Grade 8 · Social Studies · Unit 7 of 15
Black Communities in Canada
Freedom, settlement and community, 1850–1914
What your child practises
The Underground Railroad and the end of slavery in British North America, the communities, newspapers and leaders that Black Canadians built in Canada West and beyond, the racism they still faced, and later migration to the Prairies.
Ontario Curriculum expectation: History A1.4, A3.2, A3.5, B1.4, B3.2 · key events that shaped the experiences of Black people in Canada, the Underground Railroad and Black settlements, and actions Black individuals and communities took to improve their lives
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Black families who reached Canada West were free from slavery. What else is true?
- They were treated the same as everyone.
- They could not own land.
- They still faced racism, including segregated schools in some places.
- They were all returned to the U.S.
Show answer
They still faced racism, including segregated schools in some places.
Hint: Freedom from slavery did not end unfair treatment.
Question 2
What did Black newspapers like The Provincial Freeman do?
- They reported only on weather
- They sold goods only
- They shared news, argued for rights and connected communities
- They were banned by law
Show answer
They shared news, argued for rights and connected communities
Hint: Black Canadians used print to speak up.
Question 3
What did Upper Canada's Act Against Slavery (1793) do?
- It created the Dominion.
- It ended slavery at once.
- It stopped new enslaved people from being brought in and began a gradual end to slavery.
- It made slavery legal everywhere.
Show answer
It stopped new enslaved people from being brought in and began a gradual end to slavery.
Hint: It was a first step; slavery fully ended in 1834.
Question 4
Anderson Ruffin Abbott is remembered as the first…
- Black NWMP officer
- Canadian-born Black doctor
- Black prime minister
- Black judge on the Supreme Court
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Canadian-born Black doctor
Hint: He was born in Toronto and graduated as a doctor in 1861.
Question 5
Slavery was ended throughout most of the British Empire, including British North America, in which year?
- 1793
- 1900
- 1867
- 1834
Show answer
1834
Hint: The Slavery Abolition Act took effect on August 1, 1834.
Question 6
Josiah Henson founded a settlement and school near Dresden, Ontario. What helped make his story widely known?
- He invented the telephone.
- He built a railway.
- He wrote an account of his life.
- He won the Boston Marathon.
Show answer
He wrote an account of his life.
Hint: His autobiography was widely read in his lifetime.