Important People Flashcards
Who was John Buchan?
A popular Governor General of Canada (1935-1940) and the 1st Baron Tweedsmuir.
He believed in “Unity in Diversity.”
He said that “immigrant groups should retain their individuality and each make its contribution to the national character.” Each could “learn from the other and … while they cherish their own special loyalties and traditions, they cherish not less that new loyalty and tradition which springs from their union.”
Who was Lieutenant Colonel John Graves Simcoe?
Upper Canada’s first Lieutenant Governor and funder of the City of Toronto
Who was Jacques Cartier?
The first European to explore the St. Lawrence River and to set eyes on present-day Quebec City and Montreal. Between 1534 and 1542, He made three trips across the Atlantic to claim land for King Francis I of France. Cartier also gave Canada its name after hearing two Iroquois prisoners speaking the Iroquoian word kanata, which means “village”. The name began appearing on maps by the 1550s as Canada.
Who was John Cabot?
An Italian immigrant to England, he was the first person to map Canada’s Atlantic shore. He set foot on Newfoundland or Cape Breton Island in 1497 and claimed the “New Founde Land” for England. English settlement did not begin until 1610.
Who is General Sir Arthur Currie?
Canada’s greatest soldier in the First World War
Who was the Duke of Wellington?
Helped found Ottawa in 1814 (Canada’s capital).
One of the leading military figures in 19th century Britain who served twice as the Prime Minister.
Who was the first Prime Minister of Canada?
Sir John A. Macdonald
Who was the first leader of a responsible government in the Canadas in 1849?
Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine
Who was the first leader of a responsible government in the Canadas in 1849?
Sir Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine
Who was Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine?
A champion of democracy and French language rights and the first leader of a responsible government in Canada in 1849.
Who led Quebec into Confederation?
Sir George-Étienne Cartier
Who led an armed uprising and seized Fort Garry?
Louis Riel
Who is General Sir Arthur Currie?
Canada’s greatest soldier in the First World War
Who is considered the father of Manitoba?
Louis Riel
Who was John A. Macdonald?
The first Prime Minister of Canada (1867 - 1873).
The “Father of Confederation.”
Why is Terry Fox a Canadian national hero?
He inspired people to contribute money for cancer research.
Who are the three fathers of confederation?
- Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché
- Sir George-Étienne Cartier
- Sir John A. Macdonald
Sir George-Étienne Cartier
One of the three “Fathers of Confederation”. He was important in making confederation happen by helping get Quebec, the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, and British Columbia to join Canada.
Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best
Canadians who discovered Insulin (1921)
Alexander Graham Bell
Canadian inventor who came up with the idea of the telephone.
Joseph-Armand Bombardier
Canadian inventor. He invented the snowmobile, which was the firs light-weight winter motorized vehicle.
Sir Sanford Fleming
Canadian inventor who invented the worldwide system of time zones.
Mathew Evans and Henry Woodward
They worked together to invent the first electric light bulb. They later sold the patent to Thomas Edison, who is famous for making the light bulb available for commercial sale.
Reginald Fessenden
Canadian inventor who helped invent the radio by sending the first wireless voice message.
Dr. Wilder Penfield
He was a brain surgeon at McGill University in Montreal. He helped to discover new ways to do surgery
Dr. John A. Hopps
Inventor of the Pacemaker, which sends electric impulses to the heart to help the heart beat correctly
SPAR Aerospace/ National Research Council
They invented the Canadarm. The Canadarm is a big robotic arm that attaches to a spacecraft. It helps astronauts do work in space.
Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie
They are each famous for being a CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Research in Motion, a wireless communication company that produced the BlackBerry.
Marshall McLuhan and Harold Innis
Famous Canadian thinkers in the area of communication.
Harold Innis was one of the founders of the Toronto school of communication theory and McLuhan was one of his mentees.
