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Jeanne-Mathilde Sauvé, PC, CC, governor general of Canada 1984-1990, journalist, politician, speaker of the House of Commons (born 26 April 1922 in Prud'homme, Saskatchewan; died 26 January 1993 in Montreal). Sauvé was Canada's first woman to be Speaker of the House of Commons and first woman to serve as governor general.

François Legault, businessman, politician and premier of Quebec (born 26 May 1957 in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec). Co-founder of Air Transat, François Legault was a minister in the Parti Québécois governments of Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry. As leader of the Coalition avenir Québec, a political party he founded in 2011, he was elected premier of Quebec on 1 October 2018.

Daniel Nicholas Paul, CM, Mi’kmaq elder, author, social justice advocate (born 5 December 1938 on Indian Brook Reserve, NS). Paul is the author of We Were Not the Savages, one of Canada’s first history books from an Indigenous perspective. He had long campaigned for the removal of Halifax’s statue to its controversial founder, Edward Cornwallis, until its removal by Halifax's city council in January 2018.

When I arrived in Edmonton in 1980 to become the editor of The Canadian Encyclopedia I was only dimly aware of the presence of the man at the epicentre of both the oil boom and the fight with Ottawa.

Helen (Ma) Armstrong (née Jury), labour activist, women’s rights activist (born 17 June 1875 in Toronto, Ontario; died 17 April 1947 in Los Angeles, California). Helen Armstrong was a labour activist who fought for the rights of working-class women throughout her life. She was the leader of the Winnipeg Women’s Labor League and a central figure in the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike. She campaigned for unions, a minimum wage and social security, and against conscription. Armstrong was arrested for her activism at least three times, including twice during the Winnipeg General Strike. Historian Esyllt Jones described Helen Armstrong as “the exception in a male-dominated labour movement.”

Annamie Paul, leader of the Green Party of Canada 2020–21, lawyer, activist (born 3 November 1972 in Toronto, ON). Annamie Paul has worked as an advisor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague and with various international organizations devoted to preserving human rights and fighting climate change. She served as the leader of the Green Party of Canada from October 2020 to November 2021. She was the first Black Canadian and the first Jewish woman to be elected as leader of a major federal political party in Canada.

Dexter was educated at Dalhousie University in Halifax where he earned degrees in education and law. He also has a journalism degree from the University of King's College in Halifax.

Lester Bowles (“Mike”) Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE, prime minister 1963–68, statesman, politician, public servant, professor (born 23 April 1897 in Newtonbrook, ON; died 27 December 1972 in Ottawa, ON). Lester Pearson was Canada’s foremost diplomat of the 1950s and 1960s. He formulated the basics of the country’s postwar foreign policy; particularly its involvement in NATO and the United Nations, where he served as president of the General Assembly. In 1957, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic efforts in facilitating Britain and France’s departure from Egypt during the Suez Crisis. A skilled politician, he rebuilt the Liberal Party and as prime minister strove to maintain Canada’s national unity. Under his leadership, the government implemented a Canada Pension Plan; a universal medicare system; a unified Armed Forces; and a new national flag.

John Benjamin Clark Watkins, diplomat, scholar (born 3 December 1902 in Norval (now Halton Hills), ON; died 12 October 1964 in Montreal, QC). John Watkins was Canadian ambassador to the USSR from 1954 to 1956. In 1955, Watkins organized a historic meeting between Canadian External Affairs Minister Lester B. Pearson and Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union.

Clarence Decatur Howe, engineer, politician (b at Waltham, Mass 15 Jan 1886; d at Montréal 31 Dec 1960). Howe was the most successful businessman-politician of his day, and provided a link between the Liberal Party and Canadian industry.

Yves-François Blanchet (born 16 April 1965) is leader of the Bloc Québécois, a federal political party that promotes Quebec’s interests and Quebec sovereignty in the House of Commons.

Arthur Meighen, lawyer, politician, businessman, prime minister of Canada (b at Anderson, Ont 16 June 1874; d at Toronto 5 Aug 1960).

​Her Royal Highness (HRH) The Duchess of Cambridge née Catherine “Kate” Middleton (born 9 January 1982 in Reading, United Kingdom) is the wife of HRH The Duke of Cambridge (The Prince William).

Edward Palmer, premier of PE 1859–63, politician, judge, lawyer, land agent (born 1 September 1809 in Charlottetown, PE; died 3 November 1889 in Charlottetown, PE).

Edward Whelan, politician, journalist (born 1824 in Ballina, Ireland; died 10 December 1867 in Charlottetown, PE).

Jim Watson, broadcaster, politician, mayor of Ottawa 1997–2000 and 2010–present (born 30 July 1961 in Montréal, QC). Watson has been in and out of politics since first being elected as an Ottawa city councillor in 1991. He has also served as a member of the Ontario provincial parliament (MPP) and a minister in the Liberal provincial Cabinet. He is currently serving his third term as mayor of Ottawa.

Frank Arthur Calder, OC, Nisga’a politician, chief, businessman (born 3 August 1915, Nass Harbour, BC; died 4 November 2006 in Victoria, BC). Frank Calder was the first Indigenous member of the BC legislature, elected in 1949. Calder is best known for his role in the Nisga’a Tribal Council’s Supreme Court case against the province of British Columbia (commonly known as the Calder case), which demonstrated that Aboriginal title (i.e., ownership) to traditional lands exists in modern Canadian law.