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Hazel McCallion (née Journeaux), CM, OOnt, businesswoman, athlete, politician, mayor of Mississauga 1978–2014 (born 14 February 1921 in Port Daniel, QC; died 29 January 2023 in Mississauga, ON). One of Canada's longest-serving mayors, Hazel McCallion led her city for 12 consecutive terms. She retired at age 93. Nicknamed “Hurricane Hazel” for her brash political style, she oversaw the development of Mississauga from a semi-rural bedroom community into the sixth-largest city in Canada. McCallion is considered a trailblazer for women in politics. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2005 and the Order of Ontario in 2021.

Camille Laurin, politician and psychiatrist (born 6 May 1922 in Charlemagne, QC; died 11 March 1999 in Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC).

Mary Irene Parlby (née Marryat), Alberta MLA (1921–35), women’s rights advocate, activist (born 9 January 1868 in London, UK; died 12 July 1965 in Red Deer, AB). Irene Parlby served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Alberta for 14 years. She was the first woman in Alberta, and the second in the British Empire, to be appointed to a cabinet position. One of the Famous Five appellants in the Persons Case, Parlby was a compelling advocate for women’s rights. Known as the “Women’s Minister,” her career in activism and legislation was dedicated to improving the lives of rural women and children, such as with Alberta’s Dower Act in 1917. She was also a delegate to the League of Nations in 1930. However, she has also been criticized for her views on eugenics and for her support of Alberta’s Sexual Sterilization Act. She was named a Person of National Historic Significance in 1966 and an honorary senator in 2009.

Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett of Mickleham, Calgary and Hopewell, businessman, lawyer, politician, philanthropist, prime minister of Canada 7 August 1930 to 23 October 1935 (born 3 July 1870 in Hopewell Hill, NB; died 26 June 1947 in Mickleham, England). R.B. Bennett is perhaps best remembered for his highly criticized response to the Great Depression, as well as the subsequent unemployment relief camps and the On to Ottawa Trek and Regina Riot. However, he also created the Bank of Canada, the Canadian Wheat Board and the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, which became the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He also oversaw Canada’s signing of the Statute of Westminster. For his service during the Second World War, he was appointed to Britain’s House of Lords and became Viscount Bennett of Mickleham, Calgary and Hopewell.

Black people have lived in Canada since the 17th century. Some of the earliest arrivals were enslaved persons brought from what we now call the United States of America and from the Caribbean. (See Black Canadians; Caribbean Canadians.) From the 18th century to the 1960s, most Black immigrants to Canada were fleeing enslavement and/or discrimination in the United States. Since then, changes to Canadian immigration policy have led to an influx of immigrants from the Caribbean and Africa. (See African Canadians.) In the 2016 Canadian census, 1.2 million people (3.5 per cent of the Canadian population) reported being Black.. Despite ongoing challenges, including discrimination and systemic racism, Black Canadians have excelled in sectors and industries across the country.

See also Black History in Canada until 1900 and Black History in Canada: 1900–1960.

Between 1835 and 1865, several hundred immigrants from Finland settled in Alaska (which was part of Russia at that time). Many moved down the coast to British Columbia (see Sointula). Some early Finnish immigrants to Ontario worked on the construction of the first Welland Canal, which was completed in 1829. The 2016 census reported 143, 640 people of Finnish origin in Canada (25, 875 single responses and 117, 765 multiple responses).

 Burkett spent his formative years in Medicine Hat. At 7 years old, he first read about puppets in the World Book Encyclopedia. Early influences were Bil Baird (featured in the WBE), whose puppets in "The Lonely Goatherd" in The Sound of Music set Burkett's determination to become a puppeteer.

Steven Glenwood MacLean, FRCGS, physicist, astronaut (born 14 December 1954 in Ottawa, ON). Steve MacLean was among the first astronauts recruited in Canada and in 1992 became the third Canadian to fly in space. On his second mission to space (2006), he became the first Canadian to operate the Canadarm2 robotic arm and the second to complete a spacewalk, after Chris Hadfield. He has also contributed to the country’s space programs as director general of the Canadian Astronaut Program (1994–96) and president of the Canadian Space Agency (2008–13).

Jean C. Lapierre, lawyer, politician, co-founder of the Bloc Québécois, and media commentator (born 7 May 1956 in the Magdalen Islands, QC; died there 29 March 2016).

The elder son of an army colonel, Paul Gross appeared in his first TV commercial at the age of 14.

The TTA set up a dramatic committee that organized public readings of plays by Earl Lovelace, Errol John and Derek Walcott (Nobel laureate 1993).

Jacques Israelievitch, CM, violinist, violist, conductor, teacher (born 6 May 1948 in Cannes, France; died 5 September 2015 in Toronto, Ontario). Violinist Jacques Israelievitch was renowned internationally for his versatility, sensitivity and virtuosic technical ability. After studying in Paris and playing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony, Israelievitch became the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s longest-serving concertmaster (1998 to 2008). A supporter of contemporary music and Canadian composers, he made more than 100 recordings and performed often with noted orchestras and in chamber ensembles worldwide. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in France.

Eleanor Coerr, journalist, children’s author (born 29 May 1922 in Kamsack, SK; died 22 November 2010 in Princeton, New Jersey). An award-winning writer of children’s books, Eleanor Coerr is best known for Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (1977), the result of a childhood fascination with Japan and a reporting trip there in 1949. As the wife of a diplomat, Coerr spent many years abroad. Her travels inspired her writing, much of which focuses on historical figures and subjects from far-flung locales.

Wilson, Charles (Mills). Composer, choir conductor, teacher, b Toronto 8 May 1931; B MUS (Toronto) 1952, D MUS (Toronto) 1956. He began piano lessons at six with Wilfred Powell and later studied organ with Charles Peaker.

Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. Orchestra founded in 1960 as the Lakehead Symphony Orchestra. The first concert was given at Lakefield High School. Its players were 40 amateurs and one professional musician, drawn from the Fort William-Port Arthur area.

​Rita "Mimi" Blais, pianist, composer, actress (born 22 March 1956 in Sillery, QC). Mimi Blais is a pianist, composer, comedienne and arranger known internationally for her specialization in ragtime music.

​Sylvain Lelièvre, singer-songwriter, author, composer, performer, poet, writer and teacher (born 7 February 1943 in Québec City, QC; died 30 April 2002 in Lévis, QC).

​The Beaver Hall Group (also known as the Beaver Hall Hill Group) was a group of artists (both male and female) who shared studio space at 305 Beaver Hall Hill in Montréal and exhibited together; A.Y. Jackson was the first president.