Search for "south asian canadians"

Flordeliz (a.k.a. Gigi) Osler (née Sharma), FRCSC, senator, physician and educator (born 1968 in Winnipeg, MB). Dr. Osler is an Otolaryngology – Head and Neck surgeon (ENT) surgeon and has practiced in Winnipeg since 1998. She was the past president of the Canadian Medical Association, making her the first female surgeon and the first woman of colour to assume the role. Osler was appointed to the Canadian Senate in 2022, making her the second senator of Filipino descent and the first woman of Filipino heritage to sit in the Senate.

Allan Selwyn Bundy, pilot (born 1920 in Dartmouth, NS; died 9 December 2001 in Toronto, ON). He was one of two known Black Canadian combat pilots during the Second World War. Bundy served in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and, according to the operations record book of 404 Squadron, flew 28 combat missions.

William Peyton Hubbard, politician, inventor, baker, coachman (born 27 January 1842 in Toronto, ON; died 30 April 1935 in Toronto). Hubbard was Toronto’s first Black elected official, serving as alderman (1894–1903, 1913) and controller (1898–1908), and as acting mayor periodically. A democratic reformer, he campaigned to make the city’s powerful Board of Control an elected body. Hubbard was also a leading figure in the push for public ownership of hydroelectric power, contributing to the establishment of the Toronto Hydro-Electric System.

Philip Siu Lun Lee, CM, OM, 24th lieutenant-governor of Manitoba 2009–15, research chemist (born 5 May 1944 in Hong Kong). Lee was installed as 24th lieutenant-governor of Manitoba following 38 years in municipal civil service. Lee was the first person of Asian heritage to be appointed to the vice-regal position in Manitoba and the third Chinese Canadian appointed lieutenant-governor in Canada.

Cecily Jane Georgina Fane Pope, nurse (born 1 January 1862 in Charlottetown, PE; died 6 June 1938 in Charlottetown, PE).

Sir Frederick William Borden, physician, merchant, politician (b at Upper Canard, NS 14 May 1847; d at Canning, NS 6 Jan 1917). As minister of militia and defence 1896-1911, he reorganized the Canadian Militia. Borden represented King's County as a Liberal 1874-1911, except for 1882-87.

Charles Lightfoot Roman, MD, CM, surgeon, author, researcher, lecturer (born 19 May 1889 in Port Elgin, ON; died 8 June 1961 in Valleyfield, QC). Charles Lightfoot Roman was one of the first Black Canadians to graduate from McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine and became a recognized expert in industrial medicine. He was also one of the first Black Canadians to enlist for service in the First World War and was the only known Black person to serve with the Canadian General Hospital No. 3 (McGill). Lightfoot Roman was also likely the first Black Grand Master of a traditional Masonic lodge.

Edward A. Watson, veterinarian, pathologist, researcher (b in Devon, Eng 2 Jan 1879; d at Victoria 12 Mar 1945). He came to Canada in 1896 and, with a brother, homesteaded in Saskatchewan.

Dr. Charles Victor Roman, surgeon, professor, author, editor, philosopher, civil rights activist (born 4 July 1864 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania; died 25 August 1934 in Nashville, Tennessee). Charles Roman was raised in Dundas, Ontario, and was the first Black person to graduate from Hamilton Collegiate Institute in Hamilton, ON. After a tragic accident in his teenage years, he went on to establish himself as an internationally respected surgeon and educator; he also wrote and edited several books and periodicals and was frequently called upon as a keynote speaker. Roman used the Canada–US border as a gateway to opportunity both north and south of the line. He is an example of a true "African North American," one of many individuals of African descent who crossed and recrossed the border separating the two countries between 1850 and 1930.

Alejandro Malaspina, explorer (b at Mulazzo, Italy 5 Nov 1754; d at Pontremoli, Italy 9 Apr 1810). Born to an illustrious but impoverished family, Malaspina entered the Spanish naval service. In 1784 he sailed around the world in the frigate Astrea.

Gerald Vincent Bull, engineer and ballistics expert (born 9 March 1928 in North Bay, ON; died 22 March 1990 in Brussels, Belgium). He studied at the University of Toronto’s Institute for Aerospace Studies. At the time, he was the youngest person to ever receive a PhD from the university. He was involved in some of Canada’s most advanced experimental defence projects. Later in his life, Bull was convicted of breaking an international arms embargo against apartheid South Africa. He spent his life perfecting artillery systems; some of his designs could launch payloads into space. He was assassinated during the development of a space gun for Iraq.

Armand Frappier, CC, physician, microbiologist (born 26 November 1904 in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC; died 17 December 1991 in Montréal, QC). Armand Frappier was a key figure in the fight against tuberculosis in Canada; he both produced the BCG (bacillus Calmette-Guérin) vaccine and advocated widespread vaccinations across the country. As founder and director of the Institut de microbiologie et d'hygiène de Montréal, he advanced medical research into infectious diseases and played an important role in the development of public health. (See also INRS-Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie Research Centre.) He and his team produced a number of vaccines and other biological products (e.g., the anti-polio Salk vaccine, penicillin) and were responsible for freeze-drying blood serum for the armed forces during the Second World War. (See also Canada and the Development of the Polio Vaccine).

Reynold Kenneth Young, astronomer, professor (b at Binbrook, Ont 4 Oct 1886; d at Peterborough, Ont 24 Dec 1977).

François Dollier de Casson, explorer, superior of the Sulpicians in New France (1670-74, 1678-1701), seigneur of Montréal, vicar general, historian (b in the château of Casson-sur-l'Erdre in Lower Brittany 1636; d at Montréal 27 Sept 1701).

Alfred Schmitz Shadd, educator, physician, farmer, politician, pharmacist, editor, civic leader (born 1870 in Raleigh Township, Kent County, ON; died 1915 in Winnipeg, MB).

Patrick Alan Morrow, photographer, mountaineer (b at Invermere, BC 18 Oct 1952). His abilities as an adventure photographer led to a position on the 1982 Canadian MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION, and on October 7 of that year he became

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye, military officer, farmer, fur trader, explorer (born at Trois-Rivières, Quebec 17 November 1685; died at Montreal 5 December 1749). The expeditions organized by La Vérendrye and spearheaded by his sons were the first to open the country from Lake Superior to the lower Saskatchewan River and the Missouri River to the French fur trade. La Vérendrye is often portrayed as emblematic of the French-Canadianvoyageur and of French Manitoba in particular.