of Victoria City Council in the 1860s
Stanley G. Grizzle, judge, community activist
Daniel G. Hill, sociologist and first head of the Ontario Human Rights Commission
Jay Hope, Deputy Minister, Ontario Public Service
Jennifer Hosten, Canadian High Commissioner to Grenada and diplomat
William Peyton Hubbard, former Toronto alderman, controller and acting mayor
Wayne Hurst, mayor of Amherstburg, Ontario
Ovid Jackson, former Member of Parliament and former mayor of Owen Sound
Yolande James, Quebec Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities
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
Ron Jones, Methodist minister, fire chief, Windsor, Ontario school board trustee and city councillor, New Democratic Party activist
Maka Kotto, black author and actor from Quebec elected to Canadian Parliament in 2004 Bloc Québécois
Daurene Lewis, first black woman mayor in North America
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
Donald Willard Moore, community activist
Paul S. Morton, pastor of St. Stephen Baptist Church in New Orleans, a church with over 20,000 members
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
Stephnie Payne, community activist
Burr Plato, town councillor for Niagara Falls 1886-1901
Mike Ramsay, Trustee and current Chairperson of Waterloo Region District School Board
George Rogers, former mayor of Leduc, Alberta, current MLA for the riding of Leduc-Beaumont-Devon
Calvin Ruck, senator
Bev Salmon, former North York city councillor
Chris Spence, Director of Education of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and then the Toronto District School Board, previously a CFL running back
Michael Thompson, current Toronto city councillor
Carol Wall, social activist and labour leader
Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré, first appointed black judge in the history of Quebec
Bill White, musician and political candidate
Jack White, union activist
William A. White, only black officer of the No. 2 Construction Battalion
Paul Winn, human rights activist, director of Canadian Race Relations Foundation, former television personality

Scholars and scientists
Larry W. Gaiters, theologian, international lecturer, human rights activist and a bishop.
Rinaldo Walcott, professor and Canada Research Chair at OISE/The University of Toronto

Writers, journalists and broadcasters
Trey Anthony, playwright Da Kink in my Hair
Gary Archibald, weathercaster for NBC Weather Plus and MSNBC
Arnold Auguste, Share newspaper publisher
Matte Babel, MuchMusic VJ
George Boyd, playwright
Lawrence Ytzhak Braithwaite, author, dub poet, novelist Wigger, Ratz are Nice and More at 7:30
Dian Marie Bridge, playwright/ director
Dionne Brand, author
Ron Charles, television reporter for the CBC
Jojo Chintoh, longtime Citytv reporter
Austin Clarke, novelist The Polished Hoe, Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack
George Elliott Clarke, poet and playwright Whylah Falls, George and Rue
Afua Cooper, poet and historian
Wayde Compton, poet
Rita Deverell, broadcaster and journalist, founder of Vision TV
Orville Lloyd Douglas, poet, writer, and journalist
Rosey Edeh, ET Canada reporter and former MSNBC meteorologist
Esi Eduygan, novelist
Cameron Bailey, author and film critic
Nneka Elliott, television weathercaster for The Weather Network
Natasha Eloi, Space science reporter
Cecil Foster, novelist and sociologist
Hamlin Grange, newspaper editor Contrast, television reporter and news anchor and consultant
Adrian Harewood, CBC Radio journalist and host
Nalo Hopkinson, science fiction author
Marci Ien, Canada AM and CTV News Channel anchor
Royson James, Toronto Star columnist
Namugenyi Kiwanuka, Rogers Sportsnet basketball commentator and former MuchMusic VJ
Dany Laferrière, novelist
Scott Laurie, CTV News Channel anchor and reporter
Alexis Mazurin, CBC Radio host
Jane Musoke-Nteyafas, poet
Darren Osborne, radio personality
M. NourbeSe Philip, poet, novelist and essayist
Joseph Jomo Pierre, playwright Born Ready
Quddus, MTV VJ
Mairuth Sarsfield, novelist No Crystal Stair
John Saunders, sports journalist for ESPN and ABC
Djanet Sears, playwright Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God
Terese Sears, Journalist
Olive Senior, poet and short story writer
Mary Ann Shadd, first female newspaper publisher
Makeda Silvera, novelist
Addena Sumter-Freitag, playwright, poet Stay Black & Die
Sylvia Sweeney, television broadcaster W-FIVE
Nerene Virgin, CBC anchor Network Saturday Report, Newsworld, Newsworld International, host CTV, co-star of Today's Special
Rinaldo Walcott, sociologist and academic
Marcia Williams, CBC Radio broadcaster and host of The World This Hour
Ken Wiwa, journalist and author, and son of executed Nigerian political prisoner Ken Saro-Wiwa

