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Unlike most immigrants to Canada, Jews did not come from a place where they were the majority cultural group. Jews were internationally dispersed at the time of the ancient Roman Empire and after unsuccessful revolts against it lost their sovereignty in their ancient homeland. Subsequently, Jews lived, sometimes for many centuries, as minorities in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. In the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS), 329,495 Canadians identified as Jewish when responding to the census question on religion, and 309,650 identified as being of Jewish ethnic origin (115,640 single and 194,010 multiple responses).

Irving Martin Abella, CM, O Ont, FRSC, historian, professor, administrator (born 2 July 1940 in Toronto, ON; died 3 July 2022). Irving Abella was a professor of history at York University from 1968 to 2013. He was a pioneer in the field of Canadian labour history and also specialized in the history of Jewish people in Canada. Abella was co-author of the book None Is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe 1933–1948, which documented antisemitism in the Canadian government’s immigration policies. Abella served as president of the Canadian Jewish Congress from 1992 to 1995 and helped establish the Centre for Jewish Studies at York University. He was a Member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

The Huu-ay-aht First Nation, located along the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, numbers 725 registered members, as of December 2021. The Huu-ay-aht are a Nuu-chah-nulth nation and are self-governing under the Maa-nulth Treaty.

The movement of individuals of one country into another for the purpose of resettlement is central to Canadian history. The story of Canadian immigration is not one of orderly population growth; instead, it has been — and remains one — about economic development as well as Canadian attitudes and values. It has often been unashamedly economically self-serving and ethnically or racially discriminatory despite contributing to creating a multicultural society (see Immigration Policy in Canada; Refugees to Canada). Immigration has also contributed to dispossessing Indigenous peoples of their ancestral lands.

Mayan Singh Manhas (Mayo Singh), lumber baron, founder of the Mayo Lumber Company, founder of the town of Paldi, franchise advocate, philanthropist (born 1888 in Paldi, District Hoshiarpur, East Punjab, India; died 23 February 1955 in Paldi, BC). As a founder of the Mayo Lumber Company, Singh became a wealthy lumber baron (see Lumber and Wood Industries). He challenged race-based immigration policies and disenfranchisement. Singh supported hospitals, schools and community projects in his adopted country and his birthplace in India. Paldi, the town he established on Vancouver Island and its gurdwara (temple), remains a cultural and spiritual touchstone for the South Asian community.

First Nation is one of three groupings of Indigenous people in Canada, the other two being Métis and Inuit. Unlike Métis and Inuit, most First Nations hold reserve lands. Members of a First Nation may live both on and off these reserves. While the term First Nation can describe a large ethnic grouping (e.g. the Cree Nation), in other cases it is synonymous with the term band. The term band was originally chosen by the federal government and used in the Indian Act. The word band describes smaller communities. Many First Nations prefer the term First Nation over band.

The Society of Jesus was founded in Paris in 1534 by Saint Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish soldier who underwent a profound religious experience while recovering from serious wounds. Loyola called the society "The Company of Jesus" to indicate its military spirit. The order was authorized in September 1540 to ordain its members. The name "Jesuits" (meaning those who too frequently use or appropriate the name of Jesus) was used against the order as a term of reproach but in time was accepted by its members.

The Afghan community in Canada is relatively new. Until 1978, about 1,000 Afghans lived in Canada. However, since 1978, decades of political instability, invasions and war in Afghanistan pushed many to leave to other countries. Since then, the Afghan population in Canada has grown. (See Refugees to Canada.) According to Statistics Canada’s 2016 census, approximately 84,000 Afghans are living in Canada, the majority of whom are settled in the suburbs of major cities.

In Canada, the process of reconciliation is tied to the federal government's relationship with Indigenous peoples. The term has come to describe attempts made by individuals and institutions to raise awareness about colonization and its ongoing effects on Indigenous peoples. Reconciliation also refers to efforts made to address the harms caused by various policies and programs of colonization, such as residential schools. For some, the word represents an opportunity to reflect on the past, to heal and to make right. For others, however, current gestures of reconciliation are merely performative and lack meaningful action to address the harms done by colonization.

This is the full-length entry about Reconciliation in Canada. For a plain-language summary, please see Reconciliation in Canada (Plain-Language Summary).

For some Indigenous peoples, Turtle Island refers to the continent of North America. The name comes from various Indigenous oral histories that tell stories of a turtle that holds the world on its back. For some Indigenous peoples, the turtle is therefore considered an icon of life, and the story of Turtle Island consequently speaks to various spiritual and cultural beliefs.

