2009–2010 Mathieu Da Costa Challenge

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Mathieu Da Costa Challenge is a national writing and artwork contest for youths that promotes a greater understanding of Canadian history and diversity. Through this contest, young people are asked to research and demonstrate how Canadians of different ethnic backgrounds have shaped our country’s history.

Who is Mathieu Da Costa?


Mathieu Da Costa is believed to be the first person of African descent to have set foot in Canada. A navigator and interpreter, Da Costa is documented to have travelled extensively throughout the Atlantic Region in the late 1500s and early 1600s. He often acted as an interpreter between the French and the Mi’kmaq.

If you are interested to know more about the 2009–2010 Mathieu Da Costa Challenge contest details, click here.

Image is an artist's impression of Mathieu Da Costa from the Roy States Collection, McLennan Library, McGill University. More info here.

If Mathieu Da Costa is the first African to have set foot in Canada, I wonder who's the Filipino counterpart. I've got to research for it.

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