CA-K218History

Emancipation Day, 1 August

The Cathedral Church of St. James in Toronto, where a plaque for this designation is to be installed, photographed in 2018. St. James' Cathedral - 106 King St E, Toronto, ON M5C 2E9, Canada (2) · Spudgun67 · Photo source · Photo licence: CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display; item previews may be cropped. The image remains under the licence shown.

Factual accuracy review: No recorded challenge

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Emancipation Day celebrations mark 1 August 1834, when British legislation abolishing slavery took effect in what is now Canada. Nineteenth-century celebrations in what are now Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia became an annual tradition that strengthened Black communities and supported the struggle for equality.

Scope & context

The 19th-century celebrations and their tradition, not the 1793 Act (see CA-K162) or present-day federal recognition.

Sources behind this record

Celebrations of Emancipation Day National Historic Event ↗

Parks Canada

Historical importance; plaque text