Affectionately known as Bev, she became a city councillor in 1985 representing North York Ward 8, and served for 12 years. 

Her very first motion changed “Alderman “to the more inclusive term “Councillor”. Bev was instrumental in introducing other councillors to the concept of anti-racism and as a result, several committees and initiatives were set up. 

She was also the first Black woman to serve as an Ontario Human Rights Commissioner from (1979-1985). While there, she sought to improve race relations through her involvement with anti-racism training and initiatives. During that time, Bev also co-founded Toronto Urban Alliance on Race Relations,  a non-profit charitable organization.

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Bev Salmon received many awards over her career. These include the African Canadian Achievement Award for Excellence in Politics in 1995, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Roll of Honour and an honorary Doctor of Laws from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) in 1999. She was also awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, the Order of Ontario in 2016, and the Order of Canada in 2017.

Bev was born in Toronto on December 25, 1930. Her father – Herbert Bell Sr. – was an immigrant from Jamaica while her mother, Violet Bryan, was a fifth-generation Canadian of Scottish descent. Her father left the military as a decorated veteran, then ran an auto repair business in Toronto. 

Bev’s career began as a nurse graduating from Wellesley Hospital class of 1953 with the distinction of Most Outstanding Nurse. After completing her training, Salmon started her nursing career in Detroit, Michigan, in 1956. While in the city she had the opportunity to hear leaders of the civil rights movement such as Martin Luther King Jr., and was inspired on her return to Toronto to become involved in civil rights activism. 

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Beverley was not only known for leading with a sympathetic ear, but would not hesitate to step in as a point person to help people resolve issues and move forward.

It was in Bev’s living room that a group of Black Torontonians gathered to discuss a Black history movement, a meeting that turned into the formation of the Ontario Black History Society that petitioned the City of Toronto a year later to have February proclaimed Black History Month.

In the 1990s, she and former school Principal MacArthur Hunter co-founded and co-chaired the Black Educators Working Group that, among other things, advocated for an inclusive curriculum.

Bev Salmon and MacArthur Hunter co-founded the Black Educators Working Group (Photo by Ron Fanfair)

As part of York University’s programs and research initiatives that reinforce its dedication to Black Studies in Canada, the Bev Salmon library fond was launched in 2018. The special collection of records documents her experience as a nurse and the first Black woman municipal councillor.

Bev was featured in BAND’s Black Women in Leadership exhibition featuring “Over forty Black women leaders, many of whom came of age in Southern Ontario from the 1950s into the 1980s, a time when policies, laws and surveillance of Black peoples in Canada were explicit and suffocating.” 

Her legacy will also be celebrated through a public art installation by Astrosankofa Arts Initiative. 

𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘

Date: Thursday, July 20

Time: 11:00 am

Location: St. John's York Mills Anglican Church, 19 Don Ridge Dr, North York, ON M2P 1H3

York Funeral Center Page *livestream link will be posted here:

https://mountpleasantgroup.permavita.com/site/BeverelySalmon.html

𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦

Dates: Tuesday, July 18 and Wednesday, July 19

Times: 2:00 – 4:00 pm / 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Location: York Cemetery and Funeral Centre, 160 Beecroft Rd, Toronto, ON M2N 5Z5

𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦

In lieu of flowers, donations will be lovingly accepted in Bev’s memory to:

𝘋𝘳. 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴

PHONE: 416.978.0811

ONLINE: https://mountpleasantgroup.permavita.com/siteContent/donations/charities.html?p=GiwaHR4Bfz01cXdBR1B2Bg

MAIL: Make check payable to:

Dr. John Douglas Graham Salmon Award for Black Medical Students

University of Toronto, Donation Management

21 King's College Circle

Toronto, ON M5S 3J3