Along with the U.S., its northern neighbor Canada celebrates Black History Month annually in February.
Much of its history includes focal points of the African American experience, especially pre- and post-slavery when abolitionists and opponents of the practice took black people in bondage to freedom and a new life in the country. The majority of black Canadians are of African and Caribbean descent and comprise of 2.5% Â of the total population.
[RELATED: Black History at Home and Abroad: 13 Leaders Whose Impact Went Global]
In celebrating this month, here’s a snapshot of black Canadian leaders who have made great strides in politics, healthcare, sports and more:
HENRY BIBB
Bibb was an author and abolitionist who was born a slave and escaped to freedom in Canada in the 1800s.
He also published his autobiography Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, An American Slave, Written by Himself, which became one of the best-known slave narratives of the time. Becoming a publisher in 1851, he set up the first black newspaper in Canada, The Voice of the Fugitive. The paper included news and commentary against the slave trade and was a resource for other escaped slaves who’d settled in the country.
ANNE COOLS
Anne Cools is the first black person appointed to the Senate of Canada and the first black female senator in North America. She’s also its longest-serving member.
A native of Barbados, she was raised in Montreal, and as a student she was active in Canada’s civil rights demonstrations including a 1969, 10-day sit-in at Sir George Williams University.
In 1974, founded one of the first shelters for abused women in Canada, Women in Transition Inc., and served as its executive director.
DRAKE
Famously known for being a hip-hop heavyweight, Aubrey Drake Graham began his entertainment industry career as an actor on popular Canadian high-school drama DeGrassi: The Next Generation.
His first studio album, Thank Me Later (2010), debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum. His subsequent albums would have similar success and he’d go on to win many awards including a Grammy, Juno Awards, BET Awards and recognition as one of the top-selling hip-hop artists of all time.
Drake is also a producer under the pseudonym Champagne Papi and has also written songs for other artists, including Alicia Keys (“Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready)”), Rita Ora (“R.I.P.”), Jamie Foxx and Trey Songz. He also has a clothing line under his belt and endorsements.
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MALCOLM GLADWELL
Gladwell is a lauded journalist, bestselling author, and speaker who has served as staff writer for The New Yorker. He has written several books, including Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking and The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, sold more than 2 million copies in the United States alone. All of his books have been on The New York Times Best Seller list, and are part of major discussions and studies on leadership, business, and strategic success.
Born in England but raised in Ontario, he was appointed to the Order of Canada on June 30, 2011, and continues to be a profound scholar and source for research and debate on psychological and sociological elements of corporate advancement and business and career prosperity.
DWAYNE “THE ROCK” JOHNSON
An American and Canadian actor, producer and semi-retired professional wrestler, Johnson first gained mainstream fame in the WWE (formerly the WWF) and began a successful acting career in films including The Scorpion King, Get Smart and the box office hit Fast & Furious
franchise. He was reportedly paid $5.5 million for The Scorpion King, a world record for an actor in his first starring role.He is also a critically acclaimed author and philanthropist who founded the Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation, a charity working with at-risk and terminally ill children.
ANDERSON RUFFIN ABBOTT
Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott was the first black Canadian to be a licensed physician, and one of only 13 black surgeons to serve in the Civil War as a contracted independence doctor. Born in Toronto, he had a very prestigious career, serving as surgeon-in-chief at Provident Hospital in Chicago, the first training hospital for black nurses in the United States, in the mid-1800s, as well as starting a private practice in Canada upon his return to the country in the late 1800s. He became involved with writing for several publications including the Colored American Magazine of Boston and New York, the Anglo-American Magazine of London, and the New York Age, about black history, the Civil War, Darwinism, biology, and poetry.
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JOEL ANTHONY
Joel Anthony plays for the Detroit Pistons and is also a member of the Canadian national basketball team. He previously
played for the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, and participated in the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship for Canada. He helped lead the Canadian team to a fourth-place finish, losing in the bronze medal game to Argentina.In Summer 2010, Anthony competed again for Canada in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, and then in 2013 he was named to the Canadian national team, playing in the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship.
YVONNE ATWELL
Yvonne Atwell, is a Canadian hospital administrator and provincial politician and the first black woman elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Nova Scotia.
She worked for two decades as an administrator at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, becoming head of patient services, before returning to Nova Scotia in 1984.
She has also served as the president of the Black United Front and the African Canadian Caucus, a chair of the Indigenous Black and Mi’kmaq Program at Dalhousie University, a member of the Metropolitan Board of Trade’s small business committee, the director of the African-Canadian Employment Clinic and as vice president of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party.