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Pierre Biard, Jesuit missionary (b at Grenoble, France 1567 or 1568; d at Avignon, France 17 Nov 1622). After long preparation for missionary work, Biard left for ACADIA in early 1611.

Yvon Dumont, CM, OM, Métis leader, lieutenant-governor of Manitoba (born 21 January 1951 at St. Laurent, Manitoba, a mostly Métis community northwest of Winnipeg). Dumont became involved in Indigenous politics as a teenager and, throughout his career, held senior positions in the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), the Native Council of Canada (now the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples) and the Métis National Council (MNC). As MNC president in 1986, Dumont participated in the defeat of the Charlottetown Accord. On 5 March 1993, he was sworn in as the lieutenant-governor of Manitoba, the first Métis person in Canadian history to hold a vice-regal office. Yvon Dumont was a successful appellant in the 2013 Supreme Court of Canada land claims case Manitoba Métis Federation vs. Canada. This case helped bring about the signing of a memorandum of understanding in May 2016 between the Canadian government and the MMF to “advance exploratory talks on reconciliation.” Dumont remains a proponent of recognizing the Métis people as a distinct Indigenous population.

Jovette Marchessault, novelist, playwright, painter, sculptor (born 9 February 1938 in Montreal, QC; died 31 December 2012 in Danville, QC). Jovette Marchessault was a self-taught multidisciplinary artist. She won major prizes for her literary and theatrical works and made a unique mark on francophone culture. Supported by a deep and lyrical voice, her work celebrates words through myths and liberating poetic language. Her body of work stands as a tribute to women of all backgrounds, notably female artists and writers. She co-founded the international publishing house Squawtach Press, contributed to many publications and was a lecturer in the theatre department at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She won the prix France-Quebec and the Governor General’s Drama Award, among other honours.

Frederic Baraga, Catholic missionary priest (b at Mala Vas, present-day Republic of Slovenia, 29 Jun 1797; d at Marquette, Mich 19 Jan 1868). He came to the US in 1830 and dedicated his life to serving the OTTAWA and CHIPEWYAN.

Bella Hall Gauld, labour educator, political activist, pianist (born 31 December 1878 in Lindsay, ON; died 21 August 1961 in Montreal, QC).

Alexander Macdonell, Roman Catholic bishop (b at Fort Augustus, Glengarry, Scot 17 July 1762; d at Dumfries, Scot 14 Jan 1840). Ordained in 1787, Macdonell spent the next few years in the Scottish Highlands.

The Irish have played an important role in the history of Canada. From their early settlements in Newfoundland, to the larger waves of migrations in the 19th century and the present, the Irish have been ever-present in the Canadian landscape. Irish Canadians have contributed to Canadian society and its economy, and the Irish-Canadian identity continues to be expressed and celebrated.

Edward Sullivan, Bishop of Algoma (b in Lurgan, Ireland 18 Aug 1832; d at Toronto 6 Jan 1899). Sullivan was the son of a Wesleyan Methodist minister. He entered Trinity College, Dublin, in October 1852 and graduated with a BA in 1858.

By the early 1970s Doer had become a youth counsellor and worked in a number of capacities at the Vaughan Street Detention Centre and the Manitoba Youth Treatment Centre in Winnipeg.

Jessie Oonark, "Una," OC, artist (born 1906 in the Back River area, NWT [now Nunavut]; died 2 March 1985 in Churchill, MB).

Albert Goodwin, "Ginger," labour leader, socialist (b at Treeton, Eng 10 May 1887; d near Comox Lake, Vancouver I 27 July 1918). A resident of Cumberland, BC, he participated in the 1912-14 Vancouver Island Coal Strike.

Charles Bradley Templeton, evangelist, journalist, broadcaster, editor, author (b at Toronto 7 Oct 1915, d there 7 June 2001). Templeton began a career in journalism as a sports cartoonist.

George Hunt, ethnographer and museum acquisitions collector (born 14 February 1854 in Fort Rupert, BC; died there September 1933). He is best known for his work with anthropologist Franz Boas; together they documented the language, rituals and customs of Hunt’s people, the Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl). Hunt's rich ethnographic notes and artifact collections provided the first ethno-history of the Kwakwaka'wakw culture.

Baha'i Faith, a world religion with members in 235 countries and territories, and with 184 National Spiritual Assemblies.

In Canada, political and law-making power is shared by the provincial and federal levels of government, as set out in the constitution. Section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867 gives the provincial governments the exclusive jurisdiction to make laws governing education.

James Reaney was engaged in an energetic program of "rousing the faculties" by holding up the shaping mirror of literary forms to life in Canada, particularly in southwestern Ontario.

Rita Joe (née Rita Bernard), PC, CM, Mi’kmaq poet (born 15 March 1932 in Whycocomagh, NS; died 20 March 2007 in Sydney, NS). Often referred to as the poet laureate of the Mi’kmaq people, Rita Joe wrote powerful poetry that spoke about Indigenous identity and the legacy of residential schools in Canada. Her works continue to influence Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers and artists alike.

Clémence DesRochers, actress, humorist, singer and author (b at Sherbrooke, Qué 24 Nov 1934). Daughter of the poet Alfred DESROCHERS, she is the most famous female monologist of her generation in Québec.

Helen Mamayaok Maksagak, CM, politician, public servant, community leader (born 15 April 1931 in Bernard Harbour, NT [NU]; died 23 January 2009 in Cambridge Bay, NU). Maksagak was the first woman and Inuk to serve as the commissioner of the Northwest Territories. A vocal and engaged advocate for Inuit affairs, she contributed to efforts to establish Nunavut as Canada’s third territory in the 1990s. In March of 1999, she was chosen as the first commissioner of the newly created Nunavut territory; her term lasted until March 2000. Maksagak returned to a formal political role in November 2005, when she was appointed deputy commissioner of Nunavut. In addition to her political career, Maksagak performed advocacy work, focusing on Inuit and, more broadly, Indigenous initiatives, such as improving access to social services.