Persons of National Historic Significance


Persons of National Historic Significance are people designated by the Canadian government as being nationally significant in the history of the country. Designations are made by the Minister of the Environment on the recommendation of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Approximately 70 nominations are submitted to the board each year. A person is eligible to be listed 25 years after death, but Prime Ministers may be designated any time after death. Parks Canada administers the program, and installs and maintains the federal plaques commonly erected to commemorate each person, usually placed at a site closely associated with them. The intent is generally to honour the person's contribution to the country but is always to educate the public about that person.
Canada has related programs for the designation of National Historic Sites and National Historic Events. Events, Sites, and Persons are each typically marked by a federal plaque, but the markers do not indicate which designation a subject has been given. The Welland Canal is an Event, while the Rideau Canal is a Site. The cairn and plaque to John McDonell does not refer to a National Historic Person, but is erected because his home, Glengarry House, is a National Historic Site. Similarly, the plaque to John Guy officially marks not a Person, but an Event—the Landing of John Guy.

List of Persons of National Historic Significance

this list contains 715 entries. The searchable database provided by Parks Canada returns 700 records, and may not be up to date.
NameRoleYear designated
Maude AbbottMedical researcher1993
John AbbottPrime Minister1938
William AberhartPremier, Social Credit leader1974
Gabriel AcquinHunter, cultural broker, Maliseet guide1999
Frank Dawson AdamsGeologist1943
Mary Electa AdamsWomen's education reformer2004
William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron BeaverbrookBusinessman, press baron, philanthropist2016
Thomas Beamish AkinsHistorian1938
Emma AlbaniMusician 1937
William Donald AlbrightJournalist, agriculturalist, promoted development of Peace River district1954
Grant AllenAuthor1938
Susan Louisa Moir AllisonAuthor, historian 2007
Walter Seymour AllwardSculptor2002
Adams George ArchibaldFather of Confederation, Lieutenant-Governor 1938
Edith ArchibaldWomen's rights1997
Edward William ArchibaldSurgeon1998
Samuel George William ArchibaldAttorney General, Chief Justice 1939
Joseph E. AtkinsonPublisher, philanthropist1986
Philippe-Joseph Aubert de GaspéAuthor1974
Charles Aubert de La ChesnayeBusinessman1971
George BackArtist, Arctic explorer1973
William BaffinArctic explorer1972
Charles BagotGovernor General, role in responsible government1926
Frederick Walker BaldwinEngineer1957
Robert BaldwinCo-premier, reformer, role in responsible government1937
Frederick BantingMedical researcher, shared Nobel Prize1945
Marius BarbeauEthnographer, folklorist1985
William George BarkerMilitary, World War I pilot1998
Robert BartlettArctic explorer1969
Arthur BeauchesneParliamentary expert2003
François BeaulieuMétis leader2000
Adam BeckPolitician, founded Ontario Hydro1938
William George BeersDentist, developed modern sport of lacrosse1976
Matthew Baillie BegbieJudge, Chief Justice 1959
Edward BelcherNaval officer, surveyor1938
Georges-Antoine BelcourtMissionary, banker1959
Mabel Hubbard BellAeronautical investor, founder of educational & social organizations2018
Robert BellGeologist, explorer1938
John Wilson BengoughCartoonist, journalist, poet, lecturer1938
Charles Fox BennettBusinessman, politician1975
R. B. BennettPrime Minister1949
William BerczyPioneer, painter2016
Joseph-Elzéar BernierMariner 1961
Norman BethunePhysician, political activist1972
William Beynon First Nations chief, ethnographer1989
Michel BibaudPoet, historian1944
Mary and Henry BibbAuthor, abolitionist, publisher 2002
Big Bear First Nations leader, role in North-West Rebellion1971
Billy BishopWorld War I pilot, Victoria Cross recipient1980
Davidson BlackPhysician, palaeontologist 1974
Martha BlackPolitician 1987
Thornton and Lucie BlackburnEscaped slaves, founded Toronto's first taxi operation1999
Edward BlakePremier 1937
Richard BlanshardGovernor 1951
Jean BlewettJournalist, poet1946
La Bolduc Musician1992
Joseph-Armand BombardierBusinessman, inventor 1994
Robert BondPrime Minister 1975
Robert BordenPrime Minister1938
Jim BossAssisted First Nations in the Yukon2001
Pierre BoucherAuthor, government official, First Nations interpreter1978
Joseph BouchetteAuthor, cartographer, Surveyor General of Lower Canada1937
Sieurs de La Boularderie Settlers 1964
Henri BourassaPolitician, publisher 1962
Marguerite BourgeoysNun, founded first Canadian religious community 1985
