Politics & Law | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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  • Article

    Michelle O’Bonsawin

    Michelle O’Bonsawin, justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, lawyer, law professor (born in 1974 in Hanmer, Ontario). Michelle O’Bonsawin was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on 1 September 2022, making her the first Indigenous justice to serve on the Court. An Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation, O’Bonsawin is also Franco-Ontarian. She is known for her expertise on matters relating to Indigenous law and legal issues — in particular the Gladue principles — as well as labour, mental health and privacy issues.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/michelle-obonsawin-rr-hr.jpg Michelle O’Bonsawin

  • Article

    Michelle Stilwell

    Michelle “Mikey” Stilwell (née Bauknecht), wheelchair basketball player, wheelchair racer, politician (born 4 July 1974 in Winnipeg, MB). Michelle Stilwell is the only Canadian woman to win gold medals in two sports at the Paralympic Games. She and the Canadian team won gold in women’s wheelchair basketball at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney. Stilwell also won gold in women’s wheelchair racing at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games. From 2006 to 2016, she was the fastest wheelchair racer in the world in the T52-class; she currently holds world records in the women’s 100 m and 200 m. She also served as a BC MLA for Parksville-Qualicum from 2013 to 2020.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/MichelleStilwellTweetOnly.jpg Michelle Stilwell

  • Article

    Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada

    Missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada (MMIWG) refers to a human rights crisis that has only recently become a topic of discussion within national media. Indigenous women and communities, women’s groups and international organizations have long called for action into the high and disproportionate rates of violence and the appalling numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. Prior to the launch of the national public inquiry on 8 December 2015, these calls were continually ignored by the federal government. Described by some as a hidden crisis, Dawn Lavell-Harvard, former president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, refers to MMIWG as a national tragedy and a national shame. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada supported the call for a national public inquiry into the disproportionate victimization of Indigenous women and girls. The National Inquiry’s Final Report was completed and presented to the public on 3 June 2019.

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  • Memory Project Archive

    Hugh Bartley (Primary Source)

    "Mainly you’re so busy you don’t have time to get scared. You’re trying to get out of whatever kind of a problem you got into, and in this case the airplane made it simple for us."Hugh Bartley served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. See his full testimony below.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. 

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/mpsb/vimy/HughBartley/567_resize.jpg Hugh Bartley (Primary Source)

  • Article

    Mumilaaq Qaqqaq

    Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, Inuk Member of Parliament (born 4 November 1993 in Baker Lake, NU). In 2019, Qaqqaq became, at age 25, Nunavut’s youngest MP in history, and the first from the New Democratic Party (NDP) since Nunavut became a territory in 1999. Before entering politics, Qaqqaq was a public speaker and activist who raised awareness of the various crises that Inuit face (suicide, food insecurity, housing, climate).

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/MumilaaqQaqqaq/Mumilaaq_Qaqqaq_CBC_image.jpeg Mumilaaq Qaqqaq

  • Article

    Murray Sinclair

    Murray Sinclair or Mizanay (Mizhana) Gheezhik, meaning “The One Who Speaks of Pictures in the Sky” in the Ojibwe language, lawyer, judge and senator (born in 1951 in Selkirk, MB). Called to the Manitoba Bar in 1980, Sinclair focused primarily on civil and criminal litigation, Indigenous law and human rights. In 1988, he became Manitoba’s first, and Canada’s second, Indigenous judge. Sinclair joined the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2009, before becoming a senator in 2016. He retired from the Senate in 2021 but continues to mentor Indigenous lawyers. The breadth of public service and community work completed by Sinclair demonstrates his commitment to Indigenous peoples in Canada.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/murray_sinclair_crop.jpg Murray Sinclair

  • Article

    Naheed Nenshi

    Naheed Kurban Nenshi, business consultant, professor, mayor of Calgary, AB, 2010–21 (born 2 February 1972 in Toronto, ON). Naheed Nenshi was elected mayor of Calgary for three terms, from 2010 to 2021. He was the first Muslim mayor of a major North American city. He was also the first Canadian mayor to be awarded the World Mayor Prize by the British-based City Mayors Foundation. Nenshi was known for pioneering the use of social media in political campaigns. He also promoted civic engagement, completed various large infrastructure projects and guided Calgary’s recovery following devastating floods in 2013. On 11 March 2024, he announced that he would campaign for the leadership of the Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP).