Other
Anderson Ruffin Abbott, became, in 1861, the first Black Canadian physician and among a select few at the death bed of Abraham Lincoln.
Marie-Joseph Angélique, executed for setting fire to Montreal
Carrie Best, activist and humanitarian
Henry Bibb
Matthew Bullock, fugitive from the U.S. who became a cause celebre in the 1920s
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, African-American boxer controversially convicted of murder, now a Canadian activist and speaker
Rose Fortune, First female police officer in Canada
Rev. William H. Golar, former president of historically Black Livingstone College
William Hall, first Canadian and first black person to be awarded the Victoria Cross Actually a Newfoundlander - died before Newfoundland entered Canadian Confederation
Josiah Henson, former slave, believed to be the inspiration for the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Olivier Le Jeune, believed to have been the first slave purchased in what later became Quebec
Lesra Martin, crown attorney and speaker, involved in his youth in freeing Rubin Carter
Elijah McCoy, origin of "the real McCoy", inventor
Shadrach Minkins, American-born fugitive slave rescued from federal custody in Boston in 1851 who settled in Montreal.
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
Rev. Dr. William P. Oliver, community leader and a long time pastor at Cornwallis Baptist Church in Halifax
Rev. Richard Preston, anti-slavery activist and founder of African Baptist Association of Nova Scotia
John Ware, former slave, Alberta cowboy
Mary Matilda Winslow, first Black female graduate of the University of New Brunswick
Osborne Perry Anderson, was a resident of the Chatham-Kent area and was involved in the raid at Harper's Ferry

Multiracial Black Canadians
The people listed here are of mixed Black/Caucasian or Black/Asian backgrounds.
Author Lawrence Hill published a bestselling memoir of his experiences as a multiracial Canadian, Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada, in 2001.
Malcolm Azania, writer and activist
Keshia Chante, singer
Rae Dawn Chong, actor
Jonathan De Guzman, soccer player
Julian De Guzman, soccer player
Fefe Dobson, rock singer
James Douglas, early governor of Vancouver Island
Grant Fuhr, former NHL hockey star and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame
Aubrey Graham, actor Degrassi: The Next Generation, and rapper stage name "Drake"
Dirk Graham, first NHL captain of African descent
Malcolm Gladwell, journalist[1]
Anais Granofsky, actor Degrassi
Dan Hill, pop singer/songwriter
Lawrence Hill, novelist and memoirist
Jarome Iginla, NHL hockey star
Tajja Isen, actress/singer Atomic Betty
Peter-John Kerr, TV host and independent film maker
Michael Lee-Chin, business leader
Nicole Lyn, actress
Amanda Marshall, pop singer/songwriter
Denise Matthews, former model, actress and lead singer of Vanity 6 turned evangelist
Tony McKegney
Tessa McWatt, novelist
Lana Ogilvie, fashion model/TV hostess
Juliette Powell, television host and the first black Miss Canada 1989
Kenny Robinson - stand-up comedian, TV host
Makyla Smith, actress Queer as Folk
Kreesha Turner, R&B singer
Sheila White, political strategist

This list can be found on Wikipedia