Name 7 Canadian Nobel Prize-winning scientists
- Gerhard Herzberg (a refugee from Nazi Germany)
- Frederick G. Banting
- Michael Smith
- Donna Strickland
- David Hubel
- John Polanyi
- Sidney Altman
- Richard E. Taylor
- Bertram Brockhouse
See full list here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Canadian_Nobel_laureates
Dr. Emily Stowe
The leader of the women’s suffrage movement in Canada. The first Canadian woman to practice medicine
Thérèse Casgrain
In 1940, she helped women of Quebec to get the vote
Agnes Macphail
The first woman to be a Member of Parliament (MP) in 1921
Sir William Logan
A world-famous Canadian geologist active ~1820-1875. Founder and first director of the Geological Survey of Canada.
Who is Sir Wilfrid Laurier?
The first French Canadian Prime Minister (1896-1911).
He encouraged immigration to the West.
His portrait is on the $5 bill.
Sir Robert Borden
Prime Minister from 1911-1920. He gave women the right to vote in federal elections.
Justin Trudeau
Current Prime Minister (Liberal Party). 2015- present.
Vincent Massey
18th Governor General (1952-1959). He was the first Governor General born in Canada.
Roland Michener
20th Governor General (1967 - 1974)
Adrienne Clarkson
26th Governor General (1999-2005). She was born in Hong Kong and came to Canada when she was 2 years old as a refugee from Japanese-occupied Hong Kong. She worked as a broadcaster for CBC and a journalist before entering politics.
Michaëlle Jean
27th Governor General
David Johnson
28th Governor General
Lord Durham
Governor General in 1837-1838. He was a British reformer who wanted to unite Upper and Lower Canada and make government more democratic.
Able Seaman William Hall
The first Black person to be awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in the Indian Rebellion (in India) in 1857.
Captain Paul Triquet
Recipient of the Victoria Cross in 1943 for actions during the Second World War.
Captain Billy Bishop
Recipient of the Victoria Cross for actions as a flying ace during the First World War.
Corporal Filip Konowal
A recipient of the Victoria Cross who was not born in the British Empire. He earned the Victoria Cross for his actions during the First World War.
Lieutenant Alexander Roberts Dunn
The first Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross (1854)
Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray
He was the second to last Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross, for his actions during World War II.
Pierre de Monts & Samuel de Champlain
French explorers who made a European settlement in what is now Canada in 1604.
Pierre Le Moyne
Late 17-Early 18th Centuries: A great hero of New France who fought against the British
Sir Guy Carleton
1782-1783: A British man who helped the Loyalists to move from the United States to Nova Scotia and Quebec.
Lieutenant Governor John Graves
1793: Helped make slavery illegal in Upper Canada. Also founded the city of York (Toronto)
Major-General Sir Isaac Brock
1812-1814: A French-Canadian who helped capture the city of Detroit when Canada and the USA were at war.
Laura Second
In 1813, she made a dangerous 19-mile (30 km) journey on foot to warn Canadians of a planned USA attack
King George V
King of England between 1910 and 1936. He also decided that Canada’s colours should be white and red.
Queen Victoria
Queen between 1837 - 1901. King Charles III (current King)’s great-great-great grandmother.
Who’s face is on the $10 bill?
Sir John A. McDonald
Whose face was on the $1 bill (1923)?
King George V.
King Edward VII
King of England from 1901-1910. King Charle’s great-great grandfather
King Edward VIII
King of England in 1936 until he stepped down (abdicated) for love later the same year. King Charles III (current King)’s great-uncle.
King George VI
King of England from 1936-1952. King Charles the III’s grandfather.
Elizabeth II
Queen of England from 1952-2022. Mother of current Sovereign, King Charles the Third.
Major General Sir Sam Steele
A famous Canadian member of the RCMP, frontier hero, and soldier of the Queen.
Lord Strathcona
Another name for Donald Smith, the director of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Who is on the $5 bill?
Sir Wilfred Laurier
General Sir Arthur Currie
Canada’s greatest soldier in World War 1. He helped Canada win the Battle of Amiens.
Mary Ann (Shadd) Carey
The first woman publisher in Canada. She wanted to end slavery in the United States.
