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Brian Gallant
Brian Alexander Gallant, lawyer, leader of New Brunswick Liberal Party, 33rd premier of New Brunswick 2014–18 (born 27 April 1982 in Shediac Bridge, New Brunswick). Gallant was elected premier of New Brunswick on 23 September 2014, when his party won a majority government; at 32 years of age, he became the country’s youngest premier. However, in the September 2018 provincial election, the Liberal Party lost their majority. Gallant resigned as premier after losing a confidence vote in November 2018 and was replaced by Progressive Conservative Blaine Higgs.
Premiers of Québec
Premiers of Yukon
In Conversation with Rod Matheson
Social Media & Outreach Editor Zach Parrott interviews Rod Matheson for The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Wade MacLauchlan
H. Wade MacLauchlan, CM, OPEI, MLA, 32nd premier of Prince Edward Island (2015–19), president of University of Prince Edward Island (1999–2011), lawyer, academic (born 10 December 1954 in Stanhope, PEI). MacLauchlan was sworn in as premier of Prince Edward Island on 23 February 2015, becoming the province’s first openly gay premier. The former law professor and university president received the Order of Canada in 2008 and the Order of Prince Edward Island in 2014. He is the author of Alex B. Campbell: The Prince Edward Island Premier Who Rocked the Cradle (2014).
Georges Lemay
Georges Lemay, criminal (born 25 January 1925 in Shawinigan, QC; died December 2006 in Montréal, QC). Lemay was the mastermind behind one of the biggest bank robberies in Canadian history – the Bank of Nova Scotia heist in Montréal in 1961.
David Ahenakew
David Ahenakew, politician, first elected chief of the Assembly of First Nations (born 29 July 1933 at the Sandy Lake Indian Reserve [now the Ahtahkakoop First Nation] in central Saskatchewan; died 12 March 2010 in Shellbrook, SK).
Rachel Notley
Rachel Notley, 17th premier of Alberta (2015–19) and leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party (2014–), lawyer (born 17 April 1964 in Edmonton, AB). As a lawyer, Rachel Notley specialized in labour issues, working in both British Columbia and Alberta. The daughter of Grant Notley, Alberta NDP leader from 1968 to 1984, she won her first election in 2008 and was elected party leader in 2014. Notley led her party to a surprise electoral victory on 5 May 2015, defeating the longest-serving government in Canadian history — the Progressive Conservatives, who had been in power since 1971. However, in the 2019 Alberta general election, Notley and the NDP lost to Jason Kenney's United Conservative Party.
In Conversation with Marcia McClung
Special projects editor Eli Yarhi interviews Marcia McClung, granddaughter of suffragist, reformer, legislator and author Nellie McClung, for The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Samuel Simpson Sharpe
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Samuel Simpson Sharpe, barrister, politician, soldier (born on 13 March 1873 in Zephyr, Ontario; died 25 May 1918 in Montreal, Quebec). Sharpe was a militia officer and sitting Member of Parliament when he raised the 116th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, and took it overseas. After participating in some of Canada’s bloodiest battles of the war, he was hospitalized for “nervous shock” and returned to Canada. While undergoing treatment, he committed suicide by jumping from a Montreal hospital window.
Cairine Wilson
Cairine Reay Wilson (née Mackay), senator, diplomat, philanthropist (born 4 February 1885 in Montreal, QC; died 3 March 1962 in Ottawa, ON). In 1930, the year after the success of the Persons Case, Wilson was the first woman appointed to the Senate of Canada. She helped found and run political organizations that encouraged women and youth to get involved in politics. From the 1930s onwards, Wilson advocated for the admission of European refugees to Canada.
Sam Steele
Sir Samuel Benfield Steele, CB, KCMG, mounted policeman, soldier (born 5 January 1848 in Medonte, Canada West; died 30 January 1919 in London, England). As a member of the North-West Mounted Police, Steele was an important participant in the signing of Treaty 6 and Treaty 7, the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the North-West Rebellion and the Klondike gold rush. His military career began as a private in the Red River Expedition, included service in the South African War as an officer commanding Lord Strathcona’s Horse and as a major general during the First World War.
Emily Murphy
Emily Murphy (née Ferguson, pen name Janey Canuck), writer, journalist, magistrate, political and legal reformer (born 14 March 1868 in Cookstown, ON; died 27 October 1933 in Edmonton, AB). Emily Murphy was the first woman magistrate in the British Empire. She was also one of the Famous Five behind the Persons Case, the successful campaign to have women declared persons in the eyes of British law. A self-described rebel, she was an outspoken feminist and suffragist and a controversial figure. Her views on immigration and eugenics have been criticized as racist and elitist. She was named a Person of National Historic Significance in 1958 and an honorary senator in 2009.
Agnes Macphail
Agnes Campbell Macphail, politician, reformer (born 24 March 1890 in Proton Township, Grey County, ON; died 13 February 1954 in Toronto, ON). Agnes Macphail was the first woman elected to the House of Commons (1921–40) and was one of the first two women elected to the Ontario legislature (1943–45, 1948–51). She was also the first female member of a Canadian delegation to the League of Nations. Macphail was a founding member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (the forerunner of the New Democratic Party). She was a noted pacifist and an advocate for prison reform. As a member of the Ontario legislature, she championed Ontario’s first equal pay legislation (1951).
W.A.C. Bennett
William Andrew Cecil Bennett, PC, OC, premier of British Columbia 1952-72, merchant, politician, (born 6 September 1900 in Hastings, NB; died 23 February 1979 in Kelowna, BC). Bennett led his province during a period of unparalleled economic expansion and is the longest serving premier in BC history.
Grant MacEwan
John Walter Grant MacEwan, author, historian, lieutenant-governor of Alberta (born in Brandon, Manitoba on 12 August 1902; died in Calgary, Alberta on 15 June 2000).
Fred Rose
Fred Rose, union organizer, politician (b Fred Rosenberg at Lublin, Poland 7 Dec 1907; d at Warsaw, Poland 16 Mar 1983). Rose moved with his parents to Montréal. In the 1930s, as a member of the Young Communist League, he organized unions of unemployed and unskilled workers.