Canadian Children and the Great War
The vast majority of Canada's eight million people fought the Great War at home.
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Antonio Barichievich, né Anton Baričević, “the Great Antonio,” Québec strongman, professional wrestler and actor (born 10 or 25 October 1925 in Zagreb, Yugoslavia; died 7 September 2003 in Montréal, QC).
Hilda Ramacière (née Hildegard Weiland), community worker and volunteer (born 7 November 1927 in Zizenhausen, Germany; died 6 January 2010 in Montreal, Quebec). Mrs. Ramacière left her mark through her social commitment in the Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood. A strong-minded and determined woman, she exemplified the pride of Montreal's immigrant community.
Jason D. Harrow, rapper, music producer (born 12 May 1976 in Scarborough, ON). Dubbed “the best-kept secret in Canadian hip hop” by Billboard magazine, Kardinal Offishall played a central role in bringing Canadian hip hop from the underground to the mainstream in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Françoise David, CQ, community organizer, politician and feminist activist (born 13 January 1948 in Montréal, Quebec). Chair of the Fédération des femmes du Québec from 1994 to 2001, David was elected member of the National Assembly of Québec in 2012 and was co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire from 2006 to 2017.
James Hyndman, actor (born 23 April 1962 in Bonn, Germany). After studying theatre for three years in Paris, this Quebec actor won favourable notices for his performance as Lenny in a French-language production of Harold Pinter’s play The Homecoming at Montreal’s L’Espace la Veillée in 1992. In the 1990s, he was cast in important roles in major films by Charles Binamé (Eldorado, 1995), Robert Lepage (Le polygraphe, 1996) and Jean Beaudin (Souvenirs intimes, 1999). The winner of two Prix Gémeaux (2003 and 2016), Hyndman has also played several major characters on Quebec television.
Raymond Gravel, priest, chaplain, theologian and parliamentarian (born 4 November 1952 in Saint-Damien-de-Brandon, QC; died 11 August 2014 in Joliette, QC).
Bill Vigars discusses Terry Fox’s inspiration for the Marathon of Hope in a 2015 interview with Historica Canada
John Christie Holland, pastor, community leader, activist and railway Pullman attendant (born 25 December 1882 in Hamilton, ON; died 22 June 1954 in Hamilton). Holland was the first Black person to be honoured as Distinguished Citizen of the Year in a major Canadian city.
English-speakers in Québec form a linguistic minority from a wide range of ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds and with many regional differences. The presence of this minority dates back to the French Regime, but coherent communities developed only after the British Conquest. The proportion of English-speakers increased in the years leading up to Confederation , followed by a gradual decline, particularly in the regions outside Montréal.
Katherena Vermette, Métis poet, short-story writer, novelist, filmmaker, teacher (born 29 January 1977 in Winnipeg, MB). Métis writer Katherena Vermette is a rising star of Canadian literature. In her poetry, prose and film, she explores some of the most vital issues facing Canada today: the search for identity and the ongoing effects of historical and institutional prejudice. She won the Governor General’s Award in 2013 for her first collection of poems, North End Love Songs, and is the author of the acclaimed 2016 novel The Break.
Richard Hunt is a Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) artist (born in 1951 in Alert Bay, BC).
It is often said that the Inuit have dozens of words to refer to snow and ice. Anthropologist John Steckley, in his book White Lies about the Inuit (2007), notes that many often cite 52 as the number of different terms in Inuktitut. This belief in a high number of words for snow and ice has been sharply criticized by a large number of linguists and anthropologists.
Tanya Tagaq Gillis, CM, throat singer, experimental musician, painter, novelist (born 5 May 1975 in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut). An experimental artist who has achieved a level of mainstream crossover success, Tanya Tagaq blends Inuit throat singing (traditionally done as a duet) with electronic, classical, punk and rock music. The New Yorker characterized Tagaq’s voice as, “guttural heaves, juddering howls and murderous shrieks,” and praised her work for its “fearless lack of inhibition, technical skill and mastery of tradition.” A Juno Award, Canadian Aboriginal Music Award and Polaris Music Prize winner, Tagaq is part of what has been called the “Indigenous Music Renaissance” — an innovative new generation of Indigenous artists in Canada. She is also an acclaimed author and a Member of the Order of Canada.
The Cayuga (also known as Guyohkohnyo and Gayogohó:no', meaning “People of the Pipe” or “People of the Great Swamp”) are Indigenous peoples who have traditionally occupied territories along the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River and south into the Finger Lakes district of New York State. The Cayuga are one of six First Nations that make up the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
People from the Caribbean region began to settle in Canada in the late 18th century (see Jamaican Maroons in Nova Scotia and Black Canadians). In the 2016 census, 749,155 Canadians reported that they originated from the Caribbean, and most have immigrated to Canada since the 1970s.
James Leo (Jim) Egan, gay activist, writer, politician, environmental activist (born 14 September 1921 in Toronto, ON; died 9 March 2000 in Courtenay, BC). Egan was the first person to publish long articles written from a gay point of view in Canada. He was also one of the first openly gay politicians to serve in Canada. Egan is best remembered for a court challenge he and his partner, Jack Nesbit, launched against the spousal allowance benefit under the Old Age Security Act in 1988. In the subsequent Egan v. Canada decision (1995), the Supreme Court read in that sexual orientation is a protected ground of discrimination in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — a monumental finding in support of LGBTQ2 rights in Canada.
Doukhobors are a sect of Russian dissenters, many of whom now live in western Canada. They are known for a radical pacifism which brought them notoriety during the 20th century. Today, their descendants in Canada number approximately 30,000, with one third still active in their culture.