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Create AccountJohn Walpole Willis, judge (b in Eng 4 Jan 1793; d in Worcestershire, Eng 10 Sept 1877). Willis arrived in Upper Canada in 1827 to take office as puisne justice of the court of King's Bench.
On this occasion at least, there was some truth to the B.C. leaders stump hyperbole. Environmentalists greeted the decision to limit development, in a region compared to Africas Serengeti, in glowing terms.
Sir George-Étienne Cartier, co-premier of the Province of Canada, lawyer, railway promoter, politician (born 6 September 1814 in Saint-Antoine, Lower Canada; died 20 May 1873 in London, England). Sir George-Étienne Cartier dominated the politics of Quebec for a generation. After rebelling against the government in the Rebellions of 1837–38, Cartier served as Canada’s first minister of militia and defence. Arguably the kingpin of Confederation, he was responsible for bringing French Canada, Manitoba and British Columbia into the Dominion. He also negotiated the purchase of Rupert’s Land and the North-West Territories from the Hudson’s Bay Company. He is considered a Father of Confederation.
Donald Marshall Jr., Mi'kmaq leader, Indigenous activist, wrongly convicted of murder (born 13 September 1953 in Sydney, NS; died 6 August 2009 in Sydney, NS). Donald Marshall’s imprisonment (1971–82) became one of the most controversial cases in the history of Canada's criminal justice system. He was the first high-profile victim of a wrongful murder conviction to have it overturned, paving the way for others such as David Milgaard and Guy Paul Morin. In the 1990s, Marshall was also the central figure in a significant Supreme Court of Canada case on First Nations hunting and fishing rights.
Khadir, physicist, doctor, activist and politician (born 12 June 1961 in Tehran, Iran). Amir Khadir was spokesperson for Québec solidaire from 2006 to 2013 and the first member of this left-wing political party to be elected to the National Assembly of Québec.
The presidential suite of the downtown Toronto hotel is not looking terribly presidential. Glossy mahogany surfaces are littered with papers and empty pop cans. There is a constant flow of denim-clad people and a perpetual hum of fax machines. This is the "war room" of the Canadian Auto Workers.
Romeo Saganash, lawyer, politician, advocate for Indigenous rights (born 28 October 1962 in Waswanipi, a Cree community southeast of James Bay in central Quebec). Saganash is Quebec’s first Indigenous Member of Parliament and the province’s first Cree person to receive an undergraduate law degree. He is believed to be the first Indigenous leader in Canada to run for the leadership of a major political party. For the last 20 years, Saganash has represented the Cree at numerous national and international forums concerning Indigenous issues. He spent 23 years helping to negotiate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — a resolution that provides a framework to implement treaty rights between First Peoples and Canada and to fulfill other obligations in international agreements. He has spent his life furthering the economic, environmental, legal and constitutional rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada, particularly the Cree in the James Bay region.
Andrew Graham Ballenden Bannatyne, businessman, politician (born 31 October 1829 at South Ronaldsay, Orkney ; died 18 May 1889 at St Paul, Minnesota).
Elijah Harper, Oji-Cree politician, consultant, policy analyst (born 3 March 1949 at Red Sucker Lake, MB; died 17 May 2013 in Ottawa, ON). Harper is best known for the role he played in scuttling the Meech Lake Accord, for which he was named the Canadian Press newsmaker of the year for 1990.
A.J.G.D. (John) de Chastelain, twice Canada's Chief of the Defence Staff, Ambassador to the US, head of the International Commission on Decommissioning in Northern Ireland (b on 30 July 1937 at Bucharest, Romania).
Alfonso Gagliano, politician (born 1942 in Italy; died 12 December 2020). Alfonso Gagliano was the Member of Parliament for the Montreal neighbourhood of Saint-Leonard from 1984 until 2002. Following the 1997 election, he served as Minister of Public Works and Government Services in the cabinet of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. He was also chair of the electoral commission of the Liberal Party in Quebec. Gagliano resigned from cabinet and the House of Commons to accept a position as ambassador to Denmark. He was fired by Prime Minister Paul Martin in 2004 for his role in the sponsorship scandal.
Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, the United Kingdom and 13 other Commonwealth realms (born 21 April 1926 in London, United Kingdom; died 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland). The Queen reigned since 1952 and was the Head of State of Canada, the United Kingdom and 13 other Commonwealth realms. Elizabeth II was the first monarch to be crowned Queen of Canada. She was the longest reigning monarch in British and Commonwealth history and celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, in 2022.
Allan Ezra Gotlieb, public servant (born 28 February 1928 in Winnipeg, MB; died 18 April 2020 in Toronto, ON
Gilbert John Murray-Kynynmound Eliot, Viscount Melgund and 4th Earl of Minto, governor general of Canada from 1898 to 1904 (born 9 July 1845 in London, United Kingdom; died 1 March 1914 in Minto, Roxburghshire, United Kingdom).
Humphrey Hume Wrong, diplomat (b at Toronto 10 Sept 1894; d at Ottawa 24 Jan 1954). Grandson of Edward BLAKE and son of historian George WRONG, Hume Wrong was raised in privileged circumstances.
Arthur Maxwell House "Max," physician, lieutenant-governor of Newfoundland and Labrador (b at Glovertown, Nfld 1926). House came to the position after an outstanding medical career, imbued with a strong public service ethic.
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on June 24, 1996. Partner content is not updated.
William Lyon Mackenzie, journalist, politician (born 12 March 1795 in Dundee, Scotland; died 28 August 1861 in Toronto, ON). A journalist, Member of the Legislative Assembly, first mayor of Toronto and a leader of the Rebellions of 1837, Mackenzie was a central figure in pre-Confederation political life.
Françoise David, CQ, community organizer, politician and feminist activist (born 13 January 1948 in Montréal, Quebec). Chair of the Fédération des femmes du Québec from 1994 to 2001, David was elected member of the National Assembly of Québec in 2012 and was co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire from 2006 to 2017.
Ezekiel (Ezechiel) Hart, politician, entrepreneur, militia officer (born 15 May 1770 in Trois-Rivières, Province of Quebec, died 16 September 1843 in Trois-Rivières, Province of Canada). He holds the distinction of being the second Jew to be elected to a political office in the British Empire (see Imperialism). He was also the first in Canada. Despite his business acumen and good standing in the community, Hart was not permitted to take his seat in Lower Canada’s Legislative Assembly, owing to his Jewish faith. This spurred a public debate on Jewish participation in politics. Ultimately, this concluded with an act granting political rights to Jews in Lower Canada in 1832. (See also Anti-Semitism in Canada.)
