Browse "Western and Northwestern Canada"

James Hamilton Ross, rancher, politician, commissioner of the Yukon T, MP, senator (b at London, Canada W 12 May 1856; d at Victoria 14 Dec 1932).

Jim Cornwall became a staunch advocate of the settlement of the Peace River Country, and served as the Liberal member of provincial parliament (now MLA) for the Peace River riding from 1909 to 1913.

Born in Toronto in 1867 and raised in Woodstock, Ont., Joe Boyle was an extraordinarily restless young man. At age 17 he went to New York with his father and hopped an outbound ship, spending three years at sea.

John Ware, cowboy, rancher (born c. 1845–50 in the United States; died 11 September 1905 near Brooks, AB). John Ware is legendary in the history of Alberta for his strength and horsemanship. Born enslaved, he became a successful rancher who settled near Calgary and Brooks. He was widely admired as one of the best cowboys in the West, even at a time of widespread anti-Black racism and discrimination.

Juan de Fuca, pilot, apocryphal explorer of the NORTHWEST COAST (b at Valeriano, Cephalonia I, Greece; d there c 1602). Other than what Michael Lok, an English promoter of geographical discovery, reported in 1596, little is known about Fuca.

Leif Newry Fitzroy Crozier, soldier, policeman (b at Newry, Ire 11 June 1846; d in Oklahoma, US 25 Feb 1901). He was appointed an inspector in the North-West Mounted Police in 1873.

Lawrence William Herchmer, Indian agent, police commissioner (b at Shipton on Cherwell, Eng 25 Apr 1840; d at Vancouver 17 Feb 1915).

Maquinna, or Mukwina, meaning "possessor of pebbles,"was a Nootka chief (fl1778-95?). Maquinna was the ranking leader of the Moachat group of Nootka Sound Indigenous people on the west coast of Vancouver Island during the early years of European contact.

Masumi Mitsui, MM, farmer, soldier, Canadian Legion official (born 7 October 1887 in Tokyo, Japan; died 22 April 1987 in Hamilton, ON). Masumi Mitsui immigrated to Canada in 1908 and served with distinction in the First World War. In 1931, he and his comrades persuaded the BC government to grant Japanese Canadian veterans the right to vote, a breakthrough for Japanese and other disenfranchised Canadians. Nevertheless, Matsui and more than 22,000 Japanese Canadians were displaced, detained and dispossessed by the federal government during the Second World War (seeInternment of Japanese Canadians).

In 1886 Prime Minister John A. Macdonald had the idea of bringing the "loyal chiefs" – those who had refused to join the Northwest Rebellion – east.

Mistahimaskwa (Big Bear), Plains Cree chief (born near Fort Carlton, SK; died 17 January 1888 on the Little Pine Reserve, SK). Mistahimaskwa is best known for his refusal to sign Treaty 6 in 1876 and for his band’s involvement in violent conflicts associated with the 1885 North-West Rebellion.

The Overlanders of 1862 were a group of some 150 settlers who travelled from Ontario to the BC interior, led by brothers Thomas and Robert McMicking of Stamford Township, Welland County, Ontario.

Peter (or Pierre) Bostonais Pangman, Métis leader, bison hunter (born 20 October 1791 in the North Saskatchewan River Valley area, present-day AB; died 4 March 1850 in St. François Xavier, present-day MB). Peter Bostonais Pangman was a skilled hunter who helped provide much-needed bison meat to the Red River Colony. He was actively involved in the Pemmican Wars and events surrounding the Battle of Seven Oaks. As part of the Pembina fur trade, Pangman was a key figure who rallied and inspired the Red River Valley Métis to see and express themselves with an identity separate from surrounding Indigenous peoples. The name Bostonais is variously spelled Bastonnais and Bostonnais.

Pitikwahanapiwiyin (Poundmaker), Cree chief (born circa 1842 in central SK; died 4 July 1886 in Blackfoot Crossing, AB). Remembered as a great leader, Pitikwahanapiwiyin strove to protect the interests of his people during the negotiation of Treaty 6. Considered a peacemaker, he did not take up arms in the North-West Rebellion (also known as the North-West Resistance). However, a young and militant faction of his band did participate in the conflict, resulting in Pitikwahanapiwiyin’s arrest and imprisonment for treason. His legacy as a peacemaker lives on among many Cree peoples, including the Poundmaker Cree Nation in Saskatchewan.

Red Crow, warrior, peacemaker, Kainai leader (born ca. 1830 near the junction of St. Mary’s and Oldman rivers, AB; died 28 August 1900 near the Belly River on the Blood reserve, AB).

Richard Clement Moody, royal engineer (b in Barbados, British W Indies 13 Feb 1813; d at Boumemouth, England 31 Mar 1887).

By 1909 a booming provincial economy allowed McBride and his government to plan for a provincial university and to promise continued prosperity through such means as the construction of railways.

Robert Boyd Russell, trade unionist, labour politician (b at Glasgow, Scot 1888; d at Winnipeg 9 Sept 1964). Russell was the most prominent personality associated with the 1919 WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE.

Robert Dunsmuir, industrialist, politician (b at Hurlford, Scot 31 Aug 1825; d at Victoria 12 Apr 1889). Dunsmuir was best known as the coal king of British Columbia. He came to Vancouver Island in 1851 and worked as a coal miner

Robert Machray, Church of England priest, bishop (b at Aberdeen, Scot 17 May 1831; d at Winnipeg 9 Mar 1904). Educated at King's College, Aberdeen, and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, he received prizes in mathematics, philosophy and divinity.