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The First World War forever changed Canada. Some 630,000 Canadians enlisted from a nation of not yet eight million. More than 66,000 were killed. As the casualties mounted on the Western Front, an expatriate Canadian, Sir Max Aitken (Lord Beaverbrook), organized a program to document Canada’s war effort through art, photography and film. This collection of war art, made both in an official capacity and by soldiers themselves, was another method of forging a legacy of Canada’s war effort.

Canadian painting in the 19th century tended towards the pastoral. It depicted idyllic scenes of rural life and represented the country as a wondrous Eden. Canadian painter Homer Watson, under the influence of such American masters as Frederic Edwin Church and Albert Bierstadt, created images that are serene and suffused with golden light. In On the Mohawk River (1878), for instance, a lazy river ambles between tall, overhanging trees; in the background is a light-struck mountain. In Watson’s world, nature is peaceful, unthreatening and perhaps even sacred.

Zoe Ada Caldwell, OBE, actor, director (born 14 September 1933 in Hawthorn, Australia; died 16 February 2020 in Pound Ridge, New York). Zoe Caldwell was an Australian actor who began her career in England before moving to Canada in 1961. She became a prominent leading lady in Canadian theatre, starring in productions at the Stratford Festival, the Shaw Festival and the Manitoba Theatre Centre, as well as on CBC TV. She began performing in the United States in the 1960s and went on to win four Tony Awards, including three for plays produced by her husband, Montreal-born theatre producer Robert Whitehead. Caldwell was also an accomplished director. Her renown as an actor in both classical and modern productions garnered her the Theatre World Award (1966), the Order of the British Empire (1970) and the Bernard B. Jacobs Excellence in Theatre Award (1999).

Félix Eugène Leclerc, OC, GOQ, singer-songwriter, poet, novelist, playwright, actor, broadcaster (born 2 August 1914 at La Tuque, QC; died 8 August 1988 at Ȋle d'Orléans, QC). Félix Leclerc was a revolutionary artist whose work in several fields marked a turning point in Quebec culture. As a poet and playwright, he was one of Quebec’s literary giants. As a singer, he was a superstar in Canada and Europe, particularly in France. He greatly influenced the course of the Québec chanson and paved the way for the popular chansonnier movement in Quebec and France. He was a vocal proponent of Quebec nationalism and helped galvanize the collective identity of the people of Quebec. Some of his most popular songs included “Notre sentier,” “Moi, mes souliers,” “Bozo” and “Le Tour de l’Ȋle.” He received three Grand Prix du disque from the Académie Charles-Cros in Paris, as well as the Prix de musique Calixa-Lavallée, the Prix Denise-Pelletier and the Diplôme d'honneur. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Grand Officer of the National Order of Québec and a Chevalier of France's Légion d'honneur.

Samantha Bee, comedian, actor, writer, producer (born 25 October 1969 in Toronto, ON). A whip smart and scrappy comedian with an acerbic and aggressive edge, Samantha Bee is perhaps best known as the longest-serving correspondent (2003–15) on the satirical comedy news program The Daily Show. A winner of three Canadian Comedy Awards, she has also acted in numerous films and television series. Her own late-night comedy series, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, debuted in February 2016.

James Evans, Methodist minister, linguist (born 18 Jan 1801 in Kingston-upon-Hull, England; died 23 November 1846 in Kelby, England). Ordained in 1833, Evans served in various Christian missions in Upper Canada. While working in Norway House, Manitoba, he translated Christian hymns and printed a booklet in Cree syllabics. (See also Cree Language.)

Florence Bayard Bird (née Rhein, pseudonym Anne Francis), CC, senator, journalist, broadcaster and author (born 15 January 1908 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died 18 July 1998 in Ottawa, Ontario). Chair of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada from 1967 to 1970, Florence Bird made her name as a broadcast journalist for CBC/Radio-Canada, reporting news and producing documentaries on women’s working conditions and on conditions for women in Canada’s prisons.

Keanu Charles Reeves, actor, producer, director, musician (born 2 September 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon). Keanu Reeves is one of the most recognizable film actors in the world. After early work in Toronto with the CBC and the NFB, he moved to Los Angeles and made a meteoric rise to stardom in such films as Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989), Point Break (1991) and My Own Private Idaho (1991). He is perhaps best known for action-adventure movies such as Speed (1994), the John Wick franchise and The Matrix trilogy.