John George BourinotHouse of Commons clerk, founded Royal Society of Canada1938
Mackenzie BowellPrime Minister1945
Joseph W. BoyleBusinessman 1984
Joseph Brant First Nations leader, British ally, settler1972
Mary Brant First Nations leader 1994
John Gough BrickMissionary, settler1954
Emmanuel BriffaTheatre decorator2007
Isaac BrockSoldier2010
Allan BrooksArtist 1999
Harriet BrooksNuclear physicist2005
George BrownFather of Confederation, publisher, abolitionist 1950
George BrowneArchitect2008
James Bruce, 8th Earl of ElginGovernor General, role in responsible government1953
Étienne BrûléExplorer, Coureur de bois, lived among First Nations1984
George BryceEducator, historian1947
Douglas BrymnerArchivist, founded Public Archives of Canada1938
John BuchanGovernor-General2010
Patrick BurnsRancher, businessman, Senator1960
Thomas ButtonArctic explorer1972
John ByEngineer 1954
George Frederick CameronJournalist, poet1946
Lydia CampbellAuthor2009
Alexander CampbellFather of Confederation1939
William Wilfred CampbellWriter1938
Charles CamsellGeologist, Commissioner 2001
William CanniffPhysician, historian, teacher1945
Guy Carleton, 1st Baron DorchesterGovernor, Governor-in-Chief 1974
John CarlingBrewer, politician, founded Dominion Experimental Farms1938
Bliss CarmanPoet1945
Emily CarrAuthor, painter1950
Father Henry CarrCollege leader, Univ. of Toronto president2012
William CarsonBusinessman, physician, reformer1954
Frederick CarterFather of Confederation, Prime Minister 1959
George-Étienne CartierFather of Confederation, French-Canadian statesman1937
Jacques CartierEarly French explorer paved way for settlement2011
Richard John CartwrightPolitician1938
Joseph CasavantManufacturer 1974
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La SalleExplorer, founded Lachine, rebuilt Fort Frontenac1934
Claude ChampagneMusician 1988
Samuel de ChamplainExplorer, founded Quebec City, "The Father of New France"1929
Edward Barron ChandlerFather of Confederation, Lieutenant-Governor 1939
Jean-Charles ChapaisFather of Confederation, Senator1943
Thomas ChapaisHistorian, Senator1955
Joseph-Adolphe ChapleauPremier, politician1974
Margaret Ridley CharltonMedical librarian, co-founder Medical Library Association2003
William Henry ChaseBusinessman, philanthropist1939
Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de LérySeigneur, military leader, politician2006
Paul Chomedey de MaisonneuveMilitary officer, founded Montreal1985
Robert ChristieHistorian, politician1938
Francis ClergueBusinessman 1987
Lucille Clifton Clan leader, cultural defender2016
John ClinchClergyman, physician 1964
William CoakerUnion leader, politician1985
James CockburnFather of Confederation, first House of Commons Speaker1939
Kathleen Blake ColemanInnovative newspaper editor2011
George ColesFather of Confederation1939
Enos CollinsBusinessman 1974
Lionel ConacherAthlete 1976
Ralph Connor Novelist1938
James CookExplorer, surveyor1954
George Copway Writer, indigenous rights leader2018
William CormackExplorer 1953
Ernest CormierArchitect2018
Louis de la Corne, Chevalier de la CorneMilitary officer1953
Edward CornwallisMilitary officer, Governor, founded Halifax1974
Phillips CosbyMilitary commander 1945
Laurence CoughlanItinerant preacher1965
George Albertus CoxBusinessman, Senator1990
James Henry CoynePresident Ontario Historical Society, member Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada1945
Isabella Valancy CrawfordPoet, writer1947
Helen CreightonFolklorist, author2018
James George Aylwin CreightonLawyer, engineer, journalist, athlete 2008
Octave CrémaziePoet1937
Thomas CrerarPolitician 2004
Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-VallierBishop1990
A. E. CrossBusinessman, politician, co-founder Calgary Stampede1971
Crowfoot First Nations leader, role in North-West Rebellion1945
Ernest Alexander CruikshankHistorian, original chairman Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada1943
Maurice Galbraith CullenArtist1944
Samuel CunardBusinessman 1937
Arthur CurrieMilitary officer 1934
Augustin CuvillierSpeaker, banker 1969
Louis CyrWrestler, weightlifter1976
John Wesley DafoeJournalist 1974
William DavidsonLumberman, politician1949
Louis Henry DaviesPremier, judge 1937
Nicholas Flood DavinPublisher, politician1947
John DavisArctic explorer1972
George Mercer DawsonScientist, surveyor1937
John William DawsonGeologist, university administrator 1943
Robert MacGregor DawsonPolitical scientist1975
Louis de Buade de FrontenacGovernor General 1974
Louis-Hector de CallièrePolitician, diplomat2001
Amor De CosmosPremier, journalist 1938
Dorimène DesjardinsBusiness and co-op organizer2012
Mazo de la RocheNovelist1976
James De MilleNovelist, humorist, professor1937
