No. 2 Construction Battalion plaque, 2024.  

Plaque Text

Formed during the First World War, No. 2 Construction Battalion was the largest Black military unit in Canadian history.

In August 1914, thousands of men from across Canada enlisted to serve in the war; however, by the end of 1915, at least 200 Black volunteers had been turned away by racist recruiting officers. Although some Black men were able to enlist, the British War Office questioned the loyalty of Black soldiers, and many white men refused to serve with them.

Communities across Canada saw these rejections as unacceptable and lobbied the Militia Headquarters and the Governor General to respond. In July 1916, the Department of Defence and Militia authorized the formation of No. 2 Construction Battalion. 19 officers and 595 soldiers sailed for Europe in March 1917.

Although the Battalion was mostly Black men, its officers were white —apart from the chaplain, Captain William "Andrew" White. The unit was attached to the Canadian Forestry Corps where they were involved in logging, the maintenance of logging roads, and the operation of electrical and water system within camps. It was not a combat unit, yet many men still lost their lives, mostly due to disease.

After the war, the unit was disbanded in September 1920. On July 9, 2022, the Government of Canada issued a formal apology for the racism and discrimination endured by members of No. 2 Construction Battalion.