Grizzle, Stanley

Stanley Grizzle has led an illustrious life, and Crestwood students were fortunate to meet him in the spring of 2013 – on several occasions – and we are indebted to Kathy Grant and the Legacy Voices Project for setting up that introduction.

Stanley Grizzle was born in Toronto in 1918, to Jamaican parents who immigrated to Canada in 1911. He grew up in downtown Toronto, where he attended Prince Edward School and later Harbord Collegiate.  He became a railway porter at the age of 22 to help support his family. In 1938 he became involved in the executive of the porters’ union, initiating a period of activity which would make him one of the leaders in the black Canadian campaign for civil rights.  After receiving his conscription notice, he served in the Canadian Army in Europe during World War II, where he was trained as a member of the medical corps.

After the war, Stanley’s political role continued to grow, and he was eventually appointed a Judge of the Canadian Court of Citizenship by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, a first for an African Canadian.

Stanley received the Order of Ontario in 1990 from Lieutenant-Governor Lincoln Alexander and the Order of Canada in 1995 from Governor General Romeo LeBlanc.  He also received the Order of Distinction from Jamaica for his valuable contributions to Canadian society.  Most recently he was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal by Ontario Lieutenant-Governor David Onley, celebrating Stanley’s contributions to Canadian history.