Discover Canada (The rights and Responsibilitiesof Citizenship)
Important Names:
1. John Buchan – 1st
Baron Tweedsmuir,wasapopularGovernorGeneral of Canada(1935-1940). Said
immigrantshouldretaintheirindividualityandeachmake its contributiontothe national character.
2. OlympianMarjorie TurnerBailey –NovaScotia descendantof blackloyalists,escapedslavesfrom
Americain1780. Slaveryremainedlegal until 1863.
3. John Cabut– whowas the firstto draw a map of Canada’sEast Coast in1947.
4. JacquesCartier– made three voyagesforKingFrancisI inAtlanticCanada.Explore the St.Lawrence
River,capturedtwoguidesthatspeakIroquoianwordKanata,meaningvillage.In1550, the name
Canada beganappearingonmaps.
5. Pierre de Monts and Samuel de Champlain –FrenchexplorersestablishedEuropeansettlementin
1604. OutstandingleaderslikeJeanTalon,BishopLaval,andCountFrontenacbuiltaFrenchEmpire in
NorthAmericathat reachfrom HudsonBay to the Gulf of Mexico.
6. LieutenantGovernorJohnGravesSimcoe –loyalistmilitaryofficer.In1807, the BritishParliament
prohibitedthe buyingandsellingof slaves,andin1833 abolishedslaverythroughoutthe Empire.
7. Mary Ann(Shadd) Carey – activistto abolishslaveryinthe USA.In1853 became firstwomen
publisherinCanada.
8. Laura Secord – made a 19 mile(30km) journeytowarnLieutenantJamesFitzGibbonof planAmerican
attack that contributedtothe victoryat the Battle of BeaverDams.
9. Father of Confederation–Sir Etiennne-Paschal Tache,SirGeorge-Etienne Cartier,andSirJohnA.
Macdonald.
10. SirLouis-Hippolyte LaFontaine,RobertBaldwinandJosephHowe workedwithBritishgovernors
towardresponsiblegovernment.LaFontaine championof Frenchlanguage became the firstleaderof a
responsible governmentinCanada.
11. SirLeonard Tilley,anelectedofficial andFatherof ConfederationfromNew Brunswicksuggestedthe
termDominionof Canadain 1864, “dominionfromseato seaand fromthe riverto the endsof the
earth”.
12. SirJohn AlexanderMacdonald –Fatherof Confederation,becameCanadafirstprime minister.
ParliamentrecognizeJanuary11 as SirJohnA Macdonald day.His portraitison the $10 bill.
13. SirGeorge Etienne Cartier– waskeyarchitectof ConfederationfromQuebec.Helpednegotiate the
entryof the NorthwestTerritories,ManitobaandBritishColumbiaintoCanada.

14. LouisRiel – ledan armeduprisingandseizedFortGarry.Seenas a hero,a defenderof Metisrights
and the fatherof Manitoba.
15. SirSam Steele –A great frontierhero,mountedpolicemanandsoldierof the Queen.
16. Gabriel Dumont– was Metisgreatestmilitaryleader.
17. DonaldSmith(LordStrathcona) –the Scottishborn directorof the CanadianPacific Railway.CPRwas
finishedonNovember7,1885.
18. SirWilfridLaurierbecame the firstFrenchCanadianprime ministersince confederationand
encouragedimmigrationtothe West.Hisportraitis on the $5 bill.
19. General SirArthurCurrie – advancedalongsidethe FrenchandBritishEmpire todefeatthe Germans
inthe battle of Amiens.August8,1918 calledthe blackday of the GermanArmy.
20. Dr. EmilyStowe fightforthe rightsof womento vote.FirstCanadianwomentopractice medicine in
Canada.In 1916, Manitobais the firstprovince the grantfor womanto vote.
21. AgnesMacphail a farmerand teacher,became the firstwomenMPin1921.
22. Lt. Col JohnMcCrae – composedthe poem“InFlandersFields”in1915. November11 celebratedto
honourthe sacrificesof overmillionbrave menandwomenwhoservedandthe 100,000 whohave
giventheirlives.
23. Phil Edwards – was a Canadiantrack and fieldchampion.Winbronze forCanadaon1928, 1932, and
1936 Olympics.Servedascaptaininsecondworldwar,a Montreal doctor,became expertintropical
diseases.
24. JamesNaismith –inventedBasketballin1891.
25. DonovanBailey –became a worldrecord sprinteranddouble olympicgoldmedallist.
26. Chantal Petitclerc–became a worldchampionwheelchairracerandParalympicgoldmedalist.
27. Wayne Gretzky – greatesthockeyplayer,playedforthe EdmontonOilersfrom1979 to 1988.
28. Terry Fox – lose rightlegto cancer, begancrossrun “Marathon of Hope”,to raise moneyforcancer
researchin1980.
29. RickHansen – circledthe globe toraise fundsforspinal cord research.
30. Mark Tewksbury –Olympicgoldmedalist,activistforgayandlesbianCanadian.
31. Paul Henderson –scoredwinninggoal forCanada-Sovietsummitseries.“The goal heardaroundthe
world”.
32. CatrionaLe May Doan – goldmedalistinspeedskatingatthe 2002 OlympicWinterGames.