Agathe de Saint-Père de Repentigny Symbol of women's entrepreneurism in New France2016
Charles de SalaberryMilitary officer 1934
DemasduitAmong the final surviving Beothuks2000
Modeste DemersBishop, missionary1973
George Taylor DenisonSoldier, community leader, founded Canada First Movement, Imperial Federation League, role in North-West Rebellion1937
Nicolas DenysExplorer, trader, colonizer 1924
Carrie DerickBotanist2007
Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarresLieutenant-Governor, cartographer1925
Alphonse DesjardinsBusinessman, began Caisse Populaire system1971
Viola DesmondCivil rights activist2018
Edouard DevilleSurveyor General, developed photogrammetry1971
Edgar DewdneyLieutenant-Governor, reassigned territorial capital to Regina1975
Robert B. DickeyFather of Confederation1939
Punch DickinsBush pilot1995
John DiefenbakerPrime Minister1981
Thomas DixsonSoldier 1938
DonnaconaFirst Nations leader, kidnapped by Jacques Cartier1981
Antoine-Aimé DorionCabinet minister, Chief Justice 1937
Onésime DorvalTeacher 1954
Arthur DoughtyDominion Archivist, historian1991
David DouglasBotanist 1979
Howard DouglasLieutenant-Governor, Chancellor 1925
James DouglasGovernor 1944
Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas Premier, founding leader of the NDP, father of single payer healthcare2016
Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of SelkirkPhilanthropist, colonizer1943
Gordon DrummondMilitary leader, role in War of 18121928
Charles Carter DruryNaval leader1938
Lyman DuffChief Justice, constitutional expert1971
Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and AvaGovernor General, diplomat, traveller, writer1975
Jeanne DugasAcadian survivor of multiple displacements, symbol of resilience2016
Margaret DuleyNovelist 1976
Gabriel DumontMétis leader, role in North-West Rebellion1981
Sara Jeannette DuncanJournalist, author2016
Charles Avery DunningPremier ; cabinet minister 1985
Robert DunsmuirCoal miner, industrialist, politician1971
Maurice DuplessisPremier, founded Union Nationale1974
Ernest Melville DuPorteScientist and teacher known for study of parasites2010
Ludger DuvernayPrinter-publisher in Lower Canada, revived Saint-Jean-Baptiste celebrations2019
Dorothy DworkinNurse, businesswoman, supported Jewish immigrants2009
Timothy EatonBusinessman1971
Ezra Butler EddyBusinessman 1976
Charles Edenshaw Artist 1971
Henrietta EdwardsWomen's rights activist, reformer1962
Mina Benson Hubbard EllisExplorer, author2018
J. S. EwartLawyer, role in Manitoba schools dispute1966
Robert FalconerUniversity president1944
Aegidius FauteuxLibrarian, historian1955
Edward FeildClergyman, bishop, academic2003
Reginald FessendenInventor 1943
Peter FidlerExplorer, trader, surveyor 1953
William Stevens FieldingPremier, cabinet minister 1938
Charles FisherFather of Confederation, Premier 1939
Charles FitzpatrickChief Justice, Lieutenant-Governor, role in North-West Rebellion, lawyer for Louis Riel1973
Michael Anthony FlemingBishop2003
Sandford FlemingEngineer and inventor 1950
James FletcherEntomologist2016
Marc-Aurèle FortinPainter2011
Pierre-Étienne FortinPolitician, physician1953
Rose FortuneBusinesswoman, first female police officer in Canada2018
George Eulas FosterPolitician, academic 1938
Terry FoxHumanitarian, athlete 2008
Luke FoxArctic explorer1972
Gustave FrancqTrade unionist, publisher 2008
John FranklinArctic explorer1945
Archibald FraserIndustrialist 1975
Simon Fraser Explorer, fur trader2016
Louis-Honoré FréchettePoet, author1937
Lillian Bilsky FreimanOrganizer, philanthropist2008
Benjamin FrobisherFur trader 1973
Joseph FrobisherFur trader, businessman 1973
Martin FrobisherArctic explorer1957
Thomas FrobisherFur trader, established Île-à-la-Crosse post1973
Northrop FryeEducator, author, literary critic & theorist2018
Thomas Fuller Architect2016
Marie-Anne GabourySettler, grandmother of Louis Riel1982
William James GagePublisher 1938
Clarence GagnonArtist1944
Alexander Tilloch GaltFather of Confederation, politician, businessman1944
William Francis GanongBotanist, cartographer, historian1945
James Garfield GardinerPremier, cabinet minister 1975
François-Xavier GarneauHistorian1937
Pierre Gaultier de La VérendryeExplorer, fur trader1920
Cyril GenikSupported Ukrainian immigrantion in western Canada1995
Antoine Gérin-LajoieJournalist, lawyer1939
Marie Lacoste Gérin-LajoieWomen's rights activist1997
Abraham Pineo GesnerPhysician, geologist, inventor of kerosene1954
John Murray GibbonWriter, cultural promoter 1954
Mifflin Wistar GibbsPolitician, businessman, human rights activist2009
Alexander GibsonIndustrialist2007
Robert Giffard de MoncelNobleman, colonizer, physician, surgeon1955
Humphrey GilbertUnsuccessful colonizer 1981
