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The Penner Report was a report prepared by the Special Committee of the House of Commons on Indian Self-Government. It was issued in November 1983. Named after committee chairman Keith Penner, the report made a series of recommendations. These recommendations promoted the concept of self-governing First Nations. First Nations, in this legal context, are classified as status Indians under the Indian Act.

Citizens Plus, also known as the Red Paper, was a report presented to the federal government on 4 June 1970. It was prepared under the leadership of Harold Cardinal and the Indian Association of Alberta. It was a response to the 1969 White Paper. The authors believed the White Paper offered a dire view of the future for Indigenous peoples.

Sylvia Olga Fedoruk, OC, physicist, educator, 17th lieutenant-governor of Saskatchewan (1988-94) (born 5 May 1927 in Canora, SK; died 26 September 2012 in Saskatoon). Fedoruk was a medical physicist who helped advance cancer treatment (see Physics; Contemporary Medicine).

John Brant (Ahyonwaeghs), Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk) Grand Chief, Indian Superintendent (born 27 September 1794 near Brantford, ON; died 27 August 1832 near Brantford, ON). John Brant was the son of Joseph Brant, Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk) chieftain and the first Indigenous person to receive a commission in the British Army, as a captain in 1757. Brant was also the nephew of Robert Johnson Kerr, who was the son of Major General Sir William Johnson and brother-in-law of Joseph Brant.

Sheila North, leader, activist, journalist (born 1972 in Oxford House, MB, now Bunibonibee Cree Nation). In 2015, Sheila North became the first woman elected as Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak. This organization represents 30 First Nations in Northern Manitoba. She coined the hashtag #MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) in 2012. It is meant to raise awareness of the national crisis and address violence against Indigenous women. A journalist, North has worked as a correspondent for CBC News and CTV News in Winnipeg.

Gordon Sidney Harrington, labour lawyer, military officer (colonel), politician, premier of Nova Scotia (born 7 August 1883 in Halifax, NS; died 4 July 1943 in Halifax, NS). Educated at Dalhousie University, Harrington practised law in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. During the First World War, he served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1915–17, and with the Overseas Military Forces of Canada from 1917–20. After the war, he became an MLA for Cape Breton Centre in 1925. He succeeded Edgar N. Rhodes as premier of Nova Scotia in 1930. However, with the onset of the Great Depression, Harrington and the Conservatives were defeated just three years later by the Liberals in 1933. Harrington remained an MLA for Cape Breton South until 1937. A skillful administrator, Harrington’s legacy includes his instrumental involvement in the repatriation of Canadian soldiers after the First World War and his role in ending labour disputes in the Cape Breton mining industry.

From 1941 to 1978, the Government of Canada issued personal identifying numbers to all Inuit, then referred to as Eskimos, in Canada’s Arctic. The Eskimo Identification system was implemented to identify and register individuals for administrative purposes, such as taking censuses. Each Inuk was given a small leather or pressed fibre disc with a number on it, referred to as their disc number. Ultimately, disc numbers were required for any government interaction, such as keeping track of hunting, trapping, medical services, education, housing, family allowance and getting food and supplies. The system was unique to the Inuit. No other Canadian was required to have a number to access basic services or monitor their actions.

Adélard Raymond, pilot, businessman and politician (born 10 July 1889 in Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka, QC; died 23 February 1962 in Montreal, QC). Raymond was a French-Canadian pilot who served in the First World War and then in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) from 1934 to 1945. He was the second French Canadian to be appointed air vice-marshal. Raymond was also involved in the hotel industry and in various commercial operations. He was elected mayor of Senneville, on the west island of Montreal, serving from June 1951 to June 1959.

Henry “Harry” Herbert Stevens, businessman, politician, federal cabinet minister (born 8 December 1878 in Bristol, England; died 14 June 1973 in Vancouver, BC). Henry Herbert Stevens was a Vancouver city councillor, a long-serving member of parliament (MP) and a federal cabinet minister. He was a key figure in the King-Byng Affair and in the turning away of the Komagata Maru. Stevens was outspoken in his opposition to immigration, Vancouver’s Chinese community and BC’s First Nations, and in his efforts to preserve Canada as “a white man’s country.” (See also Racism; Prejudice and Discrimination in Canada.) He was also the founder and leader of the short-lived Reconstruction Party.

