John G. Diefenbaker
Diefenbaker, John G. (George) (1895–1979), a prime minister of Canada. In 1957 he became the first Progressive Conservative prime minister in more than 20 years. As prime minister, he promoted the development of Canada's vast Arctic region and established trade with China. Diefenbaker was a flamboyant orator who was not afraid to state an unpopular opinion. He also was a strong leader who was often accused of running a one-man government. His party was defeated in the 1963 election. Diefenbaker was born in Neustadt, Ontario. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Saskatchewan. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1915 and received a master's degree there in 1916. He served in Europe as an army lieutenant during World War I. He was wounded in 1917 and returned to the university to study law. He received a law degree in 1919. Diefenbaker developed a successful law practice and a reputation as a defender of the underprivileged. Diefenbaker became leader of the Progressive Conservative party in 1956 and remained in that post until 1967. He was elected to Parliament 13 times, serving from 1940 until his death. His memoirs—One Canada, The Crusading Years, 1895–1956—were published in 1976.
Alexander Ross
Ross, Alexander (1783-1856), a Canadian explorer and historian. He played an important role in the early development of the Red River Valley, in what is now Manitoba; he served as a member of the Council of Assiniboia (the administrative district that included the valley), 1835-50, and as district sheriff, 1839-52. Ross was born in Scotland. He came to Canada in 1805 and became a schoolteacher. He worked for John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company, 1810-12, and then for the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company before settling in the Red River Valley in 1825.
Ross wrote Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River (1849); The Fur Hunters of the Far West (2 volumes, 1855); The Red River Settlement (1856).
Campbell, Kim
Campbell, Kim (Avril Phaedra Campbell) (1947-), the 19th prime minister of Canada, and the first woman to hold that office. She became party leader of the Progressive Conservatives and prime minister after Brian Mulroney resigned in June, 1993. She held office only four months, her party losing the parliamentary elections of October, 1993. She resigned as party leader in December, 1993.
Campbell was born in Port Alberni, British Columbia. She received a degree in political science from the University of British Columbia in 1969. She did postgraduate work at the London School of Economics and taught at the University of British Columbia before entering its law school in 1980. While in law school, Campbell became involved in politics and served on the Vancouver board of education. After receiving a law degree in 1983, she practiced in Vancouver. In 1988 she was elected to the legislative assembly in British Columbia as a member of the Social Credit party.
Campbell was elected to the House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative in 1988 and rose rapidly in the party. In the Mulroney government, she was minister of state for Indian affairs and northern development (198990), Canada's first female minister of justice and attorney general (199093), and minister of defense (1993). She also served as secretary-general (2004-06) of the Club of Madrid, an organization that supports democracy around the world.
Charles Le Moyne
Le Moyne (or Lemoyne), Charles(1626–1685), a French colonist in Canada. He came to Canada in 1641 and served as a soldier, trader, and Indian interpreter for the Jesuits. Le Moyne was prominent in French dealings with the Iroquois. In 1668 he was created Sieur de Longueuil by Louis XIV. Several of his 11 sons were important in the development of North America.
G. Raymond Chang,
OC, OJ (1948/1949—July 27, 2014) was a businessman, philanthropist, and the third chancellor of Ryerson University from 2006 until 2012. He was born the fifth of 12 children to Hakka Chinese parents in Kingston, Jamaica. His father was a second generation Chinese Jamaican and his mother was Chinese Guyanese born to Chinese immigrants. Chang emigrated to Canada in 1967 to attend university. He earned an engineering degree from the University of Toronto and went on to earn his qualifications as a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst and pursued a career in finance. He worked for Coopers & Lybrand until 1984 when he co-founded what became CI Financial as Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer. He was promoted to COO and President in 1996, becoming President and CEO in 1998 and then Chairman and CEO from 1999 to 2010 by which time the company was the second largest publicly traded fund company in Canada. Chang also owned an investment holding company, G. Raymond Chang Ltd., and founded software firm Mercatus Technologies Inc. Chang was also a shareholder and board member of various other Canadian and Jamaican companies.