Edouard Percy Cranwill GirouardMilitary engineer, developed African railways1938
Oliver GoldsmithPoet1944
Glenn GouldClassical musician2012
Enid Gordon GrahamPhysiotherapist2014
Mary GrannanChildren's author & broadcaster2018
Cuthbert GrantMétis leader1972
George Monro GrantEducator, writer, university principal 1937
Louis-Pierre GravelPromoted settlement and agriculture1956
John Hamilton GrayFather of Confederation, Speaker 1939
John Hamilton GrayFather of Confederation, Premier 1939
Wilfred GrenfellMedical missionary 1959
Grey Owl Conservationist, author, speaker1993
Lionel GroulxClergyman, historian, Quebec nationalist1972
Helena GutteridgeSuffragette and politician2010
Casimir GzowskiLieutenant-Governor, engineer, constructed railroads, Niagara Parks Commission chair1956
Roderick Langmere Haig-BrownWriter, conservationist2016
Frederick HaldimandGovernor, settler1974
Arthur Lawrence Haliburton Military officer, civil servant1938
Thomas Chandler HaliburtonAuthor, satirist1936
William Neilson HallFirst Victoria Cross recipient of African heritage2008
Ishbel Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and TemairEstablished Victorian Order of Nurses, National Council of Women1979
Ned HanlanAthlete 1938
Arthur Sturgis HardyPremier, Attorney General 1948
James B. HarkinFirst national parks commissioner, established Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada1955
Lawren HarrisArtist 1970
Robert HarrisArtist 1945
Ezekiel HartEntrepreneur, politician, first Jew to be elected a legislator in the British Empire1995
Julia Catherine HartAuthor 1951
John HarveyLieutenant-Governor, Governor 1974
Frederick W. A. G. HaultainPremier, Chief Justice 1946
Thomas Heath HavilandFather of Confederation1939
Sir Edmund Walker Head, 8th BaronetLieutenant-Governor, Governor General 1974
Abraham Albert HeapsPolitician and labor leader2010
Samuel HearneExplorer,Governor 1936
Louis-Philippe HébertArtist 1937
Theodor August HeintzmanManufacturer 1974
Anthony HendayExplorer, fur trader1953
John HendryIndustrialist 1988
Louis HennepinClergyman, explorer, cartographer2008
Alexander Henry the elderFur trader1973
Alexander Henry the youngerFur trader 1973
William Alexander HenryFather of Confederation1939
Josiah HensonAuthor, abolitionist, minister, role in Underground Railroad1995
William HespelerBusinessman, immigration agent, politician2000
James Jerome HillBusinessman 1938
Francis HincksPolitician1969
Ella Cora HindWomen's rights activist1997
Henry Youle HindScientist, explorer, surveyor, author2018
Gilles HocquartAdministrator, Intendant, established Les Forges du Saint-Maurice1974
Samuel HollandEngineer, Surveyor General 1989
Luther Hamilton HoltonBusinessman, banker, cabinet minister 1938
Adelaide HoodlessEducational reformer1960
Frederic William HowayHistorian, lawyer, judge1944
C. D. HoweCabinet minister, established Atomic Energy of Canada1984
Joseph HowePremier, role in responsible government1983
William Pearce HowlandFather of Confederation1959
James Patrick HowleyNaturalist, geologist2016
Henry HudsonArctic explorer 1973
Sam HughesCabinet minister, journalist, soldier1969
William Roper HullBusinessman, philanthropist, developer1988
George HuntLinguist, ethnologist 1989
Harold InnisEconomist, historian 1972
Ipirvik and TaqulittuqInuit couple, assisted Arctic exploration1981
James IsbisterMétis leader1997
A. Y. JacksonArtist 1974
Charles William JefferysArtist1954
Diamond JennessAnthropologist 1973
Louis-Amable JettéLieutenant-Governor and Chief Justice 1945
Sylvester JoeAboriginal guide2002
Ethel JohnsNurse, educator, administrator2009
Pauline Johnson Poet, speaker 1945
Edward JohnsonSinger, manager 1974
John Mercer JohnsonFather of Confederation1939
Louis JollietExplorer 1944
Sigtryggur JónassonManitoba politician and Icelandic-Canadian leader2010
William JudgeMissionary 1987
Peter Jones First Nations leader, clergyman1996
Israel Isaac KahanovitchManitoba rabbi and leader2010
Paul KaneArtist 1937
Thomas KeeferEngineer, railroader 1938
Henry KelseyExplorer, fur trader1931
John KennedyCivil engineer 2001
William Frederick KingSurveyor, astronomer, civil servant 1959
Reverend William KingClergyman, abolitionist2005
William Lyon Mackenzie KingPrime Minister1967
Charles Edmund KingsmillFounder of the Navy2010
William KirbyWriter, historian 1946
David KirkeAdventurer, colonizer, Governor 1968
A. M. KleinWriter, lawyer 2007
Otto Julius KlotzAstronomer, geographer 1938
Leon Joseph KoernerIndustrialist 2009
KondiaronkNegotiator 2001
Cornelius KrieghoffArtist1972
Chief Kw'ehLeader of Dakelh people, British Columbia2011
John Kinder LabattBusinessman 1971
Albert LacombeMissionary1932
Édouard LacroixBusinessman, politician2006
Louis-Hippolyte LafontaineJurist, statesman, co-Premier 1937
