Global Advocate for Equity and Justice
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Nicholas Marcus Thompson is a globally recognized human rights advocate, executive leader, and international speaker known for leading systemic change for inclusion and equity. Guided by a deep commitment to justice and compassion, Nicholas has built a global track record of confronting institutional inequities and advancing the rights of marginalized communities.
He is the President and CEO of the Black Class Action Secretariat (BCAS), where he spearheaded a landmark $2.5 billion class action lawsuit against the Government of Canada, challenging systemic anti-Black discrimination across 99 federal departments and agencies. Under his leadership, BCAS has driven legislative reforms, including proposed amendments to the Employment Equity Act, and secured a $50 million mental health and career development program for Black federal employees.
Nicholas also serves as Director of Social Action at the World House Project, where he leads global campaigns rooted in nonviolence, justice, and civil society engagement. In 2024, he founded the Global Litigation and Advocacy Network for People of African Descent (GLANPAD) at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing together legal experts and advocates from over 25 countries to confront systemic racism on a global scale.
A trusted voice on the international stage, Nicholas has addressed the United Nations multiple times and led the successful complaint that triggered a special review of the Canadian Human Rights Commission by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI). He is a sought-after speaker who brings legal insight, lived experience, and strategic vision to global platforms across North America, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.
Nicholas is also a guest lecturer at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he teaches future lawyers about systemic discrimination, public interest litigation, and international human rights mechanisms. His lectures go beyond traditional legal advocacy, equipping students to become activist lawyers—prepared to challenge entrenched systems, drive public discourse, and pursue justice both inside and outside the courtroom.
His passion for justice is deeply rooted in lived experience—born and raised in the communities of Piparo and Morvant in Trinidad and Tobago, he immigrated to Canada as a teenager. There, his commitment to equity took shape through the labour movement. His experience is grounded in a trade union background, having served two terms as President of the Union of Taxation Employees Toronto North branch, representing over 1,400 federal workers. In that role, he challenged racial injustice from within the federal workplace and union structures alike.
He has received numerous honors for his work, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Award, the Nation Builder Award, the Bob Marley Humanitarian Award, and the Bromley Lloyd Armstrong Human Rights Award.
Nicholas is a graduate of the Canada Labour College in Labour Studies and a certified human rights consultant with the U.S. Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights. He also holds academic credentials from the University of Sheffield in Crime, Justice, and Society, and from the University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom in Journalism.
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Nicholas’s advocacy continues to shape conversations on equity and justice—from grassroots organizing to global forums—always rooted in a belief that systems must serve all people with fairness, dignity, and humanity.