Crusader is a vigorous black currant with large berries. It is susceptible to powdery mildew, a useful distinction when comparing it with more resistant cultivars.

It came from A. W. S. Hunter's breeding at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, where he crossed the cultivated currant Kerry with Ribes ussuriense to bring white pine blister rust resistance into a garden fruit. Consort and Coronet are its sisters.