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TRURO, N.S. — The No. 2 Construction Battalion, the first and only all-Black battalion-sized unit in Canadian military history, marks its 110th anniversary this year, a milestone that underscores both its legacy of service and struggle against racism.

Canada entered the First World War on August 4, 1914, and recruiters fanned out across the country to enlist men for what was then known as “The Great War.” But for Black Canadians eager to serve, the response was often a closed door. In the first two years of the conflict, hundreds of Black volunteers attempted to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force, only to be rejected at local recruitment offices because of the colour of their skin.

Despite this systemic discrimination, Black communities did not give up. Black Canadians and white allies organized, petitioned and pressed military and political officials to allow Black enlistment. Their efforts coincided with a growing demand from Britain for additional labour units from Canada. In 1916, Ottawa finally agreed to create a segregated labour unit — the decision that led directly to the formation of the No. 2 Construction Battalion.

Formed on July 5, 1916, in Pictou, N.S., before relocating to Truro, N.S., the No. 2 Construction Battalion — often called the Black Battalion — drew more than 600 men from across Canada and beyond. Many recruits came from Nova Scotia’s long-established Black communities, while others travelled from the United States and the British West Indies to enlist.

The unit’s chaplain, Rev. Dr. W. Andrew White, held the rank of captain and became the only Black officer in No. 2 Construction Battalion — and one of the very few Black officers in the entire Canadian military during the war. His presence was a rare breach in the colour bar that otherwise kept Black soldiers out of leadership positions.

On March 28, 1917, the battalion sailed from Halifax aboard the SS Southland, arriving in Liverpool, England, on April 7. Once overseas, military authorities reorganized the unit as a labour company because it did not have enough personnel to meet the official threshold for a battalion. It was renamed No. 2 Canadian Construction Company, but its mission — and its segregated status — remained.

Deployed to the forests of France, the men of No. 2 worked alongside the Canadian Forestry Corps, conducting gruelling, often dangerous labour, that underpinned the Allied war machine. They felled trees, milled lumber and helped load and transport finished timber by rail to the front. That wood was essential for the war effort — shoring up trenches, reinforcing observation posts and contributing to aircraft construction in France.

While they were kept away from combat roles by policy and prejudice, their work was critical infrastructure for the Allied armies. Every length of timber used to hold a trench wall or frame an observation post was part of a supply chain that ran through units like No. 2.

After the Armistice on Nov. 11, 1918, most members of No. 2 Construction Battalion returned to Canada in January 1919. The unit was officially disbanded in September 1920. In recent years, the families of No. 2 Construction Battalion members and their allies campaigned for formal recognition and an apology for the racism and discrimination the soldiers endured — from being turned away when they first volunteered to serving in segregated units once finally accepted.

On July 9, 2022, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of National Defence Anita Anand delivered a formal apology before descendants and community members in Truro, N.S. The apology acknowledged not only the discrimination the men faced during the war, but also the decades of silence that followed.