Every February, Nova Scotians mark African Heritage Month, honouring the many ways that Black communities have helped make our province a vibrant, vital place to live, work and play. This year, the theme is “Legacy in Action: Celebrating Black Brilliance.”

It’s an opportunity to celebrate collective achievements, witness the dynamics of change and recognize the importance of reflecting on history while striving for progress. At Doctors Nova Scotia, that means highlighting the careers of some of our earliest Black physicians and looking at the many ways we’re supporting our current members.

Black physicians have played an important role in providing health care to Nova Scotians for more than 100 years. Dr. Grant Mahabir, born in Trinidad, graduated from Dalhousie Medical School in 1917 and, after serving in the First World War, maintained a busy medical practice until the early 1940s. Dr. Clement Ligoure graduated from medical school at Queen’s University in 1916 and moved to Halifax shortly afterward; he is remembered as a hero of the Halifax Explosion after tirelessly caring for people injured in the blast.

Another early member of Halifax’s Black medical community was Dr. Alfred Waddell. He graduated from Dalhousie Medical School in 1933 and went on to provide care to several historic Black communities in the Halifax area, from Beechville to Africville to the Prestons. His dedication to his community was recently honoured by the Halifax Regional Municipality, which named a street after him in late 2024.

But Dr. Waddell’s legacy didn’t end there; his grandson, Dr. Ron Milne, followed in his footsteps, becoming a family physician. He’s now the founder and long-time head of the Nova Scotia Brotherhood; he and his colleague Dr. Leah Jones, who heads the Nova Scotia Sisterhood, focus on providing health care to people in historic Black communities.

“It’s been known for a long time that Black men have increased morbidity and mortality,” said Dr. Milne. “Nova Scotia Health was looking to start a program for Black men, initially, to try and mitigate some of those issues, which are rooted in the social determinants of health – education, income, housing and racism.”

Receiving health care in their own communities from Black physicians is helping to build trust among Black Nova Scotians said Dr. Jones. “It may be the first time this person has felt listened to in the health-care system. That impact is huge.”

(Read more about the work of Drs. Milne and Jones here.)

Dr. Jones isn’t just paving the way for Black community members to receive the care they need; she’s also breaking ground for Black medical students as the first academic director for Black health at Dalhousie University. The university established a program called the Black Learners Admissions Pathway, which helps Black students apply for and enter the undergraduate medical education program. “I want to make sure that, as we recruit and support Black learners into medical school, they continue to feel that support during their training and want to stay in the Maritimes to practice,” she said in a statement from Dalhousie.

Other health-system partners are doing their part to support Black medical learners and internationally trained physicians, including the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, which launched the Welcome Collaborative to help physicians get their practices off on the right foot, and Doctors Nova Scotia, which administers a grant to support physicians who are working to receive their Canadian credentials. The Department of Health and Wellness developed a comprehensive Health Equity Framework as part of its ongoing work to identify and address systemic racism in the province’s health-care system.

Doctors Nova Scotia continues to address these inequities through sustained advocacy and action to dismantle the systemic racism. This racism is baked into the health-care system, creating barriers to access for Black Nova Scotians that contribute to poorer health outcomes in their communities.

Doctors Nova Scotia is committed to educating staff and members about the impacts of anti-Black racism in health care, examining and addressing internal biases, and advocating for systemic change to support health equity. The organization also prioritizes strengthening partnerships with African Nova Scotian communities to improve access to culturally safe care and resources, and supporting Black medical learners and practising physicians by providing access to bursaries and opportunities to connect and develop leadership skills.

In February and all year round, Doctors Nova Scotia recognizes and values the enormous impact that Black physicians have on our health care system and the important role they play in providing excellent health care for patients across the province.

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