“Acts of Resistance” by Afua Cooper was very interesting to read as it recounted important events that helped to lead to the abolishment of slavery in Upper Canada. Most of Canadian history is focused on the horrendous acts involving Indigenous peoples in Canada, therefore we often forget about other races that may have suffered around the same time. Slavery is usually regarded as an ‘American Problem’ but this mistreatment happened in Canada as well. It was interesting to hear how compared to the USA in act of freeing slaves. Most would think that Canada was ahead of the times and treated their people with more respect than America. However, that was not the case. Although Canada was not yet entirely a country, the abolishment of slavery is another example in history of Canada following not leading. The Simcoe Act was passed in 1793, it prohibited any more slaves from entering Canada and any slave that did was considered a free man. This act did not change the status of any person already enslaved at the moment. At this news, many slaves then left Upper Canada and migrated to states such as Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Detroit. Some Upper Canadian slaves formed in groups and joined forces against Canada. This timeline suggests that Canada was in fact behind the times and following the lead of America in light of enslavement. “In 1807 Upper Canadian slaveholders petitioned the government of the United States to help them retrieve their former slaves from American soil.” (13) To which representatives of the United States government declined. The bill was a disappointment to some as they wanted to free all slaves but had to compromise when met with much opposition (13). Upper Canada was however, somewhat of a refuge for “oppressed American Blacks… and was the first jurisdiction within the British Empire to enact a piece of antislavery legislation” (15). Although it didn’t help any current Canadian slaves, any American slaves that were to enter Canada automatically became free. Although Canada is deemed one of the most multicultural countries in the world, it has a sickening past. African Canadians suffered through a past as bleak as the Americans, however this is often overshadowed due to the ugly past of First Nations peoples and Japanese Canadians. When learning about Canadian history, we must not forget to learn about the disheartening areas of our past as well.