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Joseph Lewis, alias Levi Johnston, also Lewes and Louis, fur trader (born c. 1772–73 in Manchester, New Hampshire; died 1820 in Saskatchewan District). Joseph Lewis was a Black fur trader, originally from the United States, who participated in the fur industry’s early expansion into the Canadian Northwest in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He is one of very few Black people involved in the fur trade whose name was documented in existing texts. Joseph Lewis is further notable for being the first Black person in present-day Saskatchewan, as well as, in all likelihood, Alberta.

Portuguese explorers were among the first Europeans to lay eyes on what is now Canadian soil. In the 2016 Canadian census, 482, 610 people reported being of Portuguese origin, and 221, 540 people reported having Portuguese as their mother tongue language.

The Seneca (Onöndowa’ga, “People of the Great Hills”) are an Indigenous nation. Known as the “Keepers of the Western Door,” they are the western-most member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy with ancestral lands located south of Lake Ontario. Today, some Seneca people also live on Six Nations territory near Brantford, Ontario. (See also First Nations.)

The French came to the North-West from Montréal in search of furs and an overland route to the Mer de l'Ouest which would lead to a short route to China (see coureurs de bois).

Monseigneur Émile Grouard was energetic and inventive, having steamboats built on the Peace, Slave and Athabasca rivers. He was also respected by the Indigenous peoples of his diocese, and came to learn the Cree, Denesuline (Chipewyan) and Dane-zaa (Beaver) languages.

Pierre Perrault, OQ, film director, poet, writer (born 29 June 1927 in Montréal, QC; died 23 June 1999 in Montréal). Pierre Perrault was one of Quebec’s most significant and celebrated artists. His collective work in radio, film, television and print explores the genesis and nature of French Canadian culture and identity. A pioneer of direct cinema, his elegiac 1963 documentary Pour la suite du monde, co-directed with Michel Brault, is a landmark in Canadian cinema. His writing received three Governor General’s Literary Awards: for poetry, theatre and non-fiction. An Officer of the Ordre national du Québec, Perrault received the Prix Ludger-Duvernay, Prix Albert-Tessier, Prix Victor-Barbeau, the Médaille des Arts et des Lettres from the Government of France, and the Médaille d’argent du Mouvement national des Québécois et Québécoises.

Pierre Maillard, priest of the Séminaire des missions étrangères, missionary (b in the diocese of Chartres, France c 1710; d at Halifax 12 Aug 1762). Missionary to the MICMAC, Maillard was a brilliant linguist who perfected a system of written symbols for the Micmac language.

Georges-Henri Lévesque, priest, sociologist, administrator (born 16 February 1903 in Roberval, QC; died 15 January 2000). After studying at the Dominican College in Ottawa and Université de Lille, France, he taught at the College as well as at Université de Montréal and Laval.

Chiac (also spelled chiak or chiaque) is a specific type of discursive switching between French and English among individuals who are highly bilingual and have Acadian French as their mother tongue but Canadian English as their first or second language.

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.

Graham Fraser, industrialist, community leader (b at New Glasgow, NS 12 Aug 1846; d there 25 Dec 1915). Following training in the US, Fraser returned to New Glasgow in 1867 to work in J.W. Carmichael's shipyards.

Brother XII (Brother Twelve) was one of Canada’s most notorious cult leaders. A mystic figure who dreamed of transforming humanity, he left behind a failed utopia and deep mystery.

The Lunar New Year — also known as the Spring Festival, Chinese New Year, Tet for Vietnamese Canadians, or Solnal for Korean Canadians — is celebrated in Canada and several other countries. It is one of the largest celebrations for Canada’s Chinese population, it is also celebrated by Canadians from Vietnam, Korea and Southeast Asia. Although it is not a statutory holiday in Canada, many Asian Canadian businesses are closed or have reduced hours for the occasion. Since 1 June 2016, this celebration has been recognized as an official holiday in Canada.

Françoise-Marie de Saint-Étienne de La Tour, née Jacquelin, Acadian heroine (b in France 1602; d at Ft La Tour [NB] 1645). Civil war raged in Acadia in 1640 when she married Charles de Saint-Étienne de LA TOUR, one of 2 claimants to the colony's governorship.

Jean-Baptiste de La Brosse (born at Magnac, France 1724; died at Qué 1782). Jean-Baptiste de La Brosse was a Jesuit missionary in the Saguenay-St Lawrence Gulf region. La Brosse is also a hero of folklore, remembered for having predicted his own death on 11 April 1782.

The Greek word katholikos means "general" or "universal." It refers most commonly to the Christianity that is in communion with the pope and the Church of Rome, that is, the beliefs and practices of a Catholic Church. The modern ecumenical movement often refers to all Christians as sharing in the church's Catholicism, which is derived from the universal headship and reign of Christ. According to the 2021 census, 10.9 million Canadians (29.9 per cent) identified as Catholic.

"The excerpt in English is not available at this time. Please refer to the excerpt in French."

See below for Mr. Asham's entire testimony.

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