While many know her as Canada’s first Black senator, Anne Cools’ influence in Canadian politics began long before she began her term in office. Born in Barbados on August 12, 1943, Cools immediately had an eye for justice. Both her uncle and her cousin were active in Barbados’ political system, so she has been aware of and interested in the political world from a very early age. At thirteen, Cools and her family moved to Canada, where she continued her schooling in Montreal at D’Arcy McGee High School. She later joined our McGillian community, graduating in 1981 with degrees in both psychology and sociology.
In 1969, Cools was instrumental in the infamous Sir George Williams Affair — a protest that occurred at Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University), Canada’s largest student sit-in to date.
In spring of 1968, six Black students attending Sir George Williams University filed a complaint against Professor Perry Anderson. They claimed that regardless of quality, all work submitted by Black students was given a failing grade. A committee was formed by the university to investigate the complaint and Anderson was suspended until a decision was reached. After almost a year of deliberation, the complaint was rejected by the university, sparking immediate outrage from the students and Montreal community. Over 200 people, including Cools, gathered in the school and occupied the university’s computer centre in protest of this disregard for civil rights.
An agreement was negotiated between Sir George Williams University and the protestors, stating that the protesters leave the building in exchange for the formation of a new committee who would review the original complaint. However, only about half of the protestors vacated the building, so the agreement was discarded. On February 11, 1969, police entered the school and chaos ensued. Amidst the turmoil, a fire began in the computer room, causing over $2 million in damages. Being named as a “ringleader” in the revolt, Cools was arrested, along with 96 other people. She stayed in jail for four months before being pardoned by the government. The next day, Anderson was reinstated, and months later, he was exonerated from all charges of racism.
Evidently, change did not happen overnight. However, the Sir George Williams Affair instilled even more passion in the civil rights movements occurring in Montreal, which had been increasing throughout the 1960s. In 1971, Sir George University revised its policies on processing complaints so that both students and faculty members were involved in the decision-making process. In 2022, an official apology was given by Concordia University regarding the situation in 1969.
The results of the Sir George Williams Affair reached beyond the school and into the community of Montreal, expanding even to people living in the Caribbean. Many students, like Cools, had come from Caribbean countries to study in Montreal, sparking growth in publicity and knowledge regarding anti-colonialism. Multiple Black community groups were founded in response to the increased activism, some of which are still ongoing (Ligue des Noirs du Québec and the Maison d’Haïti). The contribution and sacrifice made by Cools and the other students during the Sir George Williams Affair crucially propelled the increasing activism for the civil rights of Black people in Montreal.
After finishing her schooling, Cools began a career in social work. In 1974, Cools founded an agency called Women in Transition Inc., which was one of Canada’s first domestic violence shelters. She served as executive director for a number of years, during which she aided in the opening of multiple other shelters in Ontario. Cools also helped organize Canada’s first conference on domestic violence, titled Couples in Conflict.
Cools then shifted her love for social justice into a more political light. After the loss of multiple electoral campaigns to represent central Toronto, Cools was elected to the Canadian senate in 1984. This made her Canada’s first Black senator and the first Black woman to become senator in all of North America.
During her career as a senator, Anne Cools observed and participated in multiple different political groups. She began and spent the majority of her time with the Liberal party, switching to sit with the Conservative party in 2004. She ended her career as an unaffiliated senator. She was instrumental in many bills in Canada’s legislature, notably Bill C-20, concerned with Quebec’s secession from Canada. She is very proud of her work in divorce and separation cases, in which she took an important and, at the time, a somewhat unique stance: she would take special focus to ensure the fathers in these cases were being treated fairly, and that, above all, the child’s wellbeing was prioritized. A large part of this work occurred because of the formation of the Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access, which Cools helped to create. Having been a member of the Canadian senate for over 34 years, Cools gained much experience and influence through her position. As the age limit to be a member of the senate is 75 years, Cools retired on August 11, 2018.
Anne Cools continues to make an impact on the community, whether that be in the Caribbean, McGill, Montreal, or Canada as a whole. Her strength and perseverance is evident in the many different stages of her life. From immigrating to Canada, graduating university, participating in civil rights movements, and becoming a part of the Canadian Government, she has not let anything get in the way of what she believes. Cools has a strong sense of justice, but more than that, she has the resolve to act on her intuition and create positive change for people who are being mistreated.