Browse "Communities & Sociology"

Any act of migration is an adventure and the adventuring spirit has at times characterized even the North American migrant. The interpenetration of the Canadian and American peoples has been such that no Canadian can have escaped its influence.

Amérique française, magazine founded 1941 by former Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf students led by Pierre Baillargeon, following Collège publications by François Hertel and his colleagues. The magazine accurately reflected the artistic ideals of a certain Québec intellectual elite.

The Amish, a branch of the Mennonite Church, was formed in Alsace in 1693 under the leadership of Jakob Amman. The Amish were distinguished from other Mennonite congregations by extremely conservative dress and the shunning of technological advances and of "the world" in general.

Anabaptists, religious and social dissenters in 16th-century Europe.

Anderson Ruffin Abbott, doctor, surgeon (born 7 April 1837 in Toronto, Upper Canada; died 29 December 1913 in Toronto, ON). Abbott was the first Canadian-born Black person to graduate from medical school. He served the Union army as a civilian surgeon during the American Civil War.

"So he said, “Geez, I noticed you’re a Canadian.” I said, “Yes.” He said, “How do you like the American ships?” I said, “Gee, they’re like castles compared to the Canadian.”"

See below for Mr. Wong's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Andrew Christian Wiggins (born 23 February 1995 in Toronto, ON). Andrew Wiggins is a Canadian professional basketball player with the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Raised in Vaughan, Ontario, Wiggins first rose to fame as the world’s top-ranked high school basketball player and was a second-team All-American in college. In 2014, he became the second Canadian to be selected first overall in the NBA draft. He is the first Canadian player to be named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year and the first to score more than 40 points in a game. Wiggins also helped Canada secure three bronze medals in international competition. He is the highest-paid Canadian athlete of all time.    

Angela Frances Chalmers, world-class distance runner from Birdtail Sioux First Nation (born 6 September 1963 in Brandon, MB). Chalmers is one of the most accomplished Indigenous athletes in Canada. She won three gold medals in total at the Commonwealth Games in 1990 and 1994. An advocate for Indigenous issues, Chalmers has made efforts to connect with and inspire Indigenous youth from across Canada. Among many honours and awards, Chalmers was inducted into Athletics Canada Hall of Fame in 2019.

Angela Sidney (née Johns), (Stóow Ch’óonehte’ Máa), CM, Elder, storyteller, author (born 4 January 1902 near Carcross, YT; died 17 July 1991 in Whitehorse, YT). Of Tagish and Tlingit descent, Sidney was one of the last fluent speakers of the Tagish language. A storyteller, Sidney recorded and preserved the stories, traditions, languages, place names and genealogies of her people. She was the first Indigenous woman from Yukon to be appointed to the Order of Canada.

In Canada, the word anglophone refers to someone whose first language is English: it is the one they use most often to speak, read, write and think, and the one they use most often at home. Being anglophone can also simply mean being able to speak the language fluently.

According to the 2016 census, almost 20.19 million Canadians, representing 58.1 per cent of the total population, reported English as their mother tongue. Approximately 29.97 million Canadians, or 86.2 per cent of the population, declared being able to speak English.

Angus Bernard MacEachern, Roman Catholic bishop of Charlottetown (b at Kinlochmoidart, Scot 8 Feb 1759; d at Canavoy, PEI 22 Apr 1835). In a missionary career spanning 5 decades, MacEachern firmly rooted Catholicism in pioneer Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

Anishinaabe (other variants include Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé and Anishinabek) refers to a group of culturally and linguistically related First Nations that live in both Canada and the United States, concentrated around the Great Lakes. The Anishinaabeg (plural form of Anishinaabe) live from the Ottawa River Valley west across Northern Ontario and to the plains of Saskatchewan south to the northeast corner of North Dakota, northern Minnesota and Michigan, as well as the northern shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie. The Ojibwe, Chippewa, Odawa, Potawatomi, Algonquin, Saulteaux, Nipissing and Mississauga First Nations are Anishinaabeg. Some Oji-Cree First Nations and Métis also include themselves within this cultural-linguistic grouping. ( See also Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)

Anna Brownell Jameson, née Murphy, writer, feminist, art historian (b at Dublin, Ire 17 May 1794; d at London, Eng 17 Mar 1860). Anna spent her early adulthood as a governess in England, in 1825 publishing A Lady's Diary

Anna Wyman, née Schalk, dancer, choreographer, teacher, director (born 1928 in Graz, Austria; died 11 July 2020 in North Vancouver, BC). 

Annamie Paul, leader of the Green Party of Canada 2020–21, lawyer, activist (born 3 November 1972 in Toronto, ON). Annamie Paul has worked as an advisor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague and with various international organizations devoted to preserving human rights and fighting climate change. She served as the leader of the Green Party of Canada from October 2020 to November 2021. She was the first Black Canadian and the first Jewish woman to be elected as leader of a major federal political party in Canada.

Anne Clare Cools, administrator, community worker, senator (born on 12 August 1943 in Barbados, British West Indies). An influential Black Canadian activist, Anne Cools served four months in jail for her role in the Sir George Williams Affair, for which she was pardoned in 1981. She founded Women in Transition, one of Canada’s first shelters for female victims of violence. She also served on the National Parole Board of Canada. In 1984, she became the first Black Canadian to be named to the Senate. She served as a Liberal, Conservative and independent senator for more than 30 years, and was known as the Dean of the Senate for her knowledge of parliamentary history and procedure.

Anne Kahane, sculptor (b at Vienna, Austria 1 Mar 1924). Kahane is nationally recognized for dense, monumental and 3-dimensional figures carved in wood, portraying political satire, humour and human foibles. She immigrated with her parents in 1925, settling in Montréal at age 5.

Anne Lauber. Composer, teacher, b Zurich, Switzerland, 28 Jul 1943, naturalized Canadian 1972; M MUS composition (Montreal) 1982, D MUS composition (Montreal) 1986.

Anne Legault, actress, playwright, novelist, short-story writer, teacher (b at Lachine, Qué 7 July 1958). Anne Legault began her career acting in children's theatre and television after completing her studies at the Conservatoire d'art dramatique in Montréal in 1981.

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.