Black History Month in Canada

The history behind Black History Month in Canada

The origins of Black History Month in Canada go back to the 1920s and 1930s when Black Canadians came together to advocate for their rights. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Black community would continue to organize events to celebrate their history and culture, and not until the 1970s did several cities officially recognize February as Black History Month.

In 1995, the Government of Canada finally recognized February as Black History Month, and it has been celebrated across the country since.

What this means for corporate travel

In a 2021 survey, 71% of Black American and Canadian travellers stated that the perceived safety of Black people in their proposed destination influences whether they will or will not travel somewhere. Black travellers also make up a huge part of the travel market, spending $109.4 billion on domestic travel in 2019.

The most important takeaway from this is that the conversation about protecting Black business travellers is far from over and should always be kept in front of mind. Safety risks can occur both domestically and internationally at any time.

Taking practical next steps

In honour of Black History Month, we worked with our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager, Emese Graham, to bring you a comprehensive and practical guide to get the conversation started around how to implement DEI into your corporate travel program, not just for Black travellers, but for travellers across marginalized groups.