Key Findings
• Black Canadians are most likely to first run for office at the local level
• Black men and Black women are equally likely to run for office, but Black men are more likely to aspire to party leadership
• The majority of Black Canadians in politics are first- and second-generation Canadians
• Black Canadians are more likely than other politicians to enter politics from careers in the civil service or as political staff
• Money and volunteers are the most commonly cited challenges to elected office
• Most Black Canadians in politics have experienced some form of discrimination

The report concludes with several recommendations to inform the development of evidence-based tools to increase diversity, inclusion, and the number of Black Canadians in public life.

Participants

We are grateful to everyone who completed the survey, participated in an interview, and helped us gather the data for this research.
Thank you to to Kemi Akapo, Michael Akpata, Steven Anderson, Frank Baylis, Tyrone Benskin, Lindsay Blackett, Chloe Brown, Markus Chambers, Celina Caesar-Chavannes, Bernadette Clement, Kojo Damptey, Khadijah Haliru, Jessika Hepburn, Selwyn Hicks, Tony Ince, Marlene Jennings, Kwesi Johnson, Patrick Mayangi, Kathy McDonald, Catherine Meade, Kevin Modeste, Dominique Ollivier, Maedith Radlein, Ayo Owodunni, Chanté White, Stephen Wright, and everyone else who gave their time and story. We appreciate you!

Special thanks to the team: Wendell Nii Laryea Adjetey, Nana aba Duncan Wisdom Tettey, Velma Morgan lead by Dr. Erin Tolley from Carleton University,

Project Leads
This study was led by Dr. Erin Tolley at Carleton University in partnership with Operation Black Vote Canada.