Jean-Baptiste LagimodièreTrapper, grandfather of Louis Riel1981
David LairdLieutenant-Governor, cabinet minister 1950
John Lambton, 1st Earl of DurhamGovernor General, High Commissioner 1974
Catherine Beaulieu Bouvier LamoureuxDefender of Métis culture2011
Archibald LampmanPoet1920
Pierre-Amand LandryLawyer, judge, politician, first Acadian to be knighted1955
Franklin Knight LaneAmerican politician, born in Prince Edward Island1938
Hector-Louis LangevinFather of Confederation, cabinet minister 1938
Sam LangfordBoxer1987
Ernest LapointeCabinet minister1954
Margaret LaurenceNovelist, academic2016
Wilfrid LaurierPrime Minister1938
François de LavalBishop1972
Calixa LavalléeMusician 1966
Marguerite Vincent LawinonkiéArtist2008
Sheridan LawrenceFarmer, businessman, judge1954
James MacPherson Le MoineAuthor, historian, ornithologist 1938
Pierre Le Moyne d'IbervilleSoldier, explorer, administrator1937
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de BienvilleGovernor, founded Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans1953
Charles le Moyne de Longueuil et de Châteauguay and familyFamily of soldiers and colonizers1957
Stephen LeacockWriter, economist, particularly as humorist1946
Ozias LeducPainter2018
Camille LefebvreClergyman, established Acadian Renaissance Movement1997
Jean-Louis LégaréSettler, trader1969
Rodolphe LemieuxSpeaker and cabinet minister, professor1973
Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of RichmondGovernor General1923
Irma LeVasseurPhysician 2008
Arthur LismerArtist 1974
Philip Francis LittlePremier, role in responsible government2007
Kathleen 'Kay' LivingstoneFeminist-activist for blacks2011
George LloydBishop, helped found Lloydminster1953
George LockeLibrarian, author, historian1939
Grace Annie LockhartFirst woman in British Empire to receive university bachelor's degree1991
William Edmond LoganGeologist 1967
Jean-Baptiste LoloInterpreter, guide, trader, peacemaker2012
Tom LongboatAthlete, Boston Marathon winner1976
Frances LoringSculptor2011
Albert Peter LowGeologist, explorer, athlete, surveyor1972
John MacIntosh LyleArchitect 2008
Archibald MacallumBiochemist, founded National Research Council1938
Thomas Bassett MacaulayBusinessman 1997
Andrew Archibald MacdonaldFather of Confederation1939
James E.H. MacDonaldArtist 1974
Margaret C. MacDonaldNurse 1982
John MacDonald of GlenaladaleOrganized settlement of PEI2012
John A. MacdonaldFather of Confederation, Prime Minister1939
William Christopher MacdonaldManufacturer, philanthropist 1974
Alexander MacdonellBishop1924
Angus Bernard MacEachernBishop1968
Elsie MacGillAeronautical engineer2007
Helen Gregory MacGillJudge, campaigned for women's suffrage1998
Agnes Maule MacharPatriotic writer, social commentator2015
Alexander MackenzieExplorer2016
Alexander MackenziePrime Minister1957
William MackenzieRailway entrepreneur 1976
William Lyon MackenziePolitician, journalist, led Upper Canada Rebellion1949
Pegi Nicol MacLeodModernist painter2011
Archibald MacMechanProfessor, writer1946
H. R. MacMillanForester, industrialist1987
Ernest MacMillanMusician, composer, conductor1984
Helen MacMurchyDoctor, author, health care reformer1997
Allan MacNabPremier, politician, judge1937
John MacounBotanist, advocate of the West2011
Agnes MacphailFirst female Member of Parliament1985
Andrew MacphailPhysician, author, professor1945
Charles Alexander MagrathSurveyor, engineer, first mayor of Lethbridge, Alberta1950
Charles MairPoet, nationalist, promoted western development1937
Jeanne ManceSettler, nurse, established hospital 1998
Donald MannRailroader 1976
Charles MaregaArtist2009
Marie-VictorinBotanist, monastic, author, educator1987
Jacques MarquettePriest, explorer 1937
Paul MascareneLieutenant-Governor, defended Annapolis Royal1929
Kèsh Explorer, discovered gold 1994
Vincent MasseyGovernor General1974
Hart MasseyBusinessman, philanthropist 1971
MatonabbeeFirst Nations leader, role in Samuel Hearne expedition1981
Wilfrid R. "Wop" MayAviator 1974
Peter McArthurWriter, farmer1946
Richard McBridePremier and Agent General 1938
Francis Leopold McClintockArctic explorer1972
Nellie McClungPolitician, feminist, social activist 1954
Robert McClureArctic explorer1972
Grant McConachieBusinessman, aviator 2007
David Ross McCordLawyer, philanthropist, founded McCord Museum in Montreal2000
John McCraePhysician, soldier, poet 1946
Thomas McCullochEducator 1959
Jonathan McCullyFather of Confederation1939
John Alexander Douglas McCurdyAviator, Lieutenant-Governor 1974
George Millward McDougallMissionary, role in Treaty 61969
William McDougallFather of Confederation, politician1943
Duncan McNab McEachranVeterinarian2016
Thomas D'Arcy McGeeFather of Confederation, writer, Irish nationalist1943
