Campaign underway to name new care home after Bernice Redmon. Jamaal Myers has launched petition to recognize Canada’s first Black nurse.
Scarborough North City Councillor Jamaal Myers has launched a petition to name a new long-term care home on Finch Avenue East after Bernice Redmon.
Canada’s first Black nurse, Redmon (1917-1993) was not able to train in Canada, where she was born, because Black students were not accepted into nursing schools in the 1940s.
“Bernice graduated three years later with a registered nursing degree and a scholarship to continue her studies to receive an additional degree in public health nursing,” explains a family website dedicated to the history of the Carnegie family. Redmon’s full maiden name was Bernice Isobel Carnegie.
Upon returning to Canada, Redmon started her career in 1945 with the Nova Scotia department of health.
“She was motivated and had the intelligence and the grades to make it happen,” writes Bernice Yvonne Carnegie, Redmon’s niece, in a book chapter detailing this era. “I respect her commitment and moxie for overcoming the obstacles that could have prevented her from fulfilling her childhood dream.”
The long-term care home will be located at the corner of Finch Avenue East and Brimley Road. The home — which was announced in 2022 at a construction cost of $175 million — will house over 300 beds for seniors.
Both those in other care homes looking to transfer and seniors on waiting lists will be eligible to apply. The facility was announced with an expected completion date of 2026.The petition to support the naming can be found at www.jamaalmyers.com/petitions
