Toronto’s first Black female councillor Beverley Salmon dies at age 92
Toronto’s first Black female city councillor, known for her advocacy for more inclusive policies and practices within municipal government, Beverley Salmon, has died at the age of 92.
CBC News reported that Salmon’s daughter, Heather, confirmed on social media that she passed away on Thursday.
She said in a Facebook post that the family will be announcing her funeral arrangements shortly.
Salmon was born in Toronto to a Jamaican father, Herbert McLean Bell Sr, and a Canadian mother, Violet Bryan.
In the early 1950s, she trained in nursing at Wellesley Hospital and received her public health nurse certification in 1954 from the University of Toronto. She began her nursing career in earnest in 1956 in Detroit. During this period, she became involved with the civil rights movement, and this experience inspired her to continue her work as an activist when she returned to Toronto in the 1960s.
In 1985, Salmon became Toronto’s first Black female city councillor, representing North York until she retired from municipal politics in 1997.
Additionally, Salomon was awarded the Order of Ontario in 2016, and the Order of Canada in Canada in 2017.
CBC News reported that the Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR) — a non-profit charitable organisation founded by Salmon — said it is “deeply saddened” to learn of her passing.
“As Toronto’s first Black woman to become a city councillor & a founding member of UARR, Bev was an extraordinary trailblazer who tirelessly ignited social change & amplified marginalised voices in our community,” the organisation said on Twitter.