He was appointed to the Order of Jamaica in 2011 and as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2014. Ryerson University's G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is named after him.Chang donated tens of millions of dollars to various institutions such as Ryerson University, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the University of the West Indies. He was a board member on the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation and established a chair at the University of Toronto in internal medicine and started a fellowship for West Indian doctors at the University Health Network. In 2010, he was name Outstanding Philanthropist of the year by the Toronto chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Chang, who suffered from leukemia, died at the age of 65, several months after undergoing a bone marrow transplant.
Coureurs de bois
Coureur de Bois, a hunter, trapper, or fur trader in the early days in western North America. The term is French for "runner of the woods." Many coureurs de bois left the settlements of French Canada during the latter part of the 17th century to roam the wilderness, often defying French law by trading without licenses with the Indians for furs. Some made valuable explorations.
Earl Of Selkirk
Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, Fifth Earl of (1771–1820), a Scottish colonizer who helped settle landless Scottish and Irish farmers in Canada. He founded a successful colony on Prince Edward Island in 1803. In 1811 he obtained from the Hudson's Bay Company a tract of land called Assiniboia (in what is now Manitoba). A settlement was established in the Red River Valley the following year. When its existence was threatened by rivalry between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company, he spent much of his fortune and his energies to preserve the settlement.
Selkirk was born in Scotland. He succeeded his father as earl in 1799.
Eighth Earl of Elgin
Elgin, James Bruce, Eighth Earl of (1811–1863), a British diplomat. As governor general of Canada, 1847–54, he carried out the plan of his father-in-law, the Earl of Durham, for establishing “responsible government” (representative government). Elgin also negotiated a reciprocal trade treaty with the United States (1854) that helped spur Canadian economic development.
Elgin was born in London. He served as governor of Jamaica, 1842–46. After leaving Canada in 1854, he concluded British trade agreements with China and Japan. He was named viceroy of India in 1862, but died shortly after taking his post.
George Brown
Brown, George (1818–1880), a Canadian journalist and statesman, one of the fathers of Canadian confederation. A leader of the Reform, or Liberal, party, Brown dominated his party for two decades through his editorship of the influential Toronto Globe. By joining his Conservative party rivals in a coalition government seeking federal union, he helped bring about confederation of the British colonies in North America (1867).
Brown was born in Scotland. He lived in New York City briefly before moving in 1843 with his father to Toronto, where they founded the Globe. Brown was elected to the assembly of Canada in 1851. There he advocated representation based on population rather than geographical area to end what he considered to be French-Catholic domination of Canada. Brown was defeated in the first federal elections, held in 1867. He was appointed to the Senate in 1873 but devoted most of his time to th
Jean Baptiste Talon
Talon, Jean Baptiste (1625?–1694), the first French intendant (a chief administrator responsible directly to the king) in New France (French Canada). Following the doctrines of the French finance minister Colbert, Talon built up manufacturing and trade, greatly strengthening the economy of the colony. He increased the population by encouraging immigration, importing brides for French settlers, and giving cash prizes for large families. He sent out explorers, including Louis Joliet, to gain new territories for France. Talon was born in France and served as intendant in New France during 1665–68 and 1670–72.
John G. Diefenbaker
Diefenbaker, John G. (George) (1895–1979), a prime minister of Canada. In 1957 he became the first Progressive Conservative prime minister in more than 20 years. As prime minister, he promoted the development of Canada's vast Arctic region and established trade with China. Diefenbaker was a flamboyant orator who was not afraid to state an unpopular opinion. He also was a strong leader who was often accused of running a one-man government. His party was defeated in the 1963 election. Diefenbaker was born in Neustadt, Ontario. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Saskatchewan. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1915 and received a master's degree there in 1916. He served in Europe as an army lieutenant during World War I. He was wounded in 1917 and returned to the university to study law. He received a law degree in 1919. Diefenbaker developed a successful law practice and a reputation as a defender of the underprivileged. Diefenbaker became leader of the Progressive Conservative party in 1956 and remained in that post until 1967. He was elected to Parliament 13 times, serving from 1940 until his death. His memoirs—One Canada, The Crusading Years, 1895–1956—were published in 1976.
