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On 6 February 2022, Queen Elizabeth II marked the 70th anniversary of her accession to the thrones of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms in 1952. In the spring of 2022, there were Platinum Jubilee tours of the Commonwealth by members of the royal family and a four-day holiday weekend of Platinum Jubilee celebrations in the United Kingdom from 2 to 5 June 2022. The Queen is the only British and Commonwealth monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee. The Queen is currently the second-longest reigning monarch in world history, her record exceeded only by the 72-year reign of King Louis XIV of France.

Starting as a Vancouver neighbourhood planner in the 1970s, Beasley became co-director of city planning in the early 1990s. He helped foster partnerships between government, the private sector and community groups, making Vancouver the fastest-growing residential downtown in North America.

The Nisga’a are the original occupants of the Nass River Valley of Northwestern British Columbia. As of 2011, 1,909 Nisga’a continue to live on traditional lands in this area. Granted self-government in a landmark case in 2000, the Nisga’a Lisims Government now governs the Nisga’a nation.

The Mowachaht and Muchalaht are Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations which formally amalgamated in the 1950s. Together, their territory includes parts of the west coast of Vancouver Island. As of September 2018, the federal government reports the registered population to be 613. Along with other Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council nations, the Mowachaht-Muchalaht are currently in stage four of a six-stage treaty process in British Columbia to attain self-government.

Catherine Sutton (née Sonego or Sunegoo) (sometimes spelled Catharine, also known as Nahnee, Nahneebahwequa and Upright Woman), Anishinaabe (Mississauga) writer, Methodist missionary and political advocate (born 1824 in the Credit River flats, Upper Canada; died 26 September 1865 in Sarawak Township, Grey County, Canada West). Catherine Sutton was as an advocate for her people during a time when the cultural, political and economic rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada were formally eroded by assimilationist policies.

The Haudenosaunee, or “people of the longhouse,” commonly referred to as Iroquois or Six Nations, are members of a confederacy of Aboriginal nations known as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Originally a confederacy of five nations inhabiting the northern part of New York state, the Haudenosaunee consisted of the Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga and Mohawk. When the Tuscarora joined the confederacy early in the 18th century, it became known as the Six Nations. Today, Haudenosaunee live on well-populated reserves — known as reservations in the United States — as well as in off-reserve communities.

Laure Gaudreault, teacher, unionist, journalist (b at La Malbaie, Qué 25 Oct 1889; d at Clermont, Qué 19 Jan 1975). Gaudreault attended the École normale Laval and then taught in Québec village grade schools.

The North-West Schools Question was a conflict between church and state for control of education in the North-West Territories (now Saskatchewan and Alberta) in the late-19th century. The controversy was similar to other educational crises across Canada, and reflected the larger national debate about the future of Canada as a bilingual and bicultural country.

Stephen Joseph Harper, CC, PC, prime minister of Canada 2006–15, politician, author, economist (born 30 April 1959 in Toronto, ON). Stephen Harper is Canada’s longest-serving Conservative prime minister since Sir John A. Macdonald. He helped found the Reform Party and served as head of the National Citizens Coalition and leader of the Canadian Alliance Party. He then transformed the country’s political landscape by uniting the previously divided right into the Conservative Party of Canada. He led the CPC to three consecutive election wins before being defeated in 2015 and resigning as party leader. Harper’s adherence to a brand of ideologically pure conservatism resulted in what the Globe and Mail called “Canada’s first ever truly Conservative government.” He was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in December 2019.

Peter Tomkins Jr., Métis leader, political organizer, blacksmith (born 1 January 1899 in Poundmaker Reserve, SK; died June 1970 in High Prairie, AB). In the 1930s, he worked with Jim Brady and Malcolm Norris to build the Métis Association of Alberta (founded 1932, now the Métis Nation of Alberta) and the Indian Association of Alberta (1939). From health care to his work with the Métis settlements, Tomkins promoted improved living conditions for the Métis of Alberta and Saskatchewan. His diplomacy, lobbying and negotiating skills helped get the first Métis-specific legislation passed in Canada in 1938.

Carl Ray, Cree artist, illustrator, editor and art teacher (born January 1943 in Sandy Lake, ON; died 26 September 1978 in Sioux Lookout, ON). Ray was known for his innovative paintings in the Woodlands style and was a founding member of the Indian Group of Seven. Ray’s work has influenced Indigenous art in Canada and can be found in the collections of various galleries and museums across the country.

​Freda Ahenakew, OC, Cree scholar, author (born 11 February 1932 on Ahtahkakoop First Nation, SK; died 8 April 2011 at Muskeg Lake First Nation, SK). Ahenakew is recognized as a leader in the acknowledgment and revitalization of the Cree language in Canada. In her life, Ahenakew helped to preserve the oral traditions of the Cree people and share Cree traditions and stories with Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples alike. (See also Indigenous Language Revitalization in Canada.)

(Helen) Daryl Irvine. Pianist, teacher, b Toronto 25 Aug 1932; ARCT (organ performance, RCM), ARCT (piano performance, RCM), LRSM (piano pedagogy, Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music), ARCM (organ and piano performance, Royal College of Music).

Claude Thomas Bissell, cultural administrator and author (b at Meaford, Ont 10 Feb 1916; d at Toronto 21 June 2000.). He was educated at Toronto public schools, University of Toronto (BA 1936, MA 1937) and Cornell (PhD 1940).

Donald K. Donald (b Tarlton). Producer, impresario, b Montreal 12 May 1943. He studied at Rosemere High School near Montreal, and at Sir George Williams U (Concordia University). As a teenager he organized dances in schools and youth clubs.

Arsinée Khanjian, actor (b at Beirut, Lebanon 6 Sept 1958). Arsinée Khanjian grew up in Beirut and attended Armenian National and Catholic schools until she was 17 years old, when her family immigrated to Canada and settled in Montréal.

Carmen Corneil graduated from the UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO department of architecture in 1957, receiving a Pilkington national scholarship, a Royal Architecture Institute of Canada medal and a Wegman travel scholarship.

Eva Vecsei, née Hollo (born at Vienna 21 Aug 1930), architect. Eva Vecsei studied architecture at the Budapesti Muszaki Egyetem (University of Technical Sciences, Budapest) and was an assistant professor (1952-53) at the University's School of Architecture.

John Duncan MacLean, politician, premier of BC 1927-28 (b at Culloden, PEI 8 Dec 1873; d at Ottawa 28 Mar 1948). He taught in prairie schools and in BC, and became a principal in Rossland, BC, before going to McGill.

Sir George Robert Parkin, educator (b at Salisbury, NB 8 Feb 1846; d at London, Eng 25 June 1922). In his own words, the "wandering evangelist of Empire," Parkin was a successful teacher at New Brunswick high schools