Dedicated funding to commemorate the legacy of No. 2 Construction Battalion

On November 17, 2023, Minister Blair and Minister Petitpas Taylor announced dedicated funding to commemorate the legacy of No. 2 Construction Battalion. The DND/CAF will make $2.25 million available over five years for commemorative activities, educational materials, and community war memorials that commemorate No. 2 Construction Battalion legacy, the only all-Black battalion-sized formation in Canadian military history.

The announcement of this funding follows the historic apology to the descendants of the Battalion by the Prime Minister and the Minister of National Defence in July 2022. The dedicated funding responds to a recommendation from the National Apology Advisory Committee (NAAC), who conducted consultations with descendants of No. 2 Construction Battalion and members of Black communities on their vision of a meaningful apology.   

No. 2 Construction Battalion History

No. 2 Construction Battalion (also known as the Black Battalion), was created on July 5, 1916, in Pictou, Nova Scotia, during the First World War. It was a segregated non-combatant unit, the first and only all-Black battalion-sized formation in Canadian military history.

While the contributions of No. 2 Construction Battalion members to the war effort were invaluable. Following the end of the First World War, the unit was officially disbanded on September 15, 1920, without ceremony or recognition for their service or sacrifices on behalf of Canada.

National Apology Advisory Committee: Consultations and Report Consultations and Report

On Sunday, March 28, 2021, 104 years after No. 2 Construction Battalion deployed overseas, the Minister of National Defence announced that Canada would apologize for the racism and discrimination these men endured. The apology was to come after meaningful consultations with descendants of No. 2 Construction Battalion and members of Black communities were completed.

The NAAC was established in June 2021 as a consulting body for the Government of Canada in the shaping of the upcoming official apology. The NAAC members were chosen based on connection and dedication to No. 2 Construction Battalion. They were comprised of community leaders, historians, descendants, and authors. Individual members of the NAAC offered a balanced advisory layer to the formulation of the planned apology. The NAAC was co-chaired by Mr. Russell Grosse and Lieutenant-Colonel Barry Pitcher. The NAAC’s mandate was designed to provide meaningful input in the form of:

• Advising on appropriate historical information about No. 2 Construction Battalion;
• Organizing and facilitating satellite and momentum activities;
• Facilitating important discussions with descendants, community members, and stakeholders throughout the country, and where descendants exist; and
• Facilitating the identification and location of descendants.

In the lead up to the apology, the NAAC issued the National Apology Advisory Committee Report that contained eight recommendations outlining the collective voices of No. 2 Construction Battalion descendants on their vision of a meaningful apology.

Apology to the descendants of No. 2 Construction Battalion

On 9 July 2022, the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and the former Minister of National Defence, Anita Anand, delivered an apology on behalf of the Government of Canada for the systemic anti-Black racism that members of No. 2 Construction Battalion endured before, during, and long after the First World War. The Prime Minister apologized at a ceremony in Truro, Nova Scotia, for the Government’s appalling mistreatment of soldiers who served in the battalion, and to their families, descendants, and communities.

Dedicated funding to commemorate No. 2 Construction Battalion

Recommendation 5 of the NAAC Report stated that for the apology to be meaningful, it needed to include the establishment of funding to highlight the legacy of No.2 Construction Battalion. To meet this recommendation, DND/CAF collaborated with Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) to leverage its Commemorative Partnership Program (CPP) to deliver dedicated funding to commemorate the legacy of No.2 Construction Battalion. 

The funding will support activities, educational materials, and community war memorials that commemorate No.2 Construction Battalion.  

The dedicated funding provides $2.25 million over five years for grants and contributions – $250,000 in the first year and $500,000 in the subsequent four years.

Veterans Affairs Canada Commemorative Partnership Program

The objective of the CPP is to expand the reach of remembrance by providing funding for initiatives that recognize Canadian Veterans and those who died in service. The focus of the program is commemorative initiatives that engage Canadians, here at home, in remembrance. Two types of funding are available through the program:

1.     Community Engagement funding supports organizations undertaking remembrance initiatives including commemorative activities or the development of commemorative materials. 

2.     Community War Memorial funding supports the construction, restoration, or expansion of a community war memorial.

Financial assistance will be provided to eligible recipients in the form of a grant or contribution.

CPP guidelines can be reviewed at the links below, including information on how to apply, as well as eligible and ineligible expenditures, projects and recipients.

1.     Community Engagement Funding – Program Guidelines

2.     Community War Memorial Funding – Program Guidelines  

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Associated Links

• No. 2 Construction Battalion - Canada.ca
• Prime Minister delivers apology to descendants of No. 2 Construction Battalion
• Prime Minister’s remarks to apologize to descendants of No. 2 Construction Battalion | Prime Minister of Canada (pm.gc.ca)
• Apology by Minister of National Defence Anita Anand to the descendants of No. 2 Construction Battalion
• National Apology Advisory Committee - Minister of National Defence Report - Canada.ca
• Commemorative Partnership Program - Funding Programs - Remembrance - Veterans Affairs Canada
• Minister Blair and Minister Petitpas Taylor announce $2.25 million in funding to honour the legacy of No. 2 Construction Battalion