Field: Civic Life

Mary Ann Shadd Cary was born in Delaware to abolitionist parents. She moved to Pennsylvania at the age of 10, where she attended school and became a teacher. Active in the Underground Railroad, she and her family moved to Ontario in the 1850s after the passage of the Slave Fugitive Act. Shadd Cary became the first Black woman publisher in North America and the first woman publisher in Canada, founding and editing The Provincial Freeman in 1853. She also established a racially integrated school for Black refugees in Windsor, Canada.

Shadd Cary left a lasting legacy of abolition and education in Toronto’s fight for racial equality and social justice.

Coleman’s tenacity and relentless pursuit of truth propelled her to the forefront of Canadian journalism. In 1899 she became the first accredited female war correspondent during the Boer War. She would also write for renowned newspapers like the Toronto Mail (which would grow to become The Globe and Mail) and the Toronto Star, writing regular columns that advocated for women’s rights and social justice.

Coleman’s groundbreaking achievements shattered barriers for women in the field of journalism and inspired future generations of female reporters.

In the 1960s, Jane Jacobs staunchly opposed urban renewal projects that threatened historic neighbourhoods, championing community-led urban planning. Her groundbreaking book, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” challenged conventional wisdom and promoted vibrant, mixed-use neighbourhoods. In 1968, Jacobs and her family moved to Toronto in opposition to the Vietnam War. In the early 1970s, she played a leading role in the Stop Spadina Campaign, preventing the construction of a major highway through lively Toronto neighbourhoods.

Jacobs’ lasting impact on Toronto can be seen in its thriving neighbourhoods, pedestrian-friendly streets, and grassroots engagement – solidifying her status as a pioneer in urban revitalization and a champion of livable cities.

Born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Jean Lumb moved to Toronto in 1945 with her husband and together they established a successful restaurant called the Kwong Chow Chop Suey House. Lumb actively fought for the rights and recognition of the Chinese community in Toronto through a series of channels, primarily by leading the Save Chinatown Committee which can be attributed with protecting Toronto’s iconic Chinatown neighbourhood from demolition. In 1976 she received the Order of Canada, making her the first Chinese-Canadian woman to receive the honour.

Lumb’s advocacy work paved the way for greater inclusion and diversity, leaving a lasting impact on Toronto’s multicultural fabric and inspiring future generations.

Toronto-born Bernice Redmon was the first Black Canadian nurse to practice in public health. Having faced racial barriers in Canadian nursing programs, she pursued a nursing diploma in the United States in 1945. Returning to Canada with a diploma, she secured a position in the Nova Scotia Department of Health. Her groundbreaking career earned Redmon a historic appointment to the Victorian Order of Nurses in Canada, making her the first Black woman to receive this honour. Her courageous efforts paved the way for Black women to be trained and employed in Ontario hospitals during the late 1940s and 1950s.

Redmon’s resilience and dedication left an enduring impact on the nursing profession in Canada.

During the peak of the typhus epidemic in 1847, recent Irish emigrants in Toronto were one of the hardest hit populations in the city. Toronto, with a population of under 20,000 at the time, faced an overwhelming influx of 38,000 sick migrants that summer. Susan Bailey, the Head Nurse at Toronto’s Emigrant Hospital, was determined to serve the growing number of patients that were coming through their doors. By August of 1847, at the age of 32, Bailey lost her life to typhus while caring for the city’s newcomers in need.

Susan Bailey’s selfless efforts and untimely death highlight the hardships faced during this period of history.

Cathy Crowe’s entire career has been nursing for social justice particularly in homelessness since 1988, earning her the nickname “Street Nurse.” Her work has influenced public policy victories through coalitions and advocacy initiatives. In 1998 she co-founded the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC), which declared homelessness a National Disaster. A documentary film on her work titled Street Nurse has had a major impact on nursing education in Canada. Honoured with the Order of Canada in 2018, Crowe’s authorship and public speaking highlight the urgent need for affordable housing and accessible healthcare.

Having given up her nursing license in 2022 to protest government policies, Crowe persists in raising awareness and action against homelessness and healthcare inequities.

Slova Greenberg, a dedicated member of Toronto’s Ezras Noshem Society (also known as Ezras Nashim), played a crucial role in transforming healthcare in the city – starting with the lives of elderly members in the Jewish community. Recognizing the need for elder care homes that provided kosher food, religious care, and medical attention in a familiar language, Slova led the women of the Ezras Noshem Society in a successful fundraising campaign. The Toronto Jewish Old Folks Home, located at 29 Cecil Street, was established, eventually evolving into the renowned institution known as Baycrest.

Greenberg’s vision and determination continues to positively impact the lives of elderly members within the community.

In the 1970s, Judith Snow founded the Centre for Special Services for Handicapped Students at York University – Canada’s first post-secondary learning support program. As the first Canadian to receive government-mandated individualized funding for personal assistance, she set a precedent for state-funded care. The founder of the Joshua Committee, led to the creation of Circles of Support worldwide. She also co-founded the Laser Eagles Art Guild, the Marsha Forest Centre, and the Individualized Funding Coalition for Ontario, dedicated to breaking barriers faced by people with disabilities.

Snow’s revolutionary models transformed the lives of thousands of disabled individuals, fostering meaningful employment, independent living, and active community participation.

Leaving a home she loved in Lisbon for a life beyond the reach of Antonio Salazar’s dictatorship, Laura Bulger along with her Canadian husband, settled in Toronto in 1966. Although her heart would remain in Portugal, she brought her passion for Portuguese language and culture with her. University-educated and fluent in English, Bulger quickly set to work on ensuring that the children of Portuguese immigrants maintained their ability to speak the language. This advocacy extended to contributing to the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture’s curriculum on Multiculturalism as it related to Portuguese heritage.

Bulger would become one of the first Portuguese teachers in the Toronto District School Board and go on to teach at the University of Toronto and co-found the Portuguese Studies program at York University.