Anti-Black Racism in Healthcare: Could critical race theory prove helpful in the Canadian context?

Abstract

Anti-Black racism persists in various Canadian areas, including healthcare. The legacy of white dominance from the period of colonization and slavery has spawned an afterlife of anti-Black racism, which has significantly contributed to shortcomings in Canadian healthcare equity. The underfunding of research specifically examining the experiences of Black communities in healthcare has resulted in a lack of evidence in the available literature and has further contributed to barriers to advocacy for addressing health disparities within these communities. In this commentary, we briefly discuss the history of anti-Black racism in Canada and how it continues to manifest in Canadian healthcare. We suggest that engaging critical race theory in the Canadian racial healthcare equity literature may provide a more nuanced analysis of the root causes of racial health disparities in Canada’s Black communities and is essential for developing effective strategies that address systemic and structural anti-Black racism in the Canadian healthcare environment.