Former Home of Clement Ligoure, Halifax’s First Black Doctor, Designated Heritage Property

January 24, 2023

The motion to register the home of Dr. Clement Ligoure as a heritage property was passed unanimously by Halifax Regional Council on January 24, 2023.

Dr. Clement Ligoure was originally born in Trinidad before emigrating to Canada where he received his medical degree from Queen’s University in 1916. Just two years later the University would ban all Black students.

Following his graduation, Dr. Ligoure made his way to Nova Scotia where he settled in Halifax. Although he had hoped to join the war effort, like many people of colour at the time, he was denied. He then focused on establishing his medical practice in the city of Halifax, however it was not without challenges. Despite being denied hospital privileges, Dr. Ligoure persisted, and set up a private clinic in his home on North Street.

When the Halifax Explosion occurred on December 6, 1917 Dr. Ligoure’s home became filled with injured people. With initially only the help of his housekeeper and a boarder, and later two nurses and some military personnel, Dr. Ligoure worked steadily assisting almost 200 patients per day for three weeks following the disaster. All free of charge.

Dr. Ligoure’s contributions did not end there. He would go on to become editor of the Atlantic Advocate, the first Black newspaper in Nova Scotia. He also worked to recruit for the No. 2 Construction Battalion, the first and only all-Black battalion in the First World War.

Dr. Ligoure passed away in 1922, but his legacy has lived on. His story was highlighted in the play Extraordinary Acts by David Woods. In 2021 the inaugural Dr. Clement Ligoure Award was given by Doctors Nova Scotia to the province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Robert Strang.

In 2022 the proposal was put forward to protect Dr. Ligoure’s former home on North Street by the director of the Friends of Halifax Common, Peggy Cameron.