William Lyon Mackenzie King December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950, commonly known as Mackenzie King or WLMK, was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921–1926, 1926–1930 and 1935–1948. A Liberal, he was the dominant politician in Canada during the interwar period from the 1920s through the 1940s. He
William Avery Bishop, 8 February 1894 – 11 September 1956 was a Canadian flying ace of the First World War. He was officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian and British Empire ace of the war. He was an Air Marshal and a Victoria Cross recipient. During the Second World War, Bishop was instrumental in setting up and promoting
John George Diefenbaker September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979 was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. Between 1930 and 1979, he was the only federal Progressive Conservative (PC or Tory) leader to lead the party to an election victory, doing so three times, although only once with a majority of seats in
Leonard Norman Cohen September 21, 1934 – November 7, 2016 was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death and romantic relationships. Cohen was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien born January 11, 1934 is a Canadian politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Université Laval. He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1963. He served in various cabinet posts under Prime Minister Pierre
Rúhíyyih Rabbání 8 August 1910 – 19 January 2000, born as Mary Sutherland Maxwell and best known by the title Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1921 to 1957. In 1952, she was elevated to the office of Hand of the Cause of God, for which she attended to issues related to the expansion and
Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier 20 November 1841 – 17 February 1919 was a Canadian politician and statesman who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada, in office from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911. Laurier is often considered one of the country’s greatest statesmen. He is well-known for his policies of conciliation, expanding
Sir Sandford Fleming KCMG January 7, 1827 – July 22, 1915 was a Scottish Canadian engineer and inventor. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to colonial Canada at the age of 18. He promoted worldwide standard time zones, a prime meridian, and use of the 24-hour clock as key elements to communicating the accurate time, all of which influenced the creation of Coordinated Universal Time. He
John Franklin Candy October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994 was a Canadian actor and comedian known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its Second City Television (SCTV) series, and through his appearances in comedy films, including Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, Summer Rental, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle Buck, as well as
Avril Ramona Lavigne born September 27, 1984 is a Canadian singer, songwriter and actress. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain, and by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more than $2 million. Lavigne’s debut studio album, Let Go (2002), is the best-selling album of the 21st century by a