The funding is part of initial investments to establish the Black Justice Strategy, the government said in an April 24 statement. The projects so far will be in Alberta, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The strategy aims to address anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination leading to the overrepresentation of Black people in Canada’s criminal justice system, including as victims and survivors of crime.
“This has deep roots in Canada’s history of colonialism, slavery and segregation, and the fact that our societal institutions were created while segregation was still the law,” the statement read.
The investments will support community-based organizations in developing the projects. The funding is provided through Justice Canada funding programs: the Youth Justice Fund, the Victims Fund and the Justice Partnership and Innovation Program.
“The implementation of Canada’s Black Justice Strategy is about moving words to action, and today’s announcement is one of the concrete ways we are doing that,” said Patricia Lattanzio, parliamentary secretary to the minister of justice.
“Through this funding, we are putting resources into the hands of Black-focused organizations that are closest to the realities on the ground. These investments are about making the justice system fairer and worthy of trust for Black people in Canada, by supporting services that are community-led, culturally informed and truly accessible.”
In February 2025, the government released a report on the implementation of the Black Justice Strategy, which sets out a 10-year phased approach for advancing the needed transformative change.
In the 2024 fall economic statement, the federal government provided an initial investment of $87.4 million across eight departments over two years to establish the strategy. This included $23.6 million over two years for Justice Canada to support action in critical areas.
The government noted that the development of the strategy was its contribution to the Justice Pillar of the second International Decade for People of African Descent (2025 to 2034).
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