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30 Political Leaders
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, The Canadian Encyclopedia created 30 lists of 30 things that have helped define our identity, from famous people and historic events, to iconic foods and influential artists.
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To celebrate its 30th anniversary, The Canadian Encyclopedia created 30 lists of 30 things that have helped define our identity, from famous people and historic events, to iconic foods and influential artists.
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A. Allison Dysart, lawyer, politician, judge, premier of New Brunswick (b at Cocagne, NB 22 Mar 1880; d at Moncton, NB 8 Dec 1962). Educated at Ontario Agricultural Coll, St Joseph's University and Dalhousie, he practised law in Bouctouche.
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Abraham Albert Heaps, labour politician (b at Leeds, England 24 Dec 1885; d at Bournemouth, England 4 Apr 1954). An impoverished English Jew who immigrated to Canada in 1911, Heaps, an upholsterer, became a distinguished parliamentarian as member for Winnipeg North from 1925-40.
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Abraham Kean (Abram), "Killer Kean," master mariner, legislative councillor (b at Flowers Island, Newfoundland 8 July 1855; d at St John's Nfld 18 May 1945).
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Abraham “Abe” Okpik,OC, Inuit community leader (born 12 January 1929 in the Mackenzie Delta area, Northwest Territories; died 10 July 1997 in Iqaluit, Nunavut). He was instrumental in Project Surname, a movement to replace the identification numbers assigned to the Inuit in Northern Canada with surnames. He was also the first Inuk to sit on what is now the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. In the mid-1970s, Okpik left a lasting mark on the Inuit language as he worked with other linguists to simplify the Inuit writing system. Okpik is remembered for his efforts in protecting and promoting Inuit language and culture.
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Adélard Raymond, pilot, businessman and politician (born 10 July 1889 in Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka, QC; died 23 February 1962 in Montreal, QC). Raymond was a French-Canadian pilot who served in the First World War and then in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) from 1934 to 1945. He was the second French Canadian to be appointed air vice-marshal. Raymond was also involved in the hotel industry and in various commercial operations. He was elected mayor of Senneville, on the west island of Montreal, serving from June 1951 to June 1959.
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Agnes Campbell Macphail, politician, reformer (born 24 March 1890 in Proton Township, Grey County, ON; died 13 February 1954 in Toronto, ON). Agnes Macphail was the first woman elected to the House of Commons (1921–40) and was one of the first two women elected to the Ontario legislature (1943–45, 1948–51). She was also the first female member of a Canadian delegation to the League of Nations. Macphail was a founding member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (the forerunner of the New Democratic Party). She was a noted pacifist and an advocate for prison reform. As a member of the Ontario legislature, she championed Ontario’s first equal pay legislation (1951).
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Albert Charles Saunders, lawyer, politician, judge, premier of PEI (b at Summerside, PEI 12 Oct 1874; d there 18 Oct 1943). Saunders, having completed 4 terms as mayor of Summerside, became the Liberal Party leader in 1923, winning the 1927 election by supporting continuing liquor prohibition.
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Albert Edgar Hickman, businessman, politician (b at Grand Bank, Nfld 2 Aug 1875; d at St John's 9 Feb 1943). Newfoundland's seventeenth prime minister, he held that office for just 33 days from 10 May to 11 June 1924, the shortest administration in Newfoundland's history.
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Joseph-Henri-Albiny Paquette, soldier, doctor and politician (born 7 October 1888 in Marieville, QC; died 25 September 1978 in Mont-Laurier, QC). Dr. Paquette served as a medical officer in Europe during the First World War and subsequently enjoyed a distinguished career in politics. He was the first Minister of Health of Québec.
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Alexander Bradshaw Campbell, lawyer, politician, premier of PEI 1966-78 (b at Summerside, PEI 1 Dec 1933). In 1966 Campbell became one of the youngest (age 33) premiers ever elected.
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Alexa Ann McDonough (née Shaw), OC, ONS, social worker, former Nova Scotia New Democratic Party leader, federal NDP leader (born 11 August 1944 in Ottawa, ON; died 15 January 2022 in Halifax, NS). A former Halifax social worker, Alexa McDonough became the first woman to lead a major political party in Canada when she was elected leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1980. She served as leader until 1994 and also led the federal NDP from 1995 until 2003. She was the Member of Parliament for Halifax from 1997 to 2008. In 2009, she served as interim president of Mount Saint Vincent University and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
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Alexander Bannerman Warburton, historian, politician, premier of PEI 1897-98 (b at Charlottetown 5 Apr 1852; d there 14 Jan 1929). Warburton practised law in Charlottetown and won election as a Liberal to the provincial legislature in 1891.
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Alexander Cameron Rutherford, lawyer, politician, premier of Alberta 1905-10 (b near Osgoode, Carleton County, Canada W 2 Feb 1857; d at Edmonton 11 June 1941).
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Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd prime minister of Canada 1873–78, stonemason, building contractor, author, insurance executive (born 28 January 1822 in Logierait, Scotland; died 17 April 1892 in Toronto, ON).
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