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Édouard “Eddie” Anglade

Anglade Edouard


Reason for inclusion / First: First Black Police Office in Quebec and the Montreal Police.

Bio / Key facts: DOB - DOD, Place of Birth, Occupation:  Anglade was born in Haiti in 1944 and immigrated with his family to Quebec in 1964. Ten years later (in 1974), Anglade joined the Montreal Police as the first Black officer in city of Montreal and the province of Quebec. On 13 June 2007, at the age of 63, he died of brain cancer.

Early years/ Motivations: Anglade worked as an undercover officer for three years to combat drug trafficking. His work as an undercover narcotics officer netted numerous arrests, among them a police sergeant who was colluding with drug traffickers.

Key accomplishments/contributions: While on the force and reaching the rank of Detective-Sergeant, Anglade battled racism, prejudice and bigotry from other police officers, some in senior positions, who refused to work with a Black man. In 1988 Anglade won his workplace racial harassment case – the first such case won in Canada.

In recognition of his exceptional work on the Montreal Police force over the course of 30+ years, Anglade was awarded the Governor General’s Distinguished Service Awards in 1995 and again in 2004. He was also awarded a certificate of recognition by the Montreal Police for exemplary conduct throughout his career.

Later years/ Present day: During his retirement Anglade remained actively involved in policing issues notably in Haiti. He was involved in efforts to combat the expansion of street gangs. He also worked as an expert consultant, in 1995, on the restructuring of the Haitian police.

In 1995, he published his autobiography, Nom de code Mao: The Journey of the First Haitian Policeman in Montreal, which was well received in Quebec. The book details Anglade’s experiences on the police force including his undercover work and the racial harassment he faced from white police officers.

In 1997, he was appointed as the Honorary Citizen of the city of Montreal.

Other / Interesting facts: At the time Anglade joined the force, only 2.5% of Quebec residents were of African or African-Canadian ancestry. In 2007, the year of Anglade’s death, only 2% of the Montreal Police were racialized compared to 20% of the city’s population.

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