Canada's first Black senator says racial diversity in government still a 'big order'

Anne Cools, Canada’s first Black senator says there’s still too many racial barriers for aspiring politicians of colour to overcome and that getting more diverse representation in government is a challenge.

“I can tell you that that's a big order. That's a big order,” Cools, who served as a senator for 30 years, told CTVNews.ca in a video interview on Feb. 1.

She says anyone looking to get into politics are driven by something she understands deeply.

“They have a hope that somehow or the other, they can get through all these difficulties,” Cools said, noting they’ll have fighting chance if they “hold on to the ground” on issues they’re passionate about.

However, she warns political newcomers to hold their constituents above their own personal aspirations. She says if they do that, they’ll succeed.

Check out the video above for more of her comments.

COOLS' CAREER IN A SNAPSHOT

Born in Barbados, Cools moved to Canada with her family in 1957, when she was a teenager and grew up in Montreal.

During her younger years, Cools and dozens of others occupied Sir George Williams University – now Concordia University – to protest against the alleged racist treatment of six Black students in 1969.

She was arrested and charged with willful obstruction and went on to serve four months in jail. Her vindication would take decades, with her being pardoned in 1981.

Anne Cools ran several failed attempts to enter public office including contesting the Liberal nomination in a by-election in the central Toronto riding of Rosedale in 1978 and failing to win the riding when she was the Liberal candidate in the 1979 general election.

After several failed attempts to enter public office, Cools spent 1980-84 serving on the National Parole Board of Canada. That was until she was nominated to the Senate by then-prime minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau.

Before her, no Black Canadian had ever served in the Senate. “The politics was very different 30 years ago than it is now,” Cools said.

She cited her work with domestic violence survivors as the reason Trudeau sought her out.

Cools founded Women in Transition in Toronto in 1974 -- one of Canada’s first shelters for female victims of violence. She was involved with the agency for nearly two decades.

“I thought it was a good thing and a desirable thing to do,” she said. “And you know, if anything has to be done, somebody has to do it.”

Sen. Anne Cools standing next to Prime Minister Jean Chretien and South African civil rights leader Nelson Mandela in 2010.

For 20 years, she caucused with the Liberals to represent Toronto Centre – later Toronto Centre-York – but she crossed the aisle to the Conservatives in 2004 for several reasons, including her opposition to same-sex marriage and a gun registry, as well as the sponsorship scandal which dogged the ruling Liberals at the time.

Sen. Anne Cools caucused with the Liberals for 20 years before crossing the aisle to Conservatives in 2004, and three years later, she became an Independent until she retired in 2018.

She only caucused with the Conservatives for three years, before spending the rest of her years as an Independent.

She retired in 2018 shortly before her 75th birthday, and was the longest serving senator at the time.

Check out the video above to hear more about her thoughts on politics today.