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James Frederick McCurdy, "father of biblical studies in Canada" (b at Chatham, NB 18 Feb 1847; d at Toronto 30 Mar 1935). A graduate of the University of New Brunswick he taught grammar school, then entered Princeton Seminary in 1868 to study biblical languages.

In 1973 av Paul moved to Montréal, joining Les Grands Ballets Canadiens as principal dancer. Her beauty, artistic maturity and versatility won her a wide-ranging repertoire in both purely classical and neo-classical works and she created many roles in new ballets including several by Macdonald.

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.

According to legend, Sheila Na Geira (also spelled NaGeira and Nagira) was an Irish aristocrat or princess who, 300 or 400 years ago, while travelling between France and Ireland, was captured by a Dutch warship and then rescued by British privateers. She fell in love and was married to one of the privateers, Lieutenant Gilbert Pike. They settled at western Conception Bay. By the early 20th century, the legend was being told as part of Newfoundland’s oral tradition, and has since been popularized by poems, novels, scholarly articles and several plays.

Adolphus Egerton Ryerson, Methodist minister, educator (born 24 March 1803 in Charlotteville Township, Norfolk County, Upper Canada; died 18 February 1882 in Toronto, Ontario). Egerton Ryerson was a leading figure in education and politics in 19th century Ontario. He helped found and edit the Christian Guardian (1829) and served as president of the Methodist Church of Canada (1874–78). As superintendent of education in Canada West, Ryerson established a system of free, mandatory schooling at the primary and secondary level — the forerunner of Ontario’s current school system. He also founded the Provincial Normal School (1847), which eventually became the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). Ryerson also served as principal of Victoria College, which he helped found in 1836 as the Upper Canada Academy. He was also, however, involved in the development of residential schools in Canada. This has led to increasing calls to rename Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) and other institutions named in his honour.

​The francophone presence in British Columbia has its origins in the colonization of the Pacific Northwest by Europeans at the turn of the 19th century.

Lucy Maud Montgomery, OBE, writer (born 30 November 1874 in Clifton (now New London), PEI; died 24 April 1942 in Toronto, ON). Lucy Maud Montgomery is arguably Canada’s most widely read author. Her first novel, Anne of Green Gables (1908), became an instant best-seller. It has remained in print for more than a century, making the character of Anne Shirley a mythic icon of Canadian culture. Montgomery produced more than 500 short stories, 21 novels, two poetry collections, and numerous journal and essay anthologies. Her body of work has sold an estimated 50 million copies worldwide. Anne of Green Gables alone has been translated into at least 36 languages as well as braille. It has been adapted dozens of times in various mediums. Montgomery was named an Officer of both the Order of the British Empire and the Literary and Artistic Institute of France. She was the first Canadian woman to be made a member of the British Royal Society of Arts and she was declared a Person of National Historic Significance in Canada.

Lillian Freiman (née Bilsky), OBE, benefactor, community activist, organizer, civic leader and Zionist (born 6 June 1885 in Mattawa, ON; died 2 November 1940 in Montreal, QC). Lillian Freiman used her high social status and wealth to help those less fortunate, both within and beyond the Jewish community. For her work assisting First World War soldiers and leading the Poppy Campaign, the Canadian Legion made her an honorary life member in 1933. Freiman was the first woman to receive this honour.

Joseph Lionel Elphege Albert de Niverville, pilot (born 31 August 1897 in Montreal, QC; died 14 June 1968 in Montreal, QC). During the First World War, de Niverville served in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He also served during the Second World War and was one of the few French-Canadian officers in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) at the time. He rose to the rank of air vice-marshal, the first French Canadian to do so.

Changing economic and religious conditions after the Gothic period brought a decline in majestic building projects, and by the 17th century, lodges could stay alive only by supplementing the membership of working ("operative") masons with nonmasons ("accepted masons").

Judith Jasmin, journalist, actor, and producer (born 19 July 1916 in Terrebonne, Quebec; died 20 October 1972 in Montreal). A true pioneer of journalism in Quebec, Judith Jasmin was the first Canadian woman to make her mark both as a special correspondent and as a foreign correspondent. She was also the first female political and international journalist.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Jeremiah “Jerry” Alvin Jones, soldier, farmer, truck driver (born 30 March 1858 in East Mountain, NS; died 23 November 1950 in Halifax, NS). Jeremiah Jones was a Black Canadian soldier who served during the First World War. Jones was 58 years old (13 years above the age limit) when he enlisted with the 106th Battalion in 1916. For his heroic actions during the Battle of Vimy Ridge, he was awarded the Canadian Forces Medallion for Distinguished Service in 2010 — 60 years after his death.

Stuart Rosenberg, rabbi, author (b at New York C 5 Jul 1922). Educated at Columbia U, MA (1948), PhD (1953), and the Jewish Theological Seminary, rabbi (1945), MHL (1949), DD (1971), Rosenberg came to Canada in 1956. He has had 2 pulpits: Beth Tzedec (1956-73) and Beth Torah (1982- ).

Roy LeMoyne, architect, teacher, author, air force officer (b at Lafleche, Sask 4 July 1920; d at Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Qué 4 June 2002). LeMoyne served in the RCAF from 1942 to 1945 as a Flying Officer with 113 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron.

Camille Turner, artist (born 11 March 1960 in Kingston, Jamaica). Camille Turner’s new media and performance works question Canadian identity and notions of belonging, and interrogate the erasure of Black history from Canadian narratives. Turner is active throughout Canada and internationally, where she regularly performs as her beauty queen persona, Miss Canadiana.

Palbinder Kaur Shergill, QC, judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in New Westminster (born in Rurka Kalan, Punjab, India). Shergill spent 26 years practising law before she was appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. She was the first turbaned Sikh woman to be appointed as a judge in Canada.

Greenpeace originated in Vancouver (1971) as a small group opposed to nuclear testing in the Pacific, and has blossomed into one of the largest and best-known environmental organizations in the world

The Eastern Woodlands is one of six cultural areas of Indigenous peoples in Canada. The region stretches from the northeastern coast of present-day United States and the Maritimes to west of the Great Lakes. The Eastern Woodlands includes, among others, the Haudenosaunee, Mi’kmaq, Ojibwe and Wendat (Huron) peoples.

Olga Melikoff, Murielle Parkes and Valerie Neale were leaders of the parent group behind the creation, in 1965, of Canada's first bilingual education program, at Margaret Pendlebury Elementary School in the Montreal suburb of Saint-Lambert, Quebec. Their education activism laid the groundwork for the French immersion system in Canada. As a result of their efforts, Melikoff, Parkes and Neale are often referred to as Canada’s “founding mothers" of French immersion.