Camilla, Queen Consort, formerly Duchess of Cornwall (born 17 July 1947 in London, United Kingdom), is the second wife of King Charles III, monarch of Canada, the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth Realms. She has undertaken five official tours of Canada with the then Prince of Wales, including celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017 and Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

Harry Wilfred Daniels, politician, writer, actor (born 16 September 1940 in Regina Beach, SK; died 6 September 2004 in Regina Beach). Daniels was a celebrated Métis politician and activist who fought for the rights of Métis people. His greatest contribution to Indigenous rights in Canada was the Supreme Court case Daniels v. Canada, which guaranteed that Métis and Non-Status Indians are considered “Indian” under the Constitution Act, 1867. (See also Indian Status.)

In 1982, Canada fully broke from its colonial past and “patriated” its Constitution. It transferred the country’s highest law, the British North America Act (which was renamed the Constitution Act, 1867), from the authority of the British Parliament to Canada’s federal and provincial legislatures. The Constitution was also updated with a new amending formula and a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These changes occurred after a fierce, 18-month political and legal struggle that dominated headlines and the agendas of every government in the country.

Judy Rebick, feminist, social activist, author, broadcaster, public speaker (born 15 August 1945 in Reno, Nevada). Judy Rebick has championed the rights of women, minorities and the working class since the 1960s. She was a member of the NDP’s Waffle caucus and a pro-choice spokesperson for the Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics. She rose to national prominence as the president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (1990–93) and as the host of CBC TV programs (1994–2000). From 2002 to 2010, she was the Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy at Ryerson University. She is also a best-selling author and was the founding publisher of rabble.ca.

Pierre Elliott Trudeau, PC, CC, CH, FRSC, prime minister of Canada 1968–79 and 1980–84, politician, writer, constitutional lawyer (born 18 October 1919 in Montreal, QC; died 28 September 2000 in Montreal). A charismatic and controversial figure, Pierre Trudeau was arguably Canada’s best-known politician, both at home and abroad. He introduced legal reforms to make Canada a more “just society” and made Canada officially bilingual with the Official Languages Act of 1969. He negotiated Canada’s constitutional independence from Britain and established a new Canadian Constitution with a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He played an important role in defeating the Quebec separatist movement of the 1970s and 1980s; although his decision to invoke the War Measures Act in response to the 1970 October Crisis drew sharp criticism. His federalist stance as well as his language and economic policies alienated many in Canada, particularly in the West. His eldest son, Justin Trudeau, became leader of the Liberal Party in 2013 and prime minister in 2015.

Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, the United Kingdom and 13 other Commonwealth realms (born 21 April 1926 in London, United Kingdom; died 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland). The Queen reigned since 1952 and was the Head of State of Canada, the United Kingdom and 13 other Commonwealth realms. Elizabeth II was the first monarch to be crowned Queen of Canada. She was the longest reigning monarch in British and Commonwealth history and celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, in 2022.

Harjit Singh Sajjan, PC, OMM, MSM, CD, soldier, policeman, politician, Minister of National Defence 2015–21, Minister of International Development 2021–present (born 6 September 1970, in Bombeli, Hoshiarpur, India). Harjit Sajjan enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces at age 19 and joined the Vancouver Police Department in 1999. He served for 11 years and became a detective. He also served three tours of duty in Afghanistan, where he was hailed as Canada’s “best single intelligence asset.” Sajjan rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and became the first Sikh Canadian to command an Armed Forces regiment. He was elected as a Liberal MP for Vancouver South in 2015. He was Minister of National Defence for nearly six years — one of the longest tenures in the country’s history. He has been Minister of International Development since 2021.

John George “Dief the Chief” Diefenbaker, PC, CH, KC, FRSC, prime minister 1957–63, politician, lawyer (born 18 September 1895 in Neustadt, ON; died 16 August 1979 in Ottawa, ON). John Diefenbaker was Canada’s 13th prime minister. He was well known as a defence lawyer before his election to Parliament, and was an eloquent spokesman for “non-establishment” Canada. A supporter of civil rights for all, Diefenbaker championed the Canadian Bill of Rights and the extension of the right to vote to First Nations peoples. He also played an important role in the anti-apartheid statement that led to South Africa’s departure from the Commonwealth in 1961. He was a charismatic and popular speaker; but he was also a divisive force within the Progressive Conservative Party. He was criticized for his indecision concerning nuclear missiles on Canadian soil; for his strained relations with US President John F. Kennedy; and for his cancellation of the Avro Arrow project.

Pierre Laporte, journalist, lawyer, politician (born 25 February 1921 in Montreal, Quebec; died 17 October 1970). In October of 1970, Laporte was abducted and subsequently murdered by the Chénier cell of the Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ). This series of events intensified the October Crisis in Quebec. Laporte is one of very few politicians to be assassinated in Canada (see Thomas D’Arcy McGee).