This is the full-length entry about Turtle Island. For a plain-language summary, please see Turtle Island (Plain-Language Summary).

The Jesuit Relations is a collection of the annual reports written by the Jesuit missionaries in Canada and sent to France from 1632 to 1672. These reports are an important historical resource regarding all of the events which occurred in the colony during this period. More specifically, they describe the central role played by the members of the Society of Jesus in the colonization of North America. (See Population Settlement of New France.) These reports provide an overview of the colonial vision of the times and describe the successes and failures of the missionaries in their efforts to convert the First Nations. Printed and distributed in Paris, primarily as a propaganda tool, the Jesuit Relations are very popular with travel literature enthusiasts. They remain a unique source of information regarding the early days of New France.

Jimmy Claxton, baseball player, stevedore (born 14 December 1892 in Wellington, BC; died 3 March 1970 in Tacoma, Washington). On 28 May 1916, Jimmy Claxton became the first Black person to play Organized Baseball (MLB and all of its affiliated minor leagues) in the 20th century. The left-handed pitcher did so 30 years before Jackie Robinson played for the Montreal Royals. Claxton was also the first Black player to be featured on an American baseball card. He is the only Negro Leagues player from Canada to have his statistics upgraded to major league numbers. He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021.

Anderson Ruffin Abbott, doctor, surgeon (born 7 April 1837 in Toronto, Upper Canada; died 29 December 1913 in Toronto, ON). Abbott was the first Canadian-born Black person to graduate from medical school. He served the Union army as a civilian surgeon during the American Civil War.

Ts’msyen (Tsim-she-yan, meaning “Inside the Skeena River”; sometime spelled Tsimshian or Tsm’syen) is a name that is often broadly applied to Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. They speak languages of the Ts’msyen language family. In the 2016 census, 2,695 people reported speaking a Ts’msyen language. The largest concentration of Ts’msyen speakers (98.1 per cent) live in British Columbia. In the 2016 census, 5,910 people claimed Ts’msyen ancestry.

Before European settlement in Canada, Indigenous peoples spoke a wide variety of languages. As a means of assimilating Indigenous peoples, colonial policies like the Indian Act and residential schools forbade the speaking of Indigenous languages. These restrictions have led to the ongoing endangerment of Indigenous languages in Canada. Indigenous communities and various educational institutions have taken measures to prevent more language loss and to preserve Indigenous languages.

Alphonso Boyle Davies, soccer player (born 2 November 2000 in Buduburam, Ghana). Alphonso Davies is one of the world’s most promising young soccer stars. The youngest player ever on Team Canada, he was named the Canadian Men’s Player of the Year in 2018 and 2020. After being named an MLS All-Star and the Player of the Year with Vancouver Whitecaps FC in 2018, he signed a six-year contract with FC Bayern Munich of the Bundesliga in 2019. He was named the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season in 2019–20 and became the first Canadian men’s international to play on a team that won the Champions League. In 2020, he received the Lionel Conacher Award as Canada’s top male athlete and was a co-winner, with football player Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, of the Lou Marsh Trophy (now the Northern Star Award) as Canada’s athlete of the year.

Louis Burt Mayer (born Eliezer Mayer), studio executive (born 12 July 1884 in Dymer, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]; died 29 October 1957 in Los Angeles, California). Louis B. Mayer was one of the first Hollywood movie moguls, and arguably the most powerful. After running a successful chain of movie theatres, Mayer founded his own production company in 1917. In 1924, it merged with two other companies to become Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Mayer served as head of MGM until 1951, presiding over the biggest and most prestigious studio of Hollywood’s golden age. He was also instrumental in creating the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which administers the Academy Awards.

Albert Jackson, letter carrier (born 2 November 1857 in Delaware; died 14 January 1918 in Toronto, ON). Albert Jackson was the first Black letter carrier employed by Royal Mail Canada (see Postal System). Jackson was born into enslavement in the United States and escaped to Canada with his mother and siblings when he was a toddler in 1858. In 1882, Jackson was hired as a letter carrier in Toronto, but his white co-workers refused to train him on the job. While his story was debated in the press for weeks, the Black community in Toronto organized in support of Jackson, meeting with Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald to have Jackson properly instated. Jackson returned to his post days later and served as a letter carrier for almost 36 years.

Turtle Island is another name for North America. The origin of the name comes from the Algonquian-and-Iroquoian-speaking peoples. They are from the Northeastern part of North America. The stories are about a turtle that carries the world on its back. It is a symbol for life, the earth, and Indigenous identity. It also shows a deep appreciation for nature.

This article is a plain-language summary of Turtle Island. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry, Turtle Island.