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Create AccountRetracing Bjarnis route in reverse, Leif explored three distinct regions. In the north was Helluland, Land of Stone Slabs, an area that had nothing but glaciers, mountains and rock. This must be the area from the Torngat Mountains to Baffin Island.
Elijah Harper, Oji-Cree politician, consultant, policy analyst (born 3 March 1949 at Red Sucker Lake, MB; died 17 May 2013 in Ottawa, ON). Harper is best known for the role he played in scuttling the Meech Lake Accord, for which he was named the Canadian Press newsmaker of the year for 1990.
Alfonso Gagliano, politician (born 1942 in Italy; died 12 December 2020). Alfonso Gagliano was the Member of Parliament for the Montreal neighbourhood of Saint-Leonard from 1984 until 2002. Following the 1997 election, he served as Minister of Public Works and Government Services in the cabinet of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. He was also chair of the electoral commission of the Liberal Party in Quebec. Gagliano resigned from cabinet and the House of Commons to accept a position as ambassador to Denmark. He was fired by Prime Minister Paul Martin in 2004 for his role in the sponsorship scandal.
Aiyyana Maracle, multidisciplinary Haudenosaunee artist, performer, storyteller and educator (born 25 November 1950 on Six Nations of the Grand River, ON; died there, 24 April 2016). An Indigenous transgender woman, Maracle created art that focused on the decolonization of gender. Her work received critical acclaim and was widely inspirational. She is believed to have been the first Indigenous woman to have received the John Hirsch Prize. This is a prestigious national award for emerging directors in Canadian theatre.
Jérôme Demers, priest, vicar general, architect, teacher (born 1 August 1774 in Saint-Nicolas, QC; died 17 May 1853 in Québec City, Canada East). Demers taught literature, philosophy, architecture and science for over 50 years at the Séminaire de Québec.
Beginning in early 1942, the Canadian government detained and dispossessed more than 90 per cent of Japanese Canadians, some 21,000 people, living in British Columbia. They were detained under the War Measures Act and were interned for the rest of the Second World War. Their homes and businesses were sold by the government to pay for their detention. In 1988, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney apologized on behalf of the Canadian government for the wrongs it committed against Japanese Canadians. The government also made symbolic redress payments and repealed the War Measures Act.
The term “Lost Canadians” refers to people who either lost the Canadian citizenship they had at birth, or didn’t qualify for citizenship that would normally have been theirs by right in Canada. This was the result of various haphazard and discriminatory laws and attitudes surrounding Canadian citizenship since Confederation. Much progress has been made reforming the law in the 21st century, however, some Lost Canadians still remained without citizenship as of 2017.
The Chinese head tax was enacted to restrict immigration after Chinese labour was no longer needed to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. Between 1885 and 1923, Chinese immigrants had to pay a head tax to enter Canada. The tax was levied under the Chinese Immigration Act (1885). It was the first legislation in Canadian history to exclude immigration on the basis of ethnic background. With few exceptions, Chinese people had to pay at least $50 to come to Canada. The tax was later raised to $100, then to $500. During the 38 years the tax was in effect, around 82,000 Chinese immigrants paid nearly $23 million in tax. The head tax was removed with the passing of the Chinese Immigration Act in 1923. Also known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, it banned all Chinese immigrants until its repeal in 1947. In 2006, the federal government apologized for the head tax and its other racist immigration policies targeting Chinese people.
This is the full-length entry about the Chinese Head Tax. For a plain-language summary, please see Chinese Head Tax in Canada (Plain-Language Summary).
The struggle over the rights of francophones in Manitoba to receive an education in their mother tongue and their religion is regarded as one of the most important “school crises” in Canadian history, with major short-term and long-term consequences.
Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve, Oblate priest, Roman Catholic archbishop of Québec, cardinal (b at Montréal 2 Nov 1883; d at Alhambra, Calif 17 Jan 1947). After studying philosophy and theology, he began a teaching career and became active in nationalist circles, with Abbé Lionel GROULX.
Chicho (Amador) Valle. Bandleader, singer, guitarist, b Cienfuegos, Cuba, 2 Jul 1922 or 1924, naturalized Canadian 1961, d Toronto 14 Oct 1984.
Annie Caroline Macdonald, missionary, social reformer, educator (b at Wingham, Ont 15 Oct 1874; d at London, Ont 17 July 1931). She graduated from the University of Toronto in 1901 in mathematics and physics.
Salem Goldworth Bland, Methodist (later United Church) minister, author (b at Lachute, Canada E 25 Aug 1859; d at Toronto 7 Feb 1950).
Anne Szumigalski, poet (b at London, Eng 3 Jan 1922; d at Saskatoon 22 Apr 1999). Raised in rural Hampshire, she served as an interpreter with the Red Cross during World War II, and in 1951 immigrated with her husband and family to Canada.
Joshua Mauger, colonial entrepreneur, sea captain, politician (baptized 25 April 1725 in the parish of St. John, Jersey; died 18 October 1788 at Warborne, near Lymington, England). Mauger was one of Nova Scotia’s wealthiest and most influential merchants in the 18th century. Although he only spent 11 years in the colony, he exerted significant power in its business and politics for two decades after. His complex involvement with Nova Scotia underscores the bonds of subservience and influence that hindered the colony’s early development. Mauger also enslaved Black people and built a significant portion of his business empire on the labour of enslaved people.
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
Terry Fox was the boy who never gave up. His short life was devoted to achieving his goals. Obstacles just made him try harder. When he learned he had cancer and would lose his leg, he resolved to do something to help other cancer victims. When the disease claimed him on 28 June 1981, he left a legacy of hope that inspired millions to continue his cause.
Arnold Maria Walter, OC, musicologist, educator, administrator (born 30 August 1902 in Hannsdorf (Hanušovice), Moravia; died 6 October 1973 in Toronto, ON).
John Joseph Kelso, journalist and social reformer (born 31 March 1864 in Dundalk, Ireland; died 30 September 1935 in Toronto, Ontario). A lifelong advocate for the rights of children and animals, Kelso founded the Toronto Humane Society, Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, Fresh Air Fund and Santa Claus Fund. Kelso left a legacy as an early founder of the social services system in Ontario.
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.
More than 3,000 years ago, Indigenous peoples of the coast of British Columbia (and adjacent areas of Washington State and southeastern Alaska) such as the Haida and Kwakwaka'wakw developed artistic traditions that are heralded throughout the world for their imaginative and stylistic qualities.
