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Sir Cecil Edward Denny, 6th baronet of Tralee Castle, police officer, Indian agent, author (b in Hampshire, Eng 14 Dec 1850; d at Edmonton 24 Aug 1928). Denny is best known as the author of two colourful accounts of life with the North-West Mounted Police - The Riders of the Plains: A Reminiscence of the Early and Exciting Days in the North West (1905) and The Law Marches West (1939).
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Sir Charles Bagot, diplomat (born 23 Sept 1781 at Blithfield Hall, England; died 19 May 1843 in Kingston, Canada). Born to a wealthy and influential family, Bagot was elected to the British Parliament in 1807. He served in the cabinet as undersecretary of state for foreign affairs before appointments as Britain’s minister to France (1814), the United States (1816-19), Russia (1820-24), and the Netherlands (1824-32). As Britain’s minister to the United States, he negotiated the 1817 Rush-Bagot Agreement which reduced the number of military ships on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain and helped secure the Canadian-American border. From 1841-43, he served as Governor General of the Province of Canada, advancing responsible government and French-English equality in the colony.
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Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper, politician, cabinet minister (born 3 August 1855 in Amherst, Nova Scotia; died 30 March 1927 in Vancouver, BC).
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Sir Charles Tupper, prime minister, premier of Nova Scotia 1864–67, doctor (born 2 July 1821 in Amherst, NS; died 30 October 1915 in Bexleyheath, England). Charles Tupper led Nova Scotia into Confederation while he was premier. Over the course of his lengthy political career, he served as a federal Cabinet minister and diplomat, and briefly as prime minister of Canada — his 10-week term is the shortest in Canadian history. He was the last surviving Father of Confederation.
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Sir Clifford Sifton, PC, KCMG, KC, lawyer, politician, businessman (born 10 March 1861 near Arva, Canada West; died 17 April 1929 in New York City, New York). Sir Clifford Sifton was one of the ablest politicians of his time. He is best known for his aggressive promotion of immigration to settle the Prairie West. Under his leadership, immigration to Canada increased significantly; from 16,835 per year in 1896 to 141,465 in 1905. A Liberal politician of considerable influence and vision, he was also a controversial figure. Sifton promoted a single education system and opposed the public funding of denominational schools, largely disregarding the concerns of French Catholics. He also showed little interest in the Indigenous peoples of the Prairies; he oversaw cuts to Indigenous education and approved Treaty 8. His brother, Arthur Lewis Sifton, was premier of Alberta from 1910 to 1917.
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Sir George-Étienne Cartier, co-premier of the Province of Canada, lawyer, railway promoter, politician (born 6 September 1814 in Saint-Antoine, Lower Canada; died 20 May 1873 in London, England). Sir George-Étienne Cartier dominated the politics of Quebec for a generation. After rebelling against the government in the Rebellions of 1837–38, Cartier served as Canada’s first minister of militia and defence. Arguably the kingpin of Confederation, he was responsible for bringing French Canada, Manitoba and British Columbia into the Dominion. He also negotiated the purchase of Rupert’s Land and the North-West Territories from the Hudson’s Bay Company. He is considered a Father of Confederation.
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Sir Hector-Louis Langevin, politician, lawyer, journalist (born 25 August 1826 in Québec City, Lower Canada; died 11 June 1906 in Québec City). Sir Hector-Louis Langevin played an important role in Confederation, defending the position of Québec and French-speaking Canadians at the Charlottetown and Québec Conferences of 1864, and again in London in 1866. He was a trusted administrator in Sir John A. Macdonald’s governments and an ardent federalist. Langevin was one of the original architects of the residential schools system, which was designed to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture.
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Sir James Spearman Winter, politician, prime minister of Newfoundland 1897-1900 (born 1 January 1845 in Lamaline, Newfoundland; died 6 October 1911 in Toronto, Ontario).
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Sir John Alexander Macdonald, prime minister of Canada 1867–73 and 1878–91, lawyer, businessman, politician (born 10 or 11 January 1815 in Glasgow, Scotland; died 6 June 1891 in Ottawa, ON). John A. Macdonald was Canada’s first and second-longest serving prime minister (19 years). He set wide-ranging policies that continue to influence the country today. Macdonald helped unite the British North American colonies in Confederation and was a key figure in the writing of the British North America Act — the foundation of Canada’s Constitution. He oversaw the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and the addition of Manitoba, the North-West Territories, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island to Confederation. However, his legacy also includes the creation of the residential school system for Indigenous children, the policies that contributed to the starvation of Plains Indigenous peoples, and the “head tax” on Chinese immigrants.
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Mackenzie Bowell, KCMG, editor, publisher, politician and prime minister of Canada 1894–96 (born 27 December 1823 in Rickinghall, Suffolk, England; died 10 December 1917 in Belleville, Ontario). Bowell was a prominent Orangeman and served as Grand Master of the Orange Order in British North America from 1870 to 1878. He was a newspaper editor and publisher before entering federal politics. Bowell represented North Hastings in Canadian Parliament from 1867 to 1892 and was a Conservative senator from 1892 to 1917. He served as Conservative prime minister from 21 December 1894 to 27 April 1896 and was one of only two federal leaders to direct government from the Senate rather than the House of Commons. Pressure from his own Cabinet forced Bowell’s resignation in 1896; he was the only prime minister to suffer that fate. However, he remained a senator until his death.
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Sir Robert Laird Borden, lawyer, politician, prime minister of Canada, 1911–20 (born 26 June 1854 in Grand Pré, NS; died 10 June 1937 in Ottawa, ON).
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Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick (1873–78, 1885–93), premier of New Brunswick (1861–65), pharmacist (born 8 May 1818 in Gagetown, NB; died 25 June 1896 in Saint John, NB). Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley was a strong supporter of both Confederation and the construction of the Intercolonial Railway. He is believed to have suggested the name “Dominion of Canada” for the new country. He was a member of Sir John A. Macdonald’s first government before he was appointed lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick.
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Sir Wilfrid Laurier, PC, prime minister of Canada 1896–1911, politician, lawyer, journalist (born 20 November 1841 in St-Lin, Canada East; died 17 February 1919 in Ottawa, ON). Sir Wilfrid Laurier was the dominant political figure of his era. He was leader of the Liberal Party from 1887 to 1919 and Prime Minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. A skilful and pragmatic politician with a charismatic personality, he unceasingly sought compromise. Above all, he was a fervent promoter of national unity at a time of radical change and worsening cultural conflict. Laurier also promoted the development and expansion of the country. He encouraged immigration to Western Canada; supported the construction of transcontinental railways; and oversaw the addition of Alberta and Saskatchewan to Confederation.
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The term “Sixties Scoop” refers to the large numbers of Indigenous children who were taken from their homes (scooped) throughout the 1960s. Most of these children were adopted by non-Indigenous families in Canada and the United States. The “Sixties Scoop” has left a lasting legacy on the children, families and communities involved. This article is a plain-language summary of Sixties Scoop. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry, Sixties Scoop.
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Sleeping car porters were railway employees who attended to passengers aboard sleeping cars. Porters were responsible for passengers’ needs throughout a train trip, including carrying luggage, setting up beds, pressing clothes and shining shoes, and serving food and beverages, among other services. The vast majority of sleeping car porters were Black men and the position was one of only a few job opportunities available to Black men in Canada. While the position carried respect and prestige for Black men in their communities, the work demanded long hours for little pay. Porters could be fired suddenly and were often subjected to racist treatment. Black Canadian porters formed the first Black railway union in North America (1917) and became members of the larger Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1939. Both unions combatted racism and the many challenges that porters experienced on the job.
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