Good evening.
Thank you, Greg and Tatiana, for that introduction.
I am pleased to join you alongside my colleagues, including Marjorie Michel, Arielle Kayabaga, and other members of our government.
Thank you, Sandy Duperval, for that incredible rendition of our national anthem.
I especially want to welcome Dr. Jean Augustine who, in 1995, first stood in the House of Commons to recognise February as Black History Month.
This year, we commemorate its 30th anniversary.
We gather in a place dedicated to our shared story – a story that must reckon with both shadow and light.
The challenges of Black history in Canada are not chapters we can consign to another country’s past. Slavery existed here – in New France, in the Maritimes, in the households of the powerful.
When it ended, segregation did not. In Nova Scotia, Ontario, and elsewhere, Black Canadians were refused service, denied housing, and separated in schools and churches within living memory.
Africville was razed. Doors were closed. The full weight of citizenship was withheld.
And yet against this current, Black Canadians built – and keep building. The exhibits in this museum tell that story: of No. 2 Construction Battalion, the first all-Black military unit, who served Canada in the First World War.
Of Kay Livingstone, the driving force behind creating the first National Black Women’s Congress in 1973, providing a national forum to advance the causes of Black women.
Carrie Best, a journalist who co-founded one of Nova Scotia’s first Black-owned newspaper in 1946, providing a platform that amplified marginalised voices and advocated against racial discrimination.
Black Canadians have helped write every chapter of Canada’s story. They have served as mayors, MPs, senators, Cabinet ministers, and Governor General.
These ceilings weren’t broken by accident or due to benevolence. They were broken because leaders throughout our history were determined that their democracy should reflect the country they served.
Canada is at its best when its representatives reflect its population.
Not as a symbol, but as a source of strength.
Not as an exception, but as a given.
This is our responsibility as a government, and our opportunity as Canadians.
Confederation made a founding choice of accommodation over assimilation, of partnership over domination, of building together over pulling apart.
That founding was imperfect. It excluded too many. It was built, in part, on the dispossession of, and broken treaties with, Indigenous Peoples.
But that founding contained the fundamental insight that unity does not require uniformity.
That we can share a country without conforming to a single identity.
That our differences, honestly acknowledged and respectfully navigated, are a source of strength.
That choice echoes down through our history.
To choices made by newcomers from every corner of the world to make Canada their home.
Choices made by each generation determined to keep building – not on blood or soil – but on something more demanding and more durable: a shared commitment to live together, to accommodate differences, to pursue the common good.
And with each of these choices, Canada has become richer, more inclusive, and fairer.
What makes Canada a great country? It’s a great country for everyone. It is the greatest country in the world to be a regular person. You don’t have to be a certain colour or worship a certain god.
We seek unity – but not uniformity. Our diversity is not a problem to be solved. It is a strength to be celebrated.
Canadians believe in the value of every other Canadian, their boundless potential to make this great country even better.
Our ancestors, despite their differences, believed in each other, and in us.
There are long periods of history when these values can prosper unchallenged. Ours is not one of them.
Our values must be fought for. That’s what we’re doing, and Canadians are up for it.
Fundamental to Canada’s promise is fairness – that everyone who works hard will have the opportunity to succeed. Canada’s new government is working to deliver that promise – to build a country that empowers Black Canadians with more opportunities, security, and prosperity.
Despite the talent and ambition within Black communities, Black Canadians are underrepresented as business owners.
That’s why Canada’s new government renewed the Black Entrepreneurship Program to provide new economic opportunities – nearly $190 million to ensure continued access to capital, resources, and mentorship so Black-owned businesses can start, scale, and create high-paying new careers.
The program has already helped 24,000 Black entrepreneurs gain access to mentorship, training, and funding to grow their businesses.
In addition to fostering economic inclusion, we are strengthening communities by eliminating barriers to health care.
In October, we provided nearly $3 million to Black‑led community initiatives supporting the mental health and well‑being of Black Canadians.
We gather tonight to mark progress, not declare victory.
Inequalities persist. Today, nearly one in three Black Canadians struggle with food insecurity.
That is why, in Budget 2025, we protected essential programs – child care, dental care, pharmacare, and the National School Food Program.
And it is why we launched the new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit last week, delivering hundreds of dollars more into the bank accounts of more than 12 million Canadians.
Because our economy is strongest when it supports everyone – and empowers all Canadians to get ahead.
Viola Desmond. Lincoln Alexander. Rosemary Brown. Kay Livingstone. Carrie Best. No. 2 Construction Battalion.
Though their stories differ, they shared a common thread.
They were all fighting to build a better Canada – with no reason to believe they would be rewarded in their lifetime. Indeed, most never were.
Black History Month is one way we correct that wrong – and give these Canadians the recognition they deserve for helping to write our nation’s history.
The history of Black Canadians is one of injustice met with resilience. Of exclusion answered with excellence. Of relentless progress – earned through perseverance and carried forward by opening doors for so many more to follow.
A history perhaps best spoken by Kay Livingstone: “Onward and upward. Lifting as we climb.”
Thank you for including me on this mission, which we take together.