33. AlexanderGrahamBell – inventedthe telephone
34. Joseph-ArmandBombardier–inventedsnowmobile
35. SirSanfordFleming–inventedworldwide standardtime zone
36. MatthewEvans andHenry Woodward – inventedfirstelectriclightbulb
37. ReginaldFessenden –inventedradio
38. Dr. WilderPenfield –pioneeringbrainsurgeonatMcGill UniversityinMontreal.
39. Dr. JohnA Hopps – inventedfirstcardiacpeace maker
40. SPARAerospace – inventedCanadarm
41. Mike Lazaridisand JimBalsillie –inventedBlackberry
42. LieutenantAlexanderRobertsDunn –born inToronto,Incharge of the lightBrigade atBalaclavain
the Crimeanwar.FirstCanadianto be awardedbyVC.
43. Able SeamanWilliamHall –Nova Scotia,firstblackman to be awardedthe VCfor hisrole inthe
siege of Lucknowduringthe Indianrebellionof 1857.
44. Corporal FilipKonowal –borninUkraine,showedcourage Inthe Battle of Hill in1917. First member
of the Canadiancorpsnot born inBritishEmpire.
45. FlyingAce CaptainBillyBishop –fromOntario,Royal flyingcorpsduringfirstworldwar,honoraryair
marshall.
46. CaptainPaul Triquet – formQuebec,leadinghismeanandhandful of tanksinthe attack on Casa
Berardi inItalyin 1943 duringthe SecondWorldWar.
47. LieutenantRobertHamptonGray – navypilotborninTrail BC, waskilledwhile bombing andsinking
a Japanese warshipisAugust1945.
48. SirWilliamLogan – worldfamousgeologistborninMontreal.Directedthe geological surveyof
Canada from1842 to 1869. Mount Logan inYukonwas namedafterhim.
Bill Reid– carvestotempoles
KingGeorge V- whoassignedCanadanational colors(white andredonthe flag).Dominionof Canadain
$1 bill.
Sergeant,FortGarry Horse - CanadianExpeditionaryForce 1916.
Group of Seven,foundedin1920, developedastyle of paintingthatcapturedthe ruggedwilderness
landscape.

EmilyCarr – paintedforestsandaboriginalartifactsof the WestCoast.
Jean-Paul Riopelle –pioneersof modernabstractart.
Louis-Philippe Hebert–sculptorof historical figures.
KenojuakAshevak –pioneeredmodern inuitartwithetchings,printsandsoapstone sculptures.
Important Dates:
1. Magna Carta in 1215 inEngland(knownasthe Great Charter of Freedoms)
2. 1982 – Constitutionof Canadawasamendedtoentrenchthe CanadianCharterof RightsandFreedom
3. Constitutional documentin1867 – The BritishNorthAmericanAct.A belief inorderedliberty,
enterprise,hardworkandfairplayhave enabledCanadianstobuildaprosperoussociety.
4. Royal Proclamationof 1763 by KingGeorge III – Territorial rights,establishedthe basisfornegotiating
treatieswiththe newcomers.
5. From 1800 to 1900, the federal governmentplacedmanyaboriginalschildreninresidential schoolsto
educate andassimilate themintomainstreamCanadianculture.In2008, Ottawa formallyapologizedto
the formerstudents.
6. Great Upheaval – between1755 and1763 betweenthe BritainandFrenchwarmore than2/3 of
Acadianswere deportedfromtheirhomeland.Acadian(French) survivedandmaintainedtheirunique
identity.
7. 2006 – The House of Commonsrecognizedthe QuebecoisformanationwithinaunitedCanada.
8. 1700 – France andGreat Britainbattledforcontrol of NorthAmerica.In1759, the Britishdefeatedthe
Frenchinthe Battle of the Plainsof Abrahamat Quebec City.Markingendof FrenchEmpire.
Commandersof botharmiesBrigadierJamesWolfe andMarquisde Montcalmwere killedleadingtheir
troopsin battle.
9. QuebecAct of 1774 – BritishParliamentpassed the QuebecActthatallowedreligiousfreedomfor
Catholics andpermittedthemtoholdpublicoffice,apractice notthenallowedinBritain.The Quebec
Act restoredFrenchcivil lawwhilemaintainingBritishcriminal law.
10. 1776 – 13 Britishcoloniestothe southof Quebecdeclaredindependenceandformedthe United
States.
11. ConstitutionalActof 1791 – dividedthe Province of QuebecintoUpperCanada(laterOntario),
whichwasmainlyLoyalist,ProtestantandEnglish speaking,andLowerCanada(laterQuebec),heavily