Louis de Baude, Comte de Frontenac et de Palluau
Frontenac, Louis de Buade, Comte de Palluau et de (1620–1698), a French soldier and colonial administrator. Frontenac served as governor of New France (French Canada), 1672–82 and 1689–98. He envisioned a great empire for France in North America, sponsoring the explorations of LaSalle, Joliet, and Marquette, and successfully defended the colony from attacks by the Indians and the English. As a ruler, however, he also was arrogant, impulsive, and quarrelsome.
Frontenac had served as an army officer in Italy, Flanders, and Germany. Soon after arriving in Canada as governor, he built Fort Frontenac (at what is now Kingston, Ontario), on Lake Ontario. His efforts to expand the fur trade westward brought conflict with the Iroquois and also were opposed by the French government, which recalled him in 1682. However, when the English and their Indian allies threatened New France, he was reappointed governor. War with the English (King William's War) broke out in 1689. Frontenac successfully defended Quebec in 1690. His men then defeated the Iroquois and raided colonial settlements in New England and New York. Fighting was halted by the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697.
Louis Riel
Riel, Louis (1844-1885), a Canadian rebel leader. He was the leader of the métis (persons of mixed French and Indian ancestry) in the territory that became the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and was the central figure in the Red River Rebellion of 1870 and the Saskatchewan Rebellion of 1885.
Riel was born in St. Boniface, Assiniboia (later, Manitoba), and studied briefly for the priesthood. In the late 1860's, he became leader of the métis in the Red River Valley. They resisted the Canadian government when it sought to make their territory part of the new province of Manitoba. In 1869 he was elected president of a provisional government formed by the rebels. When Canadian troops were sent to put down the rebellion, he fled to the United States.
While in the United States, Riel was twice elected to the Canadian parliament from Manitoba. When he returned to Canada and attempted to take his seat in 1874, he was expelled from the House of Commons and then ordered banished for five years. After suffering a complete mental breakdown, Riel was allowed to seek medical aid in Canada and spent much of 1876-78 confined to an asylum in Quebec. (For the rest of his life, he had periods of mental instability.) After his release, he went to Montana, became an American citizen, and taught school.
In 1884 métis in the Saskatchewan Valley asked Riel to lead a protest against what they considered the Canadian government's indifference to their grievances. After returning, he soon formed a provisional government, with himself as president, and arranged an alliance with the Cree Indians. In 1885 armed revolt broke out. A Canadian army expedition defeated the rebels, and Riel was captured. He was tried for treason and hanged. His death marked the end of the métis' struggle for self-government, but caused hostile feelings for years between French-speaking and English-speaking Canadians.
Louis Stephen St. Laurent
St. Laurent, Louis Stephen (1882–1973), the 12th prime minister of Canada and the second French-Canadian to hold the office. Under his leadership, 1948–57, the unity of French-and English-speaking Canada was strengthened and Canada increased its role in world affairs. He expanded the nation's social services, persuaded the United States to help build the St. Lawrence Seaway, and was one of the first to propose a North Atlantic alliance.
St. Laurent was born in Compton, Quebec, the son of a French-Canadian father and a mother of Irish ancestry. After receiving a law degree from Laval University in 1905, he became a leading corporation lawyer. A member of the Liberal party, St. Laurent entered active politics in 1941 at the request of Prime Minister Mackenzie King. He was appointed minister of justice and attorney general for the duration of World War II. In 1942 he was elected to the House of Commons. He served as deputy chairman of the Canadian delegation to the United Nations organizing conference in 1945 and headed Canada's UN delegation, 1946–47. In 1946 he became secretary of state for external affairs.
In 1948 St. Laurent succeeded King as leader of the Liberal party and as prime minister. After election victories in 1949 and 1953, the Liberals lost control of the government in 1957. St. Laurent then retired from active politics.
MacKenzie King
King, (William Lyon) Mackenzie (1874-1950),
a Canadian statesman. He was leader of the Liberal party 1919-48 and prime minister for nearly 22 years (1921-26; 1926-30; 1935-48). When he resigned in 1948 because of poor health, King had served as prime minister longer than any other in the history of Canada.
