Browse "History/Historical Figures"

Bleus, see Parti bleu.

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on July 28, 2003. Partner content is not updated.

Brother XII (Brother Twelve) was one of Canada’s most notorious cult leaders. A mystic figure who dreamed of transforming humanity, he left behind a failed utopia and deep mystery.

Partly as a result of this, but primarily because jobs moved around, bunkhouse men were highly mobile, tramping within regions and sometimes across the country to find work. They were also often at the forefront of labour radicalism.

Callixte Lavallée, composer, pianist, conductor, teacher, administrator, soldier (born 28 December 1842 in Verchères, Canada East; died 21 January 1891 in Boston, Massachusetts). A pioneer in music both in Canada and the United States, Calixa Lavallée was considered one of the “national glories” of Quebec. He is best known for composing the music for “O Canada” and was twice president of the Académie de musique de Québec. Despite this vaunted stature, he spent much of his life outside Canada, served with the Union Army during the American Civil War and called for Canada to be annexed by the United States. The Prix de musique Calixa-Lavallée, awarded by the St-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal for outstanding contributions to the music of Quebec, is named in his honour.

Camilla, Queen Consort, formerly Duchess of Cornwall (born 17 July 1947 in London, United Kingdom), is the second wife of King Charles III, monarch of Canada, the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth Realms. She has undertaken five official tours of Canada with the then Prince of Wales, including celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017 and Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

Campbell Mellis Douglas, surgeon, soldier, writer, inventor and sportsman (b at Grosse Ile, Qué 5 Aug 1840; d at Wells, Somerset, Eng 31 Dec 1909).

Canada Committee, a British parliamentary committee established 2 May 1828 to settle political disputes which were paralysing representative government in Lower Canada and creating difficulties in Upper Canada.

Canada Company, brainchild of John GALT, established in late 1824 and chartered in 1825 as a land and COLONIZATION COMPANY in Upper Canada. In 1826 the company purchased from the government about 2.5 million acres (1 million ha) of land for $295 000.

Canada First, nationalist movement founded 1868 by Ontarians George Denison, Henry Morgan, Charles Mair and William Foster and by Robert Grant Haliburton, a Nova Scotian living in Ottawa.

“Let me tell you, my fellow countrymen, that all the signs point this way, that the 20th century shall be the century of Canada and Canadian development.… For the next 100 years, Canada shall be the star towards which all men who love progress and freedom shall come.” — Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier speaking at Toronto’s Massey Hall on 14 October 1904.

The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated. "Thomas Willoughby, thou art a ne'er-do-well! Get thee to Cupers Cove and reform thyself." Young Willoughby, 19, may not have heard exactly those words, but he was sent to Cupers Cove, Newfoundland in 1612 to "reform himself."

As the threat of another world war loomed ever larger, Canadians, far from the conflict, would face a difficult choice of whether to stand again with Britain or remain isolated and safe in North America.

Canada’s Walk of Fame is a non-profit organization dedicated to honouring Canadians who have achieved excellence in the fields of arts and entertainment, science and technology, business, philanthropy and athletics. Modelled after the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it stretches along 13 city blocks in Toronto’s Entertainment District. Each inductee’s name and signature are etched onto a plaque embedded on the sidewalk, along with a star resembling a maple leaf. Inductees are honoured at an annual, nationally broadcast gala in Toronto. More than 210 people have been inducted since the Walk was founded in 1998.

The Canadian Arctic Expedition (1913–1918) was Canada’s largest, most expensive and scientifically sophisticated Arctic venture to that date.