Donald McKayShip designer and builder1938
R. Tait McKenzieSurgeon, artist, physical educator1958
Louise McKinneyFirst female legislator in the British Empire 1939
Samuel McLaughlinBusinessman, philanthropist 1989
John McLoughlinHudson's Bay Company chief factor, "Father of Oregon"1951
Marshall McLuhanProfessor, author 2007
William McMasterBusinessman, Senator, banker1990
Violet Clara McNaughtonSocial reformer 1997
Alexander James McPhailSocial reformer, Canadian Wheat Pool president1971
Arthur MeighenPrime Minister1961
Jean-Baptiste MeilleurDoctor, educator2002
Henri Membertou First Nations leader, role in establishing Mi'kmaq-French Alliance1981
Men of Letters – Writers 1955
Charles de Menou d'AulnayGovernor, colonizer1972
Honoré MercierPremier, journalist, lawyer1938
William Hamilton MerrittBusinessman, role in building the Welland Canal1974
MikakFemale symbol of Inuit self-determination2011
David MillsCabinet minister 1954
David Milne Artist2016
Mattie MitchellMi’kmaq guide, prospector, explorer and hunter 2001
Peter MitchellFather of Confederation, Prime Minister 1938
MokwinaFirst Nations leader 1987
William MolsonBusinessman1971
Charles Monck, 4th Viscount MonckFirst Governor General of Confederation1974
Lucy Maud MontgomeryAuthor 1943
Frederick MontizambertPhysician, civil servant 1998
Susanna MoodieAuthor, settler1975
Sewell MoodyBusinessman 1988
Howie MorenzHockey player1976
Frederick Cleveland MorganMontreal museum curator2012
Henry James MorganAuthor, historian, archivist2016
Adrien-Gabriel MoriceMissionary, author1948
Augustin-Norbert MorinLawyer, Superior Court Justice, role in Reform Coalition1938
James Wilson MorriceArtist1954
Alexander MorrisChief Justice, politician, role in 1864 Great Coalition1971
Arthur Silver MortonTeacher, historian, archivist 1952
William Richard MotherwellCabinet minister ; established Territorial Grain Growers' Association1966
Oliver MowatFather of Confederation, Premier 1934
John MunnNewfoundland outport merchant, civic leader2016
Beamish MurdochLawyer, politician, writer1937
Emily MurphyFirst female judge in British Empire, author, women's rights activist1958
James MurrayGovernor, Military Governor 1955
Leonard W. MurrayAdmiral 1977
Anthony MusgraveGovernor, role in British Columbia joining Confederation1975
James NaismithInventor of basketball, physician, promoter of physical education1976
Thomas NangleCleric, chaplain, war memorial planner, politician2016
Neekaneet First Nations leader 1981
John NeilsonPolitician, editor, journalist, reformer1976
Émile NelliganPoet 1974
NescambiouitFirst Nations leader2005
Simon NewcombAstronomer, mathematician 1935
Gilbert Stuart NewtonArtist 1944
Margaret NewtonScientist 1996
Guido NincheriArtist, decorator2007
Percy Erskine NobbsArchitect2008
Charles Sherwood NobleInventor 2002
John NorquayPremier, Métis statesman1943
John Norton Native political and military leader2011
William NotmanPhotographer, businessman1975
Harold Anthony OaksBush pilot 1974
Jonathan OdellPoet, clergyman, surgeon, Secretary 1959
William OgilvieCommissioner, surveyor, explorer, author1970
Joseph OleskiwProfessor, promoted Ukrainian immigration1996
Frank OliverCabinet minister, journalist1947
Onondeyoh Opposed residential schools, founded League of Indians2019
David OppenheimerMayor, businessman, Jewish community leader2008
OronhyatekhaFirst Canadian First Nations physician2001
William OslerPhysician, medical researcher and educator1950
Léo-Ernest OuimetFilmmaker, producer, distributor, theatre operator2018
Daniel David PalmerFounded chiropractic medicine1993
Edward PalmerFather of Confederation, Premier 1939
Théophile PanadisDefender of Abenaki traditions2011
Louis-Joseph PapineauPolitician, lawyer, seigneur, Patriot Movement leader1937
Étienne ParentCivil servant, journalist, editor Le Canadien1974
Sir Gilbert Parker, 1st BaronetPolitician, author 1938
Elizabeth ParkerCo-founded Alpine Club of Canada2011
George Robert ParkinAuthor, educator, Imperial Federation Movement leader1938
Irene ParlbyPolitician, rural leader, campaigned to allow women in the Senate1966
William Edward ParryArctic explorer1971
Edward Alexander PartridgeAgrarian activist, farmer, author2018
Walter PattersonGovernor 1974
Andrew PaullSquamish leader, rights advocate2012
The Peacemakers: Albert Lacombe, John McDougallBrokered peace between First Nations groups1932
William PearceSurveyor, planner 1973
Lester B. PearsonPrime Minister1974
Paul PeelArtist 1937
Francis PegahmagabowWar hero and activist for Native rights2019
Chief PeguisFirst Nations leader2008
Wilfrid PelletierOrchestra conductor, founded Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec1988
Wilder PenfieldNeurosurgeon 1988
