The Underground Railroad in Canada

The enslavement of millions of Africans sparked a long history of resistance. During the 19 ^th-century, thousands of enslaved and many free African-Americans fled the United States and made their way to Mexico and Canada where they could live as free citizens. In Canada, the refugees arrived at points as far east as Nova Scotia and as far west as British Columbia, but the majority crossed over into what is now southwestern Ontario. They formed communities in the growing villages and towns or cleared the forests and pioneered new farmland. The network of sympathetic black and white abolitionists that assisted in the escapes along their secret routes became known as the Underground Railroad.

Concentrations of Underground Railroad refugee settlers in Ontario circa 1850.