Sault Ste. Marie in Algoma District, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
Equality and Multiculturalism
Viola Desmond
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Égalité et multiculturalisme
Viola Desmond
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 11, 2024
1. Equality and Multiculturalism / Égalité et multiculturalisme Marker
Taking a stand
On November 8, 1946, Viola Desmond was travelling on business and decided to see a movie at the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. She bought a balcony ticket, then challenged the theatre's segregation by sitting downstairs in the whites-only section. For this, she was arrested. Outraged, the Black Nova Scotian community organized and fought the injustice in a case that has come to represent a turning point in the struggle for rights in Canada.
Since then, respect for diversity has emerged in the minds of Canadians. In 1971, Canada launched its new policy of multiculturalism. It recognized the many ethno-cultural communities that make up the fabric of Canada. Initially symbolic, through the decades the policy has promoted respect for diversity and contributed to preserving a multitude of cultural identities in Canada. While barriers still exist 50 years later, the concept of multiculturalism has become embedded in the civic identity of many Canadians.
Prendre sa place
Le 8 novembre 1946, Viola Desmond est en voyage d'affaires en Nouvelle-Écosse. Pour se détendre, elle entre au cinéma Roseland. Elle achète un billet, mais plutôt que de s'assoir au balcon, comme le dicte la règle discriminatoire de l'établissement, Viola entre dans la section réservée aux Blancs et elle y prend sa place. Ce geste de désobéissance civile lui vaut d'être arrêtée puis condamnée. La communauté noire de la Nouvelle-Écosse, outrée, s'organise et œuvre à combattre cette injustice. Cette affaire marque un tournant dans la lutte pour les droits au Canada.
Depuis ce temps, le respect de la diversité a lui aussi pris sa place dans l'esprit des Canadiens. La politique sur le multiculturalisme, lancée en 1971 par le gouvernement fédéral, y a contribué. En reconnaissant d'emblée les collectivités ethnoculturelles qui forment le tissu social du pays, cette politique a favorisé, au cours des ans, la préservation de nombreuses identités culturelles au point où, aujourd'hui, le concept de multiculturalisme s'ajoute à l'identité civique de plusieurs Canadiens.
Topics.
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Location. 46° 30.796′ N, 84° 21.027′ W. Marker is in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in Algoma District. It can be reached from Canal Drive 0.7 kilometers south of Huron Street, on the left when traveling west. The marker is located along the interpretive walkway at the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Canal Drive, Sault Ste Marie ON P6A 6W4, Canada. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma Area and in Northern Ontario. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, in the Great North Woods, on Lake Superior’s North Shore, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Rupert’s Land.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker:
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 11, 2024
2. Equality and Multiculturalism / Égalité et multiculturalisme Marker
Looking southwest; the Sault Ste. Marie Canal is in the left background.
Also see . . . Viola Desmond (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: Viola Irene Desmond (1914–1965) was a Canadian civil and women's rights activist and businesswoman of Black Nova Scotian descent. In 1946, she challenged racial segregation at a cinema in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, by refusing to leave a whites-only area of the Roseland Theatre. For this, she was convicted of a minor tax violation for the one-cent tax difference between the seat that she had paid for and the seat that she used, which was more expensive. Desmond's case is one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Canadian history and helped start the modern civil rights movement in Canada.(Submitted on May 19, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)In 2010, Viola Desmond was granted a posthumous free pardon, the first to be granted in Canada. A free pardon deems the person granted the pardon to have never committed the offence and cancels any consequence resulting from the conviction, such as fines, prohibitions or forfeitures. However, it was not until 2021 that the government repaid the $26 (worth $368 CAD as of 2021) fine to her estate in the form of a $1,000 scholarship that adjusted the amount to reflect the time value of money.
In late 2018, Desmond became the first Canadian-born woman to appear alone on a Canadian bank note—a $10 bill—which was unveiled by Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz during a ceremony at the Halifax Central Library on March 8, 2018. Desmond was also named a National Historic Person in 2018.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 16, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 88 times since then and 6 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 19, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
