The history of the beautiful city of Kingston is as diverse as the people that now call it home. It was originally a French trading post named Cataraqui and only became known as Kingston when the British took over in the mid-eighteenth century. From those earliest days, Kingston has always been a great example of what it means to be Canadian and the cultural diversity that flows from that identity. Back then there were just three distinct cultures in the mix, but that’s been growing and evolving ever since, and the old city located at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and the mouth of the Cataraqui River is now a fine example of the cultural diversity that makes Canada so strong.

The Canadian Colours of Kingston Foundation aims to continue to encourage and promote the diversity that has made Kingston such a great place to live for all Canadians. We believe that diversity shouldn’t contradict Canadian values and true diversity is non-political, totally colour blind, and does not believe in anyone being superior to another everyone is a human being and equal. In fact, the diverse cultures and religions that make up our great city should be a source of strength. There’s no reason that we can’t encourage individual cultural differences without losing sight of our Canadian values. We created the Canadian Colours of Kingston Foundation to bring our different cultures together and to foster understanding and communication, by changing the narrative and understanding of what true diversity is.