Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada, released the following statement on Canada’s Emancipation Day:
“On this date nearly two centuries ago, one of the most impactful laws in history entered into force. After much debate in Westminster – the ‘mother of Parliaments’ – the Slavery Abolition Act ended that immoral practice across Britain’s vast and mighty empire.
“We as Canadians have a special place in this story because it was forty years prior, in the young colony of Upper Canada, that a reformist Lieutenant Governor by the name of John Graves Simcoe passed the first law limiting slavery in any of Britain’s territories.
“In Simcoe’s time, British North America was already home to communities of Black Loyalists, many of whom were once enslaved. In the coming decades, these colonies would play an important role as the end point of the Underground Railroad: providing freedom and refuge for tens of thousands who were unjustly held in bondage.
“Today is a chance to remember luminaries like Olaudah Equiano and William Wilberforce, who led the fight for emancipation.
“As we look back on this tragic history, may we all aspire to live out the ideals of freedom and equality that this day represents.”