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Robert Simpson, merchant, founder of the Robert Simpson Co (b at Morayshire, Scot 16 Sept 1834; d at Toronto 14 Dec 1897). After his apprenticeship, he arrived in Canada in 1854 and found employment as a clerk in a store in

In 1982, Canada fully broke from its colonial past and “patriated” its Constitution. It transferred the country’s highest law, the British North America Act (which was renamed the Constitution Act, 1867), from the authority of the British Parliament to Canada’s federal and provincial legislatures. The Constitution was also updated with a new amending formula and a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These changes occurred after a fierce, 18-month political and legal struggle that dominated headlines and the agendas of every government in the country.

Edward Jessup, Loyalist, soldier and founder of Prescott (born December 1735 in Stamford, Connecticut; died 3 February 1816 in Prescott, Upper Canada [Ontario]).

The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.

Prime Minister Lester Pearson and John Matheson, one of his Liberal Members of Parliament, are widely considered the fathers of the Canadian flag. Their names were front and centre in 2015 during the tributes and celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the flag’s creation. But the role played by George Stanley is often lost in the story of how this iconic symbol came to be.

Born in the backwoods of the Carolinas, Jackson was the son of Scottish Irish colonists. At the young age of 13, Jackson served in a local militia as a courier during the American Revolution. It was a dangerous job.

By 1909 a booming provincial economy allowed McBride and his government to plan for a provincial university and to promise continued prosperity through such means as the construction of railways.

Richard Clement Moody, royal engineer (b in Barbados, British W Indies 13 Feb 1813; d at Boumemouth, England 31 Mar 1887).

In 1961, fragments of a human infant skull from were recovered from the banks of the Oldman River near Taber, Alberta.

George Hills, Anglican bishop of British Columbia 1859-95 (b at Eythorne, Eng 21 June 1816; d 10 Dec 1895). An early graduate of Durham University, Hills was influenced by the Tractarians, serving under Dr Hook at Leeds parish church (1841-48).

John Cabot (a.k.a. Giovanni Caboto), merchant, explorer (born before 1450 in Italy, died at an unknown place and date). In 1496, King Henry VII of England granted Cabot the right to sail in search of a westward trade route to Asia and lands unclaimed by Christian monarchs. Cabot mounted three voyages, the second of which, in 1497, was the most successful. During this journey Cabot coasted the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador, possibly sighted the Beothuk or Innu people of the region, and famously noted that the waters teemed with cod. At the time, the land Cabot saw was thought to be the eastern shore of Asia, the fabled island of Brasil, or the equally fabled Isle of Seven Cities. Cabot and his crew were the second group of Europeans to reach what would become Canada, following Norse explorers around 1000 CE. Despite not yielding the trade route Cabot hoped for, the 1497 voyage provided England with a claim to North America and knowledge of an enormous new fishery.

Susan Agnes Macdonald (née Bernard), Baroness, writer (born 24 August 1836 in Spanish Town, Jamaica; died 5 September 1920 in Eastbourne, England). Lady Agnes Macdonald was the second wife of Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. The couple married on the eve of Confederation (16 February 1867), as the British North America Act was making its way through the House of Lords in England. A talented diarist and a published travel and political writer, Lady Macdonald offers a feminine perspective on the evolving cultural landscape of a new country.

Mary Brant, Kanyen'kehà:ka (Mohawk), Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) leader, Loyalist, diplomat, political activist (generally known as Molly Brant and as Konwatsi'tsiaiénni in the Mohawk language, meaning “someone lends her a flower”) (born circa 1736; died 16 April 1796 in Kingston, ON). Brant was one of the most important Indigenous women in Canadian history. From her influential position as head of a society of Six Nations matrons, she enjoyed a much greater status within the Mohawk nation than her more colourful, younger brother, Mohawk leader Joseph Brant. Consulted by Indigenous people on matters of importance, she was a powerful ally to the British forces and served as their highly effective intermediary with the Iroquois in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).

Stanley Bréhaut Ryerson, historian, COMMUNIST PARTY OF CANADA leader (born 12 March 1911 in Toronto, ON; died 25 April 1998 in Montréal, QC). After attending Upper Canada College and University of Toronto he studied at the Sorbonne, Paris (1931-34), where he encountered European communist politics.

The terms of settlement promised religious freedom, except to Roman Catholics, but the Church of England initially had advantages and gave leadership for schooling youths. Most of the settlers were Congregationalists.

Sir Alexander Mackenzie, fur trader, explorer (born around 1764 near Stornoway, Scotland; died 12 March 1820 near Dunkeld, Scotland). Mackenzie was one of Canada’s greatest explorers. In two epic journeys for the North West Company in 1789 and 1793, he crossed the dense northern wilderness to reach the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. The first European to cross North America north of Mexico, he inspired later adventurers and traders, such as the famous Lewis and Clark expedition sponsored by the American military (1804–6). The Mackenzie River, named in his honour, symbolizes Mackenzie’s important place as a pioneer and fur trader in Canadian history.

Maquinna, or Mukwina, meaning "possessor of pebbles,"was a Nootka chief (fl1778-95?). Maquinna was the ranking leader of the Moachat group of Nootka Sound Indigenous people on the west coast of Vancouver Island during the early years of European contact.

Alejandro Malaspina, explorer (b at Mulazzo, Italy 5 Nov 1754; d at Pontremoli, Italy 9 Apr 1810). Born to an illustrious but impoverished family, Malaspina entered the Spanish naval service. In 1784 he sailed around the world in the frigate Astrea.