Simeon PerkinsBusinessman, diarist, politician1946
Nicolas PerrotExplorer, diplomat, fur trader1952
PiapotFirst Nations leader1981
Pitikwahanapiwiyin First Nations leader1967
Peter PitseolakPhotographer, artist, historian, hunter1981
John Stanley PlaskettAstronomer 1949
Peter PondFur trader, cartographer, explorer 1951
Georgina PopeNurse 1983
James Colledge PopePremier, cabinet minister 1938
Joseph PopeCivil servant, author1938
William Henry PopeFather of Confederation1939
Charles Gavan PowerDefense Minister, expanded Air Force2013
Philip Louis PratleyBridge designer 2005
E. J. PrattPoet1975
Richard PrestonEscaped slaved, black community leader2005
George PrevostPresident2016
William PriceBusinessman, politician 2003
Léon Abel ProvancherPriest, naturalist, author1994
Pierre-Esprit RadissonExplorer, cartographer, fur trader, role in Hudson's Bay Company1971
John RaeExplorer, physician, fur trader1973
James RalstonCabinet minister 1973
Alice RavenhillEducator, author, social and educational reformer2008
Red CrowFirst Nations leader, signatory to Treaty 71977
John ReevesJudge, historian1995
George Agnew ReidArtist, president 1948
Marcel-François RichardRole in Acadia – developed flag, anthem and patron day2004
William Buell RichardsSupreme Court of Canada judge1938
Harriette Taber RichardsonPromoted reconstruction of Port Royal Habitation1949
John RichardsonSoldier, poet, novelist, established New Era journal1938
Louis RielMétis leader, role in North-West Rebellion1956
John William RitchieFather of Confederation, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice1959
Joseph-Noël RitchotClergyman1990
Charles G.D. RobertsPoet1945
Charles Walker RobinsonSoldier, author1938
John Beverley RobinsonMayor, Lieutenant-Governor, leader of Family Compact1937
John RobsonPremier, established first British Columbia newspaper1938
Marie Marguerite RoseAbolitionist, freed slave2008
Sir John Rose, 1st BaronetPolitician, banker, diplomat1973
Bobbie RosenfeldAthlete 1976
Alexander RossFur trader, author, role in Pacific Fur Company and North West Company1951
James Hamilton RossMember of North-West Council and Assembly, Commissioner 1948
George William RossPremier, Senate Liberal leader1937
James Clark RossArctic explorer1972
John RossArctic explorer1972
John RowandFur trader, Chief factor 1954
Gabrielle RoyAuthor2008
Louis RubensteinChampion figure skater, sports administrator/promoter2016
Ernest RutherfordPhysicist 1939
Egerton RyersonClergyman, educator, politician, school advocate1934
Mary Anne SadlierAuthor 2008
Idola Saint-JeanWomen's rights activist1997
Bernard Keble SandwellEditor, writer, role in Saturday Night1955
Edward SapirAnthropologist, linguist, expert on First Nations1983
Margaret Marshall SaundersAuthor1947
Charles E. SaundersAgronomist 1938
William SaundersPharmacist, scientist, civil servant, author, role with Experimental farms1952
SavaletteEstablished Acadian "sedentary" fisheries1944
Frank W. SchofieldVeterinarian2009
Jacob Gould SchurmanEducator, philosopher, academic president 1943
Duncan Campbell ScottPoet 1948
Richard William ScottPolitician, supported Ontario Separate School Act1938
Joseph E. SeagramAlcohol distiller, politician1971
Laura SecordHeroine, War of 18122002
Hans SelyeMedical researcher 1989
Ernest Thompson SetonWriter, conservationist, artist, social reformer1995
Jonathan SewellChief Justice, supported Confederation1956
Mary Ann ShaddEditor, leader 1994
ShanawdithitLast surviving Beothuk2000
Ambrose SheaFather of Confederation, Speaker 1959
Francis Joseph ShermanPoet, banker1945
Adam ShorttHistorian, author, role in Canadian Civil Service Commission1938
Clifford SiftonCabinet minister, promoted immigration1955
John Graves SimcoeLieutenant-Governor, military leader 1974
George SimpsonGovernor-in-Chief, General Superintendent 1927
Thomas SimpsonArctic explorer1937
Oscar D. SkeltonHistorian, economist, established Department of External Affairs1947
Frank Leith SkinnerHorticulturalist1997
Joshua SlocumMariner, explorer, author, first solo sailor to travel throughout the world1957
Charlotte SmallMétis figure, role in fur trade2008
Joey SmallwoodFather of Confederation, Premier 1996
Elizabeth SmellieFirst World War nursing Sister2011
Albert James SmithPremier, cabinet minister 1949
Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount RoyalFur trader, railroader, politician, role with Hudson's Bay Company1971
Goldwin SmithHistorian, journalist1975
Mary Ellen SmithPolitician2016
Mary Agnes SnivelyNursing advocate2011
Mary Meager SouthcottNurse, superintendent1998
Louis St. LaurentPrime Minister1973
Sam SteeleSoldier, Superintendent 1938
William SteevesFather of Confederation, industrialist, senator1939
Vilhjalmur StefanssonArctic explorer1964
