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Deborah Cox, singer, songwriter, actor (born 13 July 1974 in Toronto, ON). One of Canada’s top R&B artists, Deborah Cox is known for her powerful, soulful voice and sultry ballads. “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here,” from her second album, One Wish (1998), set a record as the longest-running No. 1 R&B single in the US, staying atop the Billboard R&B Singles chart for 14 weeks. She has had six top 20 Billboard R&B singles and 13 No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart. She has received multiple Juno Awards and Grammy Award nominations and has appeared as an actor in film and television and on Broadway. In 2022, she became the first Black woman and only the second Black Canadian (after Oscar Peterson) to be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Harold Barling Town, OC, artist (born 13 June 1924 in Toronto, ON; died 27 December 1990 near Peterborough, ON).

Lyric Arts Trio. Formed in 1964 by the soprano Mary Morrison, the flutist Robert Aitken, and Aitken's wife, the pianist Marion Ross.

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.

Besha (Bessie) Starkman (Perri), organized crime boss (born 14 April 1889 or 21 June 1890 in Poland; died 13 August 1930 in Hamilton, ON). During the Prohibition era she became known as Canada’s first high-profile female crime boss. With her common-law spouse, mobster Rocco Perri, she ran a bootlegging and drug-smuggling enterprise. Starkman was gunned down in the garage of her home and her murderers were never caught. Her funeral was one of the largest ever seen in Hamilton.

Walter Seymour Allward, sculptor (born 18 November 1876 in Toronto; died 24 April 1955 in Toronto). Walter Allward cemented his reputation as one of Canada’s greatest monumental sculptors with the mammoth Canadian National Vimy Memorial in Vimy, France (1922–36), which commemorated the important Battle of Vimy Ridge (April 1917) and the more than 11,000 Canadians listed as missing in action during the First World War.

Howard William “Howie” Meeker, hockey broadcaster, player, coach (born 4 November 1923 in Kitchener, ON; died 8 November 2020 in Nanaimo, BC). Howie Meeker won a Junior B hockey championship and served with the army’s Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers before joining the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1946. He won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 1947, and won four Stanley Cups in his first five years with the Maple Leafs. He also served as a Member of Parliament and played a key role in the development of hockey in Newfoundland. He was perhaps best known for his enthusiastic and influential commentary on CBC TV’s Hockey Night in Canada. A Member of the Order of Canada, Meeker was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame and the British Columbia Hockey Hall of Fame.

Kenneth Strath Moore, hockey player, coach (born 17 February 1910 in Balcarres, SK; died 8 December 1981 in Winnipeg, MB). Ken Moore played on and coached teams that won national championships. As a member of the hockey team representing Canada at the 1932 Winter Olympics, Moore is the first Indigenous athlete from Canada to compete at a Winter Olympics and to win an Olympic gold medal. (See also Indigenous Olympians.)

Won Alexander Cumyow (溫金有), activist and interpreter (born around 21 March 1861 in Port Douglas, BC; died 6 October 1955 in Vancouver). Won Cumyow was the first Chinese Canadian born in British North America, which became Canada. He knew several languages, which assisted his work as a Chinese community leader and court interpreter.

Laurent-Olivier David, lawyer, journalist, newspaper owner, writer, politician (born 24 March 1840 in Sault-au-Récollet (Montréal), QC; died 24 August 1926 in Outremont, QC). David was responsible for founding the Monument-National and was the author of a number of biographies of famous Canadians.

The Fransaskois are francophones living in Saskatchewan. According to recent Canadian statistics, 1.5 per cent of the population (16,373 inhabitants) have French as their mother tongue and 1.3 per cent of the population (14,440 inhabitants) have French as their first official language (see French language in Canada).

Kennedy Stewart, politician, academic, mayor of Vancouver (2018–present) (born 8 November 1966 in Halifax, Nova Scotia). Stewart served as a Member of Parliament for Burnaby–Douglas and Burnaby South and was a member of the NDP caucus. He is an associate professor on leave at Simon Fraser University’s School of Public Policy. Stewart is currently the 40th mayor of Vancouver.

The Cayuga (also known as Guyohkohnyo and Gayogohó:no', meaning “People of the Pipe” or “People of the Great Swamp”) are Indigenous peoples who have traditionally occupied territories along the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River and south into the Finger Lakes district of New York State. The Cayuga are one of six First Nations that make up the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

Paul Edward Haggis, writer, director, producer (born 10 Mar 1953 in London, Ontario). Within Canada, Paul Haggis may be best known as the creator of the popular TV series Due South, which earned him six Gemini Awards including two for Best Dramatic Series. Internationally, he is renowned for a number of film achievements. He made history in 2006 as the first screenwriter of back-to-back Best Picture Oscar winners — Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Crash (2005). He also won Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay Oscars for the latter and helped rejuvenate the James Bond franchise with his screenplays for Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008). More recently, his reputation has been marred by four allegations of sexual assault: in January 2018, he began defending himself in a civil suit against those allegations.

Alejandro Malaspina, explorer (b at Mulazzo, Italy 5 Nov 1754; d at Pontremoli, Italy 9 Apr 1810). Born to an illustrious but impoverished family, Malaspina entered the Spanish naval service. In 1784 he sailed around the world in the frigate Astrea.

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.

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.