The Royal Canadian Mint is observing Black History Month with the issuance of a $20 Fine Silver Coin celebrating the long-forgotten achievements of the No. 2 Construction Battalion, the first and only all-Black battalion-sized unit in Canadian military history.
When World War I began, many Black Canadians tried to enlist in the military but were prevented from joining their white compatriots on the battlefields overseas due to the racist policies of the era. In 1916, after the British government put out a call for labor battalions, the all-Black No. 2 Construction Battalion was formed to serve alongside the Canadian Forestry Corps in the forests of France, serving the lumber needs for the Allied cause.
The battalion returned to Canada in early 1919 and was disbanded in 1920. But their service was mostly ignored and forgotten until last July when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issues a formal apology to the descendants of the battalion members for the discrimination faced by these heroic men.
“Those who step forward to serve our country deserve to be honored. But for far too long ”” and for no reason but the color of their skin ”” the men of the No. 2 Construction Battalion did not receive the recognition that their service to Canada deserved,” said Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. “We have a responsibility to remember their sacrifice, and this coin will help ensure that more Canadians learn about and pay tribute to those who fought for the right to so bravely serve in uniform.”
The reverse design of this 99.99% pure silver coin, by artist Kwame Delfish, features a soldier of No. 2 Construction Battalion, standing at attention between two railroad tracks. His battalion’s cap badge is prominently displayed on his right, adjacent to a landscape of France’s Jura region, where the battalion assisted with logging and building a railroad. To his left, battalion comrades marching in a parade prior to their March 1917 deployment to Europe. The coin has a limited mintage of 5,500 and retails for C$99.95.