Stephan G. StephanssonPoet1946
George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount StephenBanker, railroader, philanthropist1971
Emily StoweFirst woman to practise as a Canadian doctor, women's rights activist1995
John StrachanBishop, founded King's College1925
Gilfred StudholmeArmy officer, role in constructing Fort Howe1927
Benjamin SulteHistorian 1928
Alexandre-Antonin TachéBishop, missionary, writer1943
Étienne-Paschal TachéFather of Confederation, headed Coalition Government1937
François-Xavier Picard TahourencheArchivist2008
Jean TalonIntendant 1974
Joseph Israël TarteJournalist, politician, cabinet minister 1973
TecumsehFirst Nations leader, role in War of 18121931
James TeitEthnographer 1994
Tessouat dubbed "le Borgne de l'isle"First Nation leader1983
ThanadelthurFirst Nations figure, role in northern fur trade2000
George McCall ThealEducator, historian, archivist 1937
Louis Thomas Defended Maliseet rights and interests2002
William ThomasArchitect1974
David ThompsonFur trader, cartographer, surveyor1927
John Sparrow David ThompsonPrime Minister1937
Stanley ThompsonArchitect 2005
Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron SydenhamGovernor General, established Union of the Canadas1926
Edward William ThomsonWriter 1938
Tom ThomsonArtist 1958
Samuel Leonard TilleyFather of confederation, cabinet minister1937
William TomisonRole in Hudson's Bay Company1974
Henry Marshall ToryUniversity president, first National Research Council president1949
Catharine Parr TraillAuthor1974
Jennie Kidd TroutFirst Canadian woman licensed as physician1995
Pierre TrudeauPrime Minister2001
Joseph TrutchLieutenant-Governor 1975
Ignace-Nicolas Vincent TsawenhohiFirst Nations leader2001
Harriet TubmanAbolitionist, humanitarian 2005
Charles TupperPrime Minister, Father of Confederation1957
William Ferdinand Alphonse TurgeonAttorney General, diplomat, judge1981
Wallace Rupert TurnbullInventor, aeronautical engineer 1960
Philip TurnorSurveyor, cartographer 1973
Joseph TyrrellGeologist, historian, cartographer 1970
James Boyle UniackePremier 1938
William Cornelius Van HorneRailroader 1954
George VancouverExplorer1933
Georges VanierGovernor General, soldier, Ambassador 1983
Frederick VarleyArtist 1974
Madeleine de VerchèresDefended family fort1923
Peter Vasilevich VeriginChristian Community of Universal Brotherhood, Doukhobor emigration2008
Louis-Guillaume VerrierFounded law school1952
Samuel VetchSoldier, Governor 1928
Hiram WalkerIndustrialist, developed distillery, ferry and railway in Windsor, Ontario1971
Horatio WalkerArtist, Royal Academy of Art1939
Byron Edmund WalkerBusinessman, arts patron1938
Provo WallisRoyal Navy officer, capture USS Chesapeake, War of 18121945
James Morrow WalshNorth-West Mounted Police, Commissioner of Yukon1967
Angus J. WaltersFishing captain2005
Homer Ransford WatsonArtist1939
Ken WatsonChampion curler2016
Margaret Robertson Watt aka Madge WattAssociated Country Women of the World2007
George Edward WattsVice-admiral, War of 18121945
John Clarence WebsterSurgeon, historian, author, professor, chair Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada1950
John WentworthLieutenant-Governor Nova Scotia1974
Philip WestphalNavy Admiral1945
George Augustus WestphalNavy Admiral1945
Arthur Oliver WheelerSurveyor, National Park Movement, Alpine Club1995
Seager WheelerAgriculturist1976
Edward WhelanFather of Confederation, journalist, speaker1939
Richard WhitbourneNewfoundland businessman, promoted settlement1984
Portia WhiteMusician1995
Healey WillanMusician, professor1984
John Stephen WillisonEditor1938
Thomas WillsonInventor 1972
Lemuel Allan WilmotLieutenant-Governor New Brunswick, politician and judge1938
Robert Duncan WilmotFather of Confederation, Senator1959
Alice Evelyn WilsonScientist, teacher2011
Cairine Reay Mackay WilsonFirst woman Senator2005
Ethel WilsonModernist fiction writer2011
Mona Gordon WilsonPrince Edward Island Public Health Nursing Division2008
Edward WinslowLoyalist; founded Fredericton, settlements in Saint John River Valley1951
Hirsch Wolofsky, aka Harry WolofskyMontreal Jewish community leader; founded Eagle Publishing Company2007
William WolseleyRoyal Navy Admiral 1945
Wong Foon SienChinese-Canadian activist2008
Henry Wise WoodFounded Canada Wheat Pools1962
J. S. WoodsworthCCF leader1972
Philemon WrightLumber merchant, Ottawa Valley settler1976
George MacKinnon WrongProfessor1950
Florence WyleSculptor2011
James Lucas YeoWar of 1812 Commander1937
Nellie Yip QuongCommunity advocate; Euro-Canadian/Chinese Canadian intermediary2008
John YoungFarmer, businessman, agricultural reformer1951
William YoungPremier, judge1951
Marie-Marguerite d'YouvilleSaint, founded Order of the Sisters of Charity1973