Alberta mentorship program transforms futures for Black youth
CBC
Before joining the Black Youth Mentorship and Leadership Program, nursing student Joel Isu says he wasn’t sure what direction his future would take.
“I felt a little bit lost,” he said. “But with the workshops and guidance I received from the program, I’ve been on a better path.”
He says what mattered most was feeling safe in a space that was built for Black youth.
Isu is one of hundreds of Black students in Alberta who have participated in the program since its launch in 2020.
The grassroots initiative connects students entering Grades 11 and 12 and undergraduates with mentors, providing leadership workshops, and bringing participants onto university campuses to gain exposure to academic and professional opportunities.
Since it started, the program has mentored roughly 300 high school students and 35 undergraduate students across Canada.
Two years ago it expanded to Calgary, where it has worked with an additional 150 students. Alumni have gone on to medical school, graduate studies, and leadership roles, reflecting the program’s reach and influence.
Despite this growth, demand far exceeds capacity.
In 2024, the program served 44 students in Alberta — 27 in Calgary, 12 in Edmonton, and five online. In 2025, more than 180 students applied, but funding constraints meant only 82 could be accepted: 52 in Calgary, 19 in Edmonton and 11 online.
The program is designed not just to provide guidance, but to address the long-term effects of generational systemic anti-Black racism, barriers that many Black families have faced for decades.
Dr. Bukola Salami, founder of the program and a University of Calgary professor, says the goal is to ensure that “the experience of anti-Black racism parents faced does not limit their children, and that young people have the tools to excel academically, socially and professionally.”
The program’s design reflects a broader context in which Black Canadians experience discrimination and barriers that can affect personal, educational and economic outcomes.
According to Statistics Canada, data from 2021 to 2024 shows that approximately 51 per cent of racialized Canadians aged 15 and older reported experiencing discrimination or unfair treatment in the previous five years, which is nearly double the rate for non-racialized individuals (27 per cent).
Discrimination based on race or skin colour was identified as the leading perceived driver of these experiences.
The past 12 months brought big political headlines, new partisan players and plenty of parliamentary surprises. How much do you remember from it all?
The Ontario government has quietly given itself the power to override archaeological protections on development sites.
A freezing rain event that's left roads and trees across southwestern Ontario coated in ice has also seen emergency crews overwhelmed with calls for help from people without power and snapped trees.
Annette Dionne, the last surviving Dionne quintuplet and a champion of children's rights, has died.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is warning of multiple scams circulating leading up to the holidays.
The painted bunting usually calls the southern U.S. home and travels south at this time of year, but one decided to spend its Christmas holidays up north in Bayfield, N.B.
The Greater Montreal area could see a prolonged period of freezing rain on Monday, with potentially hazardous conditions developing across much of southern Quebec.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued a freezing rain and snowfall warning for large portions of central and northeastern Saskatchewan, with 10 to 15 centimeters of snow expected from Friday into Saturday morning.
A White Rock, B.C., councillor who uses a wheelchair has arranged for the community's popular New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim to be more accessible.
Blowing snow advisories were issued for Alberta’s two largest cities on Boxing Day, while large swaths of the province were also under various winter weather advisories or warnings.
Peterborough police have arrested and charged one man with second-degree murder in connection with a homicide in the city earlier this month.
Two newly published maps show the Bathurst caribou's changing migration patterns as their population rapidly decreases.
Provincial police are warning drivers to stay off the roadways on Boxing Day as southwestern Ontario falls under a freezing rain warning from Environment Canada.