CatholicandFrench-speaking.The name Canadaofficiallyusedatthistime.The Atlanticcoloniesand
the two Canadawere knowncollectivelyasBritishNorthAmerica.
12. The War of 1812: The fightforCanada. People involve Shawnee ledbyChief Tecumesh,support
Britishdefence.MajorGeneral SirIsaacBrock capturedDetroitbutwas killedbyAmerican.In1813,
LieutenantCol Charlesde Salaberryfight4,000 invadingAmericans.MajorGenRobertRossfrom Nova
ScotiaburnedWhitehouse butdiedafter.
13. July1, 1867 – BritishNorthAmericaActin1867, commemorate the daythat Canadabecame a self-
governingDominion.TodayknownasCanadaDay and ConstitutionActof 1867. Alsodefinedthe
responsibilitiesof the Federal andProvincial government.
14. FirstWorldWar imptdates:(1899-1902) SouthAfricanWar knownas “Boer War”. April 9, 1917 is
celebratedasVimyDay,Canadiansearnthe reputationasthe shocktroopsof the BritishEmpire.
15. In 1929 the stock marketcrash ledtothe Great Depressionorthe dirtythirties.FarmersinWestern
Canada were hithardestbylowgrainpricesand a terrible drought.In1934, the Bank of Canada was
createdto manage the moneysupplyandbringstabilitytothe financial system.
16. June 6, 1944 – knownasD-Day, 15,000 Canadiantroopsstormedandcapturedlunobeachfrom the
GermanArmy,an epicinvasionof NormandyinNorthernFrance.In1944-1945, Canadianarmyalsohelp
inliberatingNetherlandfromthe Germansthatleadto theirsurrenderinMay 8, 1945 that enda six
yearsof war inEurope.
17. In 1947, the discoveryof oil inAlberta.In1940, employmentinsurance introducedbythe federal
government.In1927, Oldage securitywasdevised.In1965, Canada and Quebecpensionplan
introduced.
18. In 1950-53, participatedinKoreanwar.
19. Official languagesAct(1969),whichguaranteesFrenchandEnglishservicesinthe federal
governmentacrossCanada.
20. In 1965, a newCanadianflagwasraisedforthe firsttime.
21. In 1850 the CanadianMaple Leaf (bestknownsymbol),have appearedonCanadianuniformsand
insignia.
22. In 1800, hockeywas developedinCanada.
23. In 1980, O Canada was proclaimedasthe national anthem.ItwasfirstsunginQuebecCityin1880.
24. In 1967 Orderof Canada was createdto give officialawardstoCanadians.
25. In 1988, Canada enactedfree trade withUSA and Mexicothroughthe NorthAmericaFree Trade
Agreement(NAFTA).
26. In 1857, Ottawa,locatedinOttawa Riverwas chosenas National Capital byQueenVictoria.

National PublicHolidaysand otherimportant dates:
1. NewYear’sDay – January1
2. Sir JohnA. MacdonaldDay – January11
3. Good Friday – FridayimmediatelyprecedingEasterSunday
4. Easter Monday – Monday immediatelyfollowingEasterSunday
5. Vimy Day – April 9
6. VictoriaDay – Monday preceedingMay25(Sovereign’sbirthday)
7. Fete Nationale (Quebec) –June 24
8. Canada Day – July1
9. Labour Day – FirstMonday of September
10. Thanksgiving–SecondMondayof October
11. Remembrance Day – November11
12. SirWilfredLaurierDay – November20
13. Christmas – December25
14. BoxingDay – December26