St. Alban’s Raid (1865)

During the American Civil War, a Confederate attack was made from Canada on the town of St. Albans, Vermont. These types of raids heightened tension between the U.S. and Great Britain and because of this fear, Canadians were more inclined towards Confederation.

Louis Stephen Saint Laurent (1882-1973)

A Canadian lawyer and politician, he was appointed Minister of Justice under Mackenzie King in 1941. He supported conscription in 1944 and because of this loyalty was made Secretary of State for External Affairs in 1946. Saint Laurent became Prime Minister in 1948 enacting such social programs as the extension of old age pension scheme and hospital insurance. The Liberals were re-elected in 1949 and with a huge majority in 1953. He was defeated by Diefenbaker and his Conservatives in 1958.

St. Lawrence Seaway

This system of canals, locks and waterways provides a channel for navigation and transportation from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the head of Lake Superior. In 1954 both the Canadian and U.S. governments developed this project to establish a shipping lane 27 feet (8 metres) deep along the St. Lawrence River. The Seaway was completed in 1959.

Thomas Scott (1842-1870)

Scott was a Canadian Orangeman who became a Protestant martyr upon his execution in 1870 during the Red River Rebellion. This event caused tension between Catholics and Protestants.

Separatisme

Since the 1960s, this French Canadian independence movement has played a significant role in Canadian politics. The Canadian government, in response to this pressure, enacted the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. Prime Minister Trudeau reasserted the tradition of the Laurier regime of "tolerant Canadianism" in hopes that Quebec would be prevented from becoming racist and introverted.

Shawnadithit (1800 - 1829)

The Beothuk were the aboriginal inhabitants of Newfoundland at the time of European contact. The last known Beothuk, Shawnadithit, told her captor, John Peyton, that the Beothuk were descended from Labrador Indians. The Beothuk belonged to the Algonkian-speaking peoples of the Canadian Northeast. Beothuk artifacts include stone and bone items as well as fragile artifacts of wood and skin that are normally not preserved at sites of earlier cultures. Leather moccasins, bone pendants, baskets, wooden bowls, wooden dolls, shell beads and other artifacts were carefully crafted. The Beothuk were also adept at refashioning European iron nails into hide scrapers and arrow points. The term "Red Indian" was first used to refer to the Beothuk, who were known to cover their faces with an iron-rich soil called red ochre. This soil was mixed with animal fat and spread on the body for protection from insects and sunburn. Shawnadithit, who died in St. John's in 1829, left us with numerous words of her language and information about her society and culture. She provided maps showing where her people had encampments together with details for food storage techniques. She also constructed a miniature model of the Beothuk canoe, a distinctive vessel with high bow and stern, and sides that rose high in the middle.

Sir John Coape Sherbrooke (1764-1830)

He was a British General and Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia (1811-1816). During the War of 1812, he captured Castine (Maine) and was appointed Governor-in-Chief at Quebec from 1816 until 1818 when he suffered a stroke.

Sir Clifford Sifton (1861-1929)

He was Manitoba’s provincial Attorney-General from 1891 to 1896. He defended the province’s educational policy during the Manitoba Schools Act. After this problem was resolved, Laurier appointed him Minister of the Interior. At this post, Sifton established a very effective immigration policy which drew large numbers of Ukrainians and Doukhobors to the north-west.

Sir John Graves Simcoe (1752-1806)

He was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada from 1792 to 1794. He was recalled to Britain in 1796. During his career he had attempted to re-create British social and political patterns in the colony.

Social Credit Party

Developed by British engineer, Major Clifford Douglas, this Canadian political party started in the early 1930s. A form of monetary theory, it suggested that the government should issue payments (social credits) to everyone in order to balance consumers’ buying power with agricultural and manufacturing productivity. In 1935, the Social Credit Party came to power in Alberta. Although the federal government disallowed its attempts to implement its policies, the Party was able to clear the province’s debts by the mid-1950s. In 1952 it was defeated the Liberal-Conservative coalition in British Columbia and continued to grow into a federal force. In the 1962 federal election, it weighted its support behind the Conservatives contributing immensely to the re-election of Diefenbaker’s government. In 1979, it contributed to the "vote of no confidence" causing the downfall of Joe Clark and his Conservative government. By the 1980s, the Social Credit Party had all but disappeared.

Henry St. Clair (1345-1401 or 04)

Although little known, a Scottish nobleman was one of the earliest Europeans to reach what would become Canada, almost a hundred years before Columbus= voyages to North America. Third in line to the Scottish throne, and commander of the Scottish navy, Prince Henry St. Clair (also spelled Sinclair) led an expedition across the Atlantic in 1398. He had three larger sailing ships, using technology influenced by Scandinavian ship design, and a few smaller boats. Among Henry=s titles was Earl of Orkney, a region of Scotland with close connections to Scandinavia. The expedition also included the Italian sailor Antonio Zeno who wrote a journal, one of the key sources of information on the voyage. The Scandinavian Greenland settlement was still surviving, and inhabitants here had regular contact both with the North American mainland and with Europe, so voyaging across the North Atlantic was not that unusual. It is thought St. Clair reached Nova Scotia and explored the coast as far south as present day Boston. The Europeans met and had largely friendly contact with the Mikmaq, the largest native nation in the Nova Scotia region. St. Clair returned to Scotland in 1400. He died shortly after but details are not known for certain. One account said he was killed by the English king in 1401, while another states he was killed fighting pirates in 1404.

Robert Lorne Stanfield (1914- )

Having already served as Premier of Nova Scotia, he became leader of the Conservative Party in 1967 after John Diefenbaker. In his attempt to win the support of the French Canadian population, he lost that of many anglophones by proposing special conditions for Quebec. In 1976, he was replaced by Joe Clark.

Harry H. Stevens (1878-1973)

He was a member of Meighen’s Conservative administrations in 1921 and again in 1926. 4 years later, he was appointed Minister of Trade and Commerce under Bennett. In 1934, he resigned to found the Reconstruction Party gaining the only seat under that name in the 19135 election. In 1939, he returned to the Conservative Party.

John Strachan (1778-1867)

He was a member of the Family Compact who sought to maintain the ascendancy of the Anglican Church against the challenge of the Methodists. As President of the Board of Education, he caused resentment throughout Upper Canada by keeping education under the clergy’s control. In 1839, he became the first Bishop of Toronto and opposed such issues as the Clergy Reserves in 1854.

Baron Charles Poulett Thomson Sydenham (of Sydenham and Toronto) (1799-1841)

As President of the Board of Trade from 1834 to 1839, he promoted free trade and commercial reforms. Later, as Governor-General of Upper Canada from 1839 to 1841, he was responsible for securing the union of Upper and Lower Canada in 1840. Some of his other achievements included the introduction of municipal institutions in Upper Canada, advanced public works and a structural basis for responsible government in Canada.