Search for ""

Denis Charles Potvin, hockey player (b at Ottawa 29 Oct 1953). After a junior career with the Ottawa 67s, Potvin was the first player chosen in the 1973 NHL draft.

Anna Weber, folk painter, fraktur artist (b in Earl Twp, Lancaster County, Pa 3 June 1814; d in Woolwich Twp, Waterloo County, Ont 12 Oct 1888). Weber immigrated to UC in 1825 and, following the death of her parents, moved from one Mennonite family to another until her own death.

Kevin Austin. Composer, teacher, b London 10 Jul 1948, naturalized Canadian 1984; B MUS composition (McGill) 1970, MMA composition (McGill) 1973. He studied composition and electroacoustics at McGill University with István Anhalt, Paul Pedersen, Alcides Lanza, and Bengt Hambraeus.

Mireille Lagacé (nee Bégin), organist, harpsichordist, teacher (b at St-Jérôme, Qué, 8 Jun 1935). Lagacé studied in Montréal with Germaine Malépart (piano), Conrad Letendre (organ), and Gabriel Cusson (theory).

Yolande Dulude. Soprano, born Montreal 12 Jan 1931, died there 18 Aug 2003; lauréat (Basile-Moreau College) 1948. After studying piano for a number of years, she began voice study in 1944.

Jane Fair. Saxophonist, composer, teacher, b Guelph, Ont, 24 July 1948; BA (McGill) 1970. One of the first Canadian women to play jazz, Fair worked in dance bands in Barrie, Ont, before moving to Montreal in 1966 to study French literature at McGill University.

“Canuck” is a nickname for a Canadian — sometimes bearing a negative implication, more often wielded with pride. It goes back at least as far as the 1830s, and its meaning has changed over time. The word “Canuck” may be most familiar today as the name of a National Hockey League franchise, the Vancouver Canucks (see British Columbia). In the 20th century, the term enjoyed a much broader use.

Jody Wilson-Raybould (“Puglaas” or “woman born of noble people” or “woman with integrity” in Kwak’wala), politician, lawyer (born 23 March 1971 in Vancouver, BC). Jody Wilson-Raybould is the independent MP for Vancouver Granville. She was federal minister of justice, attorney general and minister of veterans affairs in the government of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Prior to her career in federal politics, she was a BC crown prosecutor, regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and member of the BC Treaty Commission. As Canada’s first Indigenous justice minister, Wilson-Raybould introduced groundbreaking legislation, including Bill C-14 on medically assisted dying, C-16 on gender identity and human rights, and C-45, The Cannabis Act. She has helped to build bridges between First Nations communities and the Canadian government and is committed to helping Indigenous peoples seek self-government and gain equality in education, health care and legal rights.

Maxime Bernier, businessman, lawyer, politician, leader of the People’s Party of Canada 2018–present (born 18 January 1963 in St-Georges-de-Beauce, Quebec).

Indian agents were the Canadian government’s representatives on First Nations reserves from the 1830s to the 1960s. Often working in isolated locations far from settler communities, Indian agents implemented government policy, enforced and administered the provisions of the Indian Act, and managed the day-to-day affairs of Status Indians. Today, the position of Indian agent no longer exists, as First Nations manage their own affairs through modern band councils or self-government.

Douglas Jung, CM, OBC, politician, lawyer, soldier (born 25 February 1924 in Victoria, BC; died 4 January 2002 in Vancouver, BC). Douglas Jung was a member of Force 136, a group of Chinese Canadian soldiers who fought behind enemy lines in the Pacific theatre during the Second World War. After the war, Jung became a lawyer in British Columbia and was the first Chinese Canadian lawyer to appear before the BC Court of Appeal in 1955. On 10 June 1957, Douglas Jung was elected as the first Chinese Canadian member of Parliament.

Jordin John Kudluk (Thunder) Tootoo, hockey player (born 2 February, 1983 in Churchill, MB). Jordin Tootoo is the first Inuk hockey player to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). Jordin got the attention of the NHL as a tough, talented right-winger in his junior hockey days in Manitoba. In 2003, he received national attention when he played for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship. After playing 13 seasons in the NHL, he retired in 2018. He is known for speaking to youth and maintaining his Inuit culture.

The Cowichan sweater is a garment created in North America with a distinctly patterned design knitted out of bulky-weighted yarn. It originated during the late 19th century among the Cowichan, a Coast Salish people in British Columbia. Historically also called the Indian sweater or Siwash sweater (a derogatory Chinook word for Indigenous people), the Cowichan people reclaimed the name after the 1950s as a means of emphasizing their claim to the garment. The popularity of the sweater by the mid-1900s thrust Cowichan sweaters into the world of international fashion, where they have been appropriated by non-Indigenous designers. Nevertheless, several knitters from various Coast Salish communities around Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia continue to create and sell authentic sweaters. In 2011, the Canadian government recognized Cowichan knitters and sweaters as nationally and historically significant.

Mary Matilda Hamilton (née Riter), artist (born 7 September c. 1867 in Teeswater, ON; died 5 April 1954 in Coquitlam, BC). Mary Riter Hamilton was a painter who exhibited her works in Europe and across Canada. Shortly after the fighting stopped, Hamilton travelled to Europe to paint First World War battlefield landscapes before they were cleared (see War Artists). She produced over 350 works in three years, which are a document of the destruction and devastation caused by the war.

Returning to Toronto, she founded the New Dance Group of Canada in 1966, which gave its first performance 1967 with guest artists Peter RANDAZZO and David EARLE. In 1968 she joined them in co-founding the TORONTO DANCE THEATRE.

Ryan Larkin, animator (born at Montréal 31 July 1943; died at St-Hyacinthe, Que 14 Feb 2007). Ryan Larkin, a gifted animator with a unique, fluid style, was once described as "the Frank Zappa of animation films.

Frank Lucius Packard, novelist, short story writer, engineer (born at Montréal, Que., 2 Feb 1877; died at Lachine, Que., 17 Feb 1942).

Mark Critch, comedian, actor, writer (born at St. John's, Nfld 1974). Mark Critch's career in sketch comedy began in St. John's when he was 15.

Robin Blaser, CM, poet, academic, activist (born 18 May 1925 in Denver, Colorado; died 7 May 2009 in Vancouver, BC).

John William Crow, economist and governor of the Band of Canada (b at London, Eng 22 Jan 1937).