Search for "New France"

Julie (Julie Heathers) Holtzman. Pianist, jazz singer, teacher, b Montreal, of Polish parentage, 13 Jul 1945; Première médaille ear training (Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal [CMM]) 1955, Premier prix piano (CMM) 1956, Premier prix chamber music (CMM) 1957, diploma (Juilliard) 1961.

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.

"They wanted to give a Christmas dinner to service personnel. So that’s the sort of thing that, you know, it really means a lot."

See below for Ms. Melton'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.

David Zeisberger, Moravian clergyman (b near Ostrava, Czech 11 Apr 1721; d in Ohio 17 Nov 1808). Beginning in the 1740s he carried on Moravian missionary work among the Indians of Pennsylvania and founded a settlement in Ohio.

Dr. Charles Victor Roman, surgeon, professor, author, editor, philosopher, civil rights activist (born 4 July 1864 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania; died 25 August 1934 in Nashville, Tennessee). Charles Roman was raised in Dundas, Ontario, and was the first Black person to graduate from Hamilton Collegiate Institute in Hamilton, ON. After a tragic accident in his teenage years, he went on to establish himself as an internationally respected surgeon and educator; he also wrote and edited several books and periodicals and was frequently called upon as a keynote speaker. Roman used the Canada–US border as a gateway to opportunity both north and south of the line. He is an example of a true "African North American," one of many individuals of African descent who crossed and recrossed the border separating the two countries between 1850 and 1930.

George Hills, Anglican bishop of British Columbia 1859-95 (b at Eythorne, Eng 21 June 1816; d 10 Dec 1895). An early graduate of Durham University, Hills was influenced by the Tractarians, serving under Dr Hook at Leeds parish church (1841-48).

Ali Pourfarrokh, choreographer and ballet director (b at Kermanshah, Iran 27 Nov 1938). As artistic director of the Alberta Ballet Company from 1988 to 1998, he played a major role in giving the troupe a fresh image.

Charles Hibbert Millard, labour leader (b at St Thomas, Ont 25 Aug 1896; d at Toronto 24 Nov 1978). Originally a carpenter by trade, Millard helped organize United Auto Workers Local 222, which he led in the historic 1937 OSHAWA STRIKE. From 1938 to 1939 he was Canadian UAW director.

Louis Levi Oakes (also known as Tahagietagwa), Mohawk soldier, war hero, steelworker, public works supervisor (born 23 January 1925 in St. Regis, QC; died 28 May 2019 in Snye, QC). During the Second World War, Oakes was a code talker for the United States Army. Code talkers used their Indigenous languages to encode radio messages to prevent the enemy from understanding them. When he passed away at age 94, Oakes was the last Mohawk code talker. (See also Cree Code Talkers and Indigenous Peoples and the World Wars.)

Alexandra Luke, painter (born 14 May 1901 in Montréal, QC; died 1 June 1967 in Oshawa, ON). Alexandra Luke was one of two female founding members of the Ontario-based group of abstract artists known as Painters Eleven.

Charles-Paschal-Télesphore Chiniquy, Roman Catholic priest turned Presbyterian minister (b at Kamouraska, LC 30 July 1809; d at Montréal 16 Jan 1899). He travelled throughout Lower Canada 1839-51 preaching temperance, and his fame was such that he was called "Father Matthew of Lower Canada.

George Burt, labour leader (b at Toronto, Ont 17 Aug 1903; d at Windsor, Ont 6 Sept 1988). Burt became a journeyman plumber, but during the Depression he moved to Oshawa to work for General Motors.

Edward Manning, Baptist minister (b in Ireland 16 Oct 1766; d at Upper Canard, NS 12 Jan 1851). Manning came to Nova Scotia with his Irish Catholic family about 1769.

SchoolNet was an educational project launched in 1993 by federal, provincial and territorial governments, educational organizations and industry partners. Their goals were to link Canadian schools and libraries (particularly those in remote areas) via the Internet and to foster the creation of a Canadian educational website in English and French.

Alessia Caracciolo, singer, songwriter (born 11 July 1996 in Brampton, Ontario). Alessia Cara is a pop music singer-songwriter. She has sold more than 11 million records in the United States and more than 285,000 in Canada since debuting in 2015. She is perhaps best known for her songs “Here” and “Scars to Your Beautiful.” She was named the Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2016 Juno Awards and the Best New Artist at the 2018 Grammy Awards. Her debut album Know-It-All (2015) won the 2017 Juno Award for Pop Album of the Year. Her album The Pains of Growing (2018) earned her 2020 Juno Awards for Album of the Year, Pop Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. Cara has also won a SOCAN Award, two MTV Video Music Awards and three Canadian Radio Music Awards.

The Onondaga are an Indigenous nation in Canada. They make up one-sixth of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy; the rest include the Mohawk, Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida and Tuscarora. Onondaga traditional territory is located outside Syracuse, New York. Onondaga peoples also live on Six Nations territory near Brantford, Ontario. According to the Government of Canada, in 2021, there were 675 registered members of the Bearfoot Onondaga First Nation and 858 registered members of the Onondaga Clear Sky First Nation. (See also First Nations.)

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.

Horace Llewellyn Seymour, urban planner (b at Burford, Ont 1882; d at Ottawa 21 Apr 1940). One of the founders of modern Canadian URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING, Seymour was a leading exponent of the scientific approach to planning and of zoning as the best means of achieving efficient cities.

The North-West Schools Question was a conflict between church and state for control of education in the North-West Territories (now Saskatchewan and Alberta) in the late-19th century. The controversy was similar to other educational crises across Canada, and reflected the larger national debate about the future of Canada as a bilingual and bicultural country.