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/Naheed_Nenshi_2012-12-08.jpg Naheed Nenshi

  • Article

    Native People's Caravan

    The Native People’s Caravan was a cross-country mobile protest that took place in 1974. Its main purpose was to raise awareness about the poor living conditions and discrimination experienced by Indigenous peoples in Canada. It travelled from Vancouver to Ottawa, where the subsequent occupation of a vacant warehouse on Victoria Island, near Parliament Hill, extended into 1975. The caravan brought various Indigenous groups together in protest of broken treaties, as well as a lack of government-supported education, housing and health care. As a result, meetings between Cabinet ministers and Indigenous leaders became more frequent. The protest is remembered as an important turning point in Indigenous activism in Canada. 

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/e9e4a925-a033-404d-9819-a3bb46fe9c8e.jpg Native People's Caravan

  • Article

    Nellie J. Cournoyea

    Nellie J. Cournoyea, OC, ONWT, premier of the Northwest Territories 1991–95, politician (born on 4 March 1940 in Aklavik, NT). Cournoyea is the first Indigenous woman to lead a provincial or territorial government in Canada.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/IndiLeaderStamps/nellie-cournoyea-stamp.jpg Nellie J. Cournoyea

  • Article

    Nellie McClung

    Nellie Letitia McClung, née Mooney, suffragist, reformer, legislator, author (born 20 October 1873 in Chatsworth, ON; died 1 September 1951 in Victoria, BC). Nellie McClung was a women’s rights activist, legislator and author who is perhaps best known for her involvement in the Persons Case.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/1250d68a-8e1b-40ea-9a15-de6e28630eef.jpg Nellie McClung

  • Article

    Nicholas Kasirer

    Nicholas Kasirer, FRSC, lawyer, professor, author, justice of the Court of Appeal of Quebec, justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (born 2 February 1960, in Montreal, QC). Nicholas Kasirer is a bilingual former law professor who is well-versed in both civil law and common law. He has been one of three Quebec justices on the Supreme Court of Canada since 16 September 2019. Kasirer previously served on the Court of Appeal of Quebec. He has been published widely on many aspects of the law. He was also dean of McGill University’s Faculty of Law from 2003 to 2009.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/nicholas-kasirer-rr-hr.jpg Nicholas Kasirer

  • Article

    North-West Mounted Police

    The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was the forerunner of Canada's iconic Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Created after Confederation to police the frontier territories of the Canadian West, the NWMP ended the whiskey trade on the southern prairies and the violence that came with it. They helped the federal government suppress the North-West Resistance and brought order to the Klondike Gold Rush. The NWMP pioneered the enforcement of federal law in the West, and the Arctic, from 1873 until 1920.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/9a255267-0aad-4dff-bdcd-57cfec136787.jpg North-West Mounted Police

  • Article

    Numbered Treaties (Plain-Language Summary)

    The Numbered Treaties are a series of 11 treaties. A treaty is an agreement between two or more nations. The Numbered Treaties were signed by the Canadian government and Indigenous people. All 11 treaties were signed between 1871 and 1921. The Numbered Treaties cover parts of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario. They also cover portions of Yukon and the Northwest Territories. The treaties provided the Canadian government with land. The government wanted land for industrial development and white settlement. In exchange, the government promised Indigenous people special rights and benefits. These treaty terms are controversial and contested. The Numbered Treaties have ongoing legal, social, and economic impacts on Indigenous communities. (See also Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.) (This is a plain-language summary of the Numbered Treaties. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry, Numbered Treaties.)

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/4f1d71aa-8b25-417f-a88b-2a078f3b1768.jpg Numbered Treaties (Plain-Language Summary)

  • Article

    Chief Electoral Officer

    The Chief Electoral Officer oversees Elections Canada, the non-partisan agency that administers Canada’s federal elections and referendums. 

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/3fcad776-7e8d-47da-86aa-c77b5a9d2744.jpg Chief Electoral Officer

  • Article

    Official Languages Act (1988) (Plain-Language Summary)

    The Official Languages Act of 1969 made English and French the two official languages in Canada. The Official Languages Act of 1988 offered more detail about how the policies of bilingualism should be put into practice. It highlighted the responsibilities of federal institutions with respect to official languages in Canada. An important goal of the Official Languages Act is to ensure the equality of English and French in federal institutions and in Canadian society. (This article is a plain-language summary of the Official Languages Act of 1988. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry on The Official Languages Act (1988).)

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    https://development.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 Official Languages Act (1988) (Plain-Language Summary)