Dr. Collins-Gonsalves Honoured as One of Canada’s Top 100 Black Women to Watch 2025

Noted historian Dr. Joanne Collins-Gonsalves was honoured as one of Canada’s Top 100 Black Women to Watch 2025 in Toronto, Canada, on October 25, 2025. The award was bestowed by CIBWE, Canada International Black Women Excellence and she was presented with this honour at the ceremony by The Honourable Marci Ien, P.C., Former Canadian Minister for Women and Gender, Equity, Equality and Youth.

Dr. Collins-Gonsalves stated that she was “deeply appreciative to have received the award and humbled to be among the brilliant and impactful 2025 CIBWE Honourees.” She also noted that “as the only historian in this year’s honourees, I’m thankful and I will continue to be committed to accurately researching history and uncovering and sharing untold stories - highlighting the often-overlooked historical narratives. Through meticulous research and scholarly inquiry, I aim to illuminate these histories, providing a more inclusive and accurate portrayal of our collective past.”

Dr. Joanne Collins-Gonsalves holds a PhD in History. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (United Kingdom) and the Managing Director of the Historical Research International Inc. (Canada).

An academic historian, she is the author of the following highly regarded books:

Dr. Collins-Gonsalves has also published in the Portuguese Studies Review, York University, Toronto, Canada and The Law Society Gazette (United Kingdom), among others. She is the author of over thirty (30) research projects, book chapters, academic articles, research papers, conference papers, and biographical profiles in total. She is a noted historian of Business history, Guyanese History, Portuguese Diasporic History, Women’s Legal History and History of the Roman Catholic Church (Guyana, Caribbean, Atlantic).

In Canada, she serves on the Advisory Board of the Journal of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, and the Education Committee, Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia. She is the Canadian Representative, Research Fellow and Advisor for History for the Farquharson Institute of Public Affairs (Jamaica). She has previously served on the Boards of the Guyana Heritage Society, Yellowknife Heritage Committee and the Rotary Club of Edmonton.

Dr. Collins-Gonsalves is a recipient of several prestigious awards including Canada’s Top 100 Black Woman to Watch 2025 Award; the Council of the University of Guyana Award; the President of the Year, Rotaract Caribbean Award; and winner of the Commonwealth Trust of Guyana Poetry Award, among other awards.