Fostering an inclusive history: Many peoples, many stories

Inclusive Commemorations Initiative: Parks Canada invited racialized communities to help highlight the diverse stories that have shaped the country we know today.

Every national historic person, place and event has a unique story, and is part of the larger history of Canada. Sharing these stories creates a greater understanding of the perspectives and cultures of Canada’s past and present.

Parks Canada is working to ensure that Canadians can learn about the full scope of our shared history. The Framework for History and Commemoration encourages “presenting different voices, perspectives and experiences, and cultivating relationships with diverse groups to ensure that history presentation reflects the spectrum of Canada’s history.”

The Inclusive Commemorations Initiative is one of the important steps Parks Canada has taken to highlight the diverse narratives that reflect the breadth of Canada’s past, and to involve racialized communities in telling and commemorating Canadian history.

Engaging and listening

In 2022, Parks Canada held 5 virtual workshops with 57 participants from racialized communities across Canada. During the sessions, participants spoke about some of the notable subjects in Canada’s history which are important to their communities and cultures. They also shared their own commemoration work, presented ideas for new nominations and voiced their views on some of the ways that the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC) can improve inclusion and diversity.

Over the course of the workshops, 150 separate suggestions were proposed of possible new persons, places and events of national historic significance.

Chinese Exclusion Act

One topic suggested as an event of national historic significance was the Chinese Exclusion Act. Introduced in 1923, the legislation demanded that all Chinese persons living in Canada, even those born here, register with the government or risk fines, detainment, or deportation.

As a direct result of this suggestion, the Exclusion of Chinese Immigrants (1923-1947) has been designated as a National Historic Event. A commemorative plaque for this event was unveiled on June 23, 2023 at a ceremony in the Senate of Canada to mark the 100th anniversary of the Act.

The work continues

Parks Canada continues to work with the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to review the suggestions proposed at the Inclusive Commemorations Initiative workshops for possible new subjects of national historic significance. Parks Canada also welcomes and continues to review nominations from the public for new designations related to diversity.

The Inclusive Commemorations Initiative has helped guide Parks Canada’s approach to historical commemoration. It recognizes that many groups have shaped Canada’s past and acknowledges that future commemoration should reflect the full scope of events, places and people who have called the country home.