King was born in Kitchener (then Berlin). Ontario. He was a grandson of William Lyon Mackenzie, a leader of the rebellion of 1837 to win self-government in Canada. He graduated from the University of Toronto. studied at the University of Chicago, and, in 1909, received a Ph.D. from Harvard University.
King's public career began when he was named deputy minister of labor in the Liberal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1900. Elected to Parliament in 1908, he was in the Laurier cabinet as minister of labor (1909-11). During World War I, he directed research in labor relations in the United States for the Rockefeller Foundation, and wrote Industry and Humanity (1918). The Liberal party chose him to succeed Laurier as party leader in 1919. Except for a period of three months in 1926, King was prime minister from 1921 until 1930. During this time, he sought to promote national unity among Canada's French- and English-speaking communities and to make the Liberal party one in which both groups could work in harmony. He also worked to achieve autonomy for Canada within the British Empire, playing an important role in the framing of the Statute of Westminster (1931), which established the British Commonwealth.
While again prime minister, 1935-48, King established closer ties with the United States in economic affairs and defense policy, and, during World War II, worked closely with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. Roosevelt. To achieve national unity during World War II, King held out against conscription (opposed by French Canadians) until late in the war, when its use was approved by national referendum. He retired from public life in 1948.
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Paul de Chomedey Sieur de Maisonneuve
Maisonneuve, Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de (1612-1676),
the founder and first governor of Montreal, Canada. He was born in France and served in the army. The Société de Notre Dame de Montréal, a missionary society, sent him to Canada with colonists to take possession of its land grant on Montreal Island. In 1642 he founded a settlement there named Ville Marie de Montréal (now Montreal, Quebec) and became its governor. Under his leadership Montreal survived Iroquois attacks and prospered and grew. After 22 years he was removed from office by jealous superiors. He returned to France in 1665.
Ramon John Hnatyshyn
Hnatyshyn, Ramon John (1934-),
a Canadian statesman. He was named governor general of Canada in 1990. Hnatyshyn, a Progressive-Conservative from Saskatchewan, served in Parliament, 1974–88, and was minister of justice, 1986–88. Hnatyshyn was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, of Ukrainian ancestry. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1954 and received a law degree there in 1957. That year he was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in Saskatoon.
Saint Jean de Brebeuf
Brébeuf, Saint Jean de (1593–1649),
a French Catholic missionary and martyr in Canada. After becoming a Jesuit priest, he sailed to Quebec in 1625. Brébeuf opened a mission among the Huron Indians near Georgian Bay. In 1629 he went back to France after the English captured Canada. He returned in 1633 when the colony was restored to France. At first, Brébeuf and his Jesuit companions suffered abuses and hardships. Later, they had remarkable success in winning converts, but their mission was destroyed in the war between the Hurons and Iroquois. Brébeuf and Father Gabriel Lalement remained at their mission, although they could have escaped. They were seized and tortured to death. Brébeuf was made a saint in 1930. His feast day is October 19.
Borden, Sir Robert Laird (1854–1937),
a Canadian statesman. As prime minister during the critical World War I period, he won for Canada an important voice in the affairs of the British Empire. His actions helped lead to the establishment of the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1926. Borden was born at Grand Pré, Nova Scotia. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1878. Elected to the House of Commons in 1S96, he became Conservative leader in 1901. An election in 1911 made him prime minister, succeeding Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Borden was knighted in 1914.
A split over the issue of conscription caused Borden to form a Unionist (coalition) cabinet in 1917. In 1919 he was chief Canadian delegate to the Paris Peace Conference. He resigned from office in 1920 because of poor health.
Alexander Ross
Ross, Alexander (1783-1856), a Canadian explorer and historian. He played an important role in the early development of the Red River Valley, in what is now Manitoba; he served as a member of the Council of Assiniboia (the administrative district that included the valley), 1835-50, and as district sheriff, 1839-52. Ross was born in Scotland. He came to Canada in 1805 and became a schoolteacher. He worked for John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company, 1810-12, and then for the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company before settling in the Red River Valley in 1825.
Ross wrote Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River (1849); The Fur Hunters of the Far West (2 volumes, 1855); The Red River Settlement (1856).
By: V Goldson
