The No. 2 Construction Battalion was the first Black military unit in Canada, and its services went unrecognized for many years. Some 800 Canadians served in the segregated battalion during the First World War.
Yesterday, exactly 106 years after the battalion was formed in Pictou, Nova Scotia, a special ceremony was held to recognize and remember the men who served.
Among those commemorating the national historic signification of the No. 2 Construction Battaltion was Darrell Samson, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, and Member of Parliament for Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook, on behalf of the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada.
Mr. Samson said, “The battalion’s legacy in Nova Scotia and the African-Canadian community represents the endurance of Black Canadians, who confronted prejudice and inequality to make a place for themselves in Canada’s military.”
The event was held at Pictou wharf in collaboration with the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia and the Department of National Defence to unveil a replacement commemorative plaque.
Many people of African descent volunteered to serve in the military after Canada entered the First World War in 1914, but while some were able to enlist, others were turned away because of racist assumptions that they were unfit to serve. It took ongoing pressure by the African Canadian community to help force a change. Rather than integrating African-Canadians into existing units, the Department of Defence and Militia authorised the formation of the No. 2 Construction Battalion on July 5, 1916.
Serving with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F.), the No. 2 Construction Battalion was made up of volunteers from across Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean, who went overseas in 1917 and provided essential support services, often under enemy fire. Once overseas, the men primarily served with the Canadian Forestry Corps in France, where they provided lumber for the front and performed important supporting tasks while continuing to be subjected to racial discrimination and harassment.
The National Apology to the descendants and families of the No. 2 Construction Battalion will be delivered this Saturday in Truro.
