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Introduction

Dame Emma Albani.  (Marie-Louise-Cecile-Emma Lajeunesse). 
Born November 1, 1847, Chambly, Canada East (now Quebec). Died April 3, 1930, London England. Dame Albani became a world famous soprano opera singer performing on stages across Europe and throughout North America. In 1852 the family moved to Plattsburgh, New York. U.S.A. where she gained musical instruction. On August 24 1860 she was a soloist in the world premiere of Charles Wugk Sabatier's Cantata in Montréal, to honour the visit of the Prince of Wales. She became a popular singer at her home in Albany, New York, U.S.A. by 1865. By 1868 she had travelled to Paris, France, to continued her musical studies. In Italy she took the name Emma Albani and on March 30, 1870 she made her operatic debut. She rose to stardom was swift and she was soon performing in England as well. By 1874 she was touring the U.S.A. She married Ernest Gye (died 1925) on August 6, 1878. The couple would have one son. By 1880 she was once again touring in Europe and England. She made her Canadian Operatic debut on February 13, 1883. Her final season of tours was in 1896. By the 1920's the couple were financially strapped and Dame Emma gave musical lessons to earn an income. She became the 1st Canadian born artist to distinguish herself in the international world of opera and concert singing. Note: Some authors place her birth in 1848 or 1850.  Image Public Domain

Rita Letendre. 
Born November 1, 1928, Drummondville, Quebec. Died November 20, 2021, Toronto, Ontario. As a child Rita lived with her maternal grandmother in Saint-Francois-du-lac. In 1935 she moved with her family to Saint-Majorique-de-Grantham but life was difficult with Rita and her siblings experiencing prejudices because of their Abenaki First Nations Heritage. She preferred solitude and loved to draw. When the family relocated to Montreal she was required to take care of her siblings while her parents worked. In 1946 she worked at a factory and a restaurant cashier to earn money to leave home to live with her boyfriend. The couple had one son who would be raised by his maternal grandmother. At 19 she enrolled in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. By 1951 she was embracing abstract art and exhibited her works with the famed group called Les Automatists. Originally this painter and printmaker was interested in simple shapes but as she matured her work became more austere, with large geometric forms. Rita is known for large interior and exterior murals. In 2002 she became an Officer of the l'Ordre National du Québec. In 2005 she was inducted into the Order of Canada. In 2010 she won the Governor General's Award and in 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal.  In 2016 she became a member of the Order of Ontario. (2024)

Kathryn Dawn k. d. Lang. 
Born November 2, 1961, Consort, Alberta. This country singer has real country roots. She grew up in Consort, Alberta, which has a population of 700. In 1981 she became a vegetarian. In 1985 she won her 1st Juno as Most Promising Female Vocalist of the year followed in 1987 with a Juno as Country Female Vocalist of the Year. She has been very outspoken against cattlemen. Her natural joy of country music is evident in the songs she sings. In June 1992 she 'came out' as a lesbian. In 1995 she was awarded the International Solo Artist Award. This multiple Grammy winner is considered an innovator in her field, she performs from the heart and is an inspiration to all. It is interesting to note that for live performances she prefers to sing bare footed. In 2005 she received the National Art Centre Award and that same year she won her 6th Juno this time for Artist of the year. In 2008 she received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario. In 2011 she was inducted to the Q Hall of Fame Canada in recognition of the work she has done to further equality for all peoples around the world. In 2014 she made her Broadway debut as a 'Special Guest Star' in After Midnight. She has also appeared in movies and numerous television programs over the years.

Beverley Mahood. 
Born November 2, 1974, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Beverly began performing in 1980, at the age of six, when her family moved to the Kitchener-Waterloo area of Ontario. The child performer really took to the stage and has loved it ever since. Her song, Girl Out of the Ordinary, was #1 in Country Music by a Country Artist in 1998 Rising Star, Female Vocalist, Group or Duo Single from the Ontario Country Music Association. She had produced several albums, a couple of successful Christmas albums and a partnership with David Foster on the female trio, Lace. She is highly recognized as a song writer have written songs for Celine Dion and others. She has performed for the G8 World Leaders, for the military in Afghanistan, the Royal Family and the G20 Canadian Women of Distinction luncheon. As well as her singing career Beverley has been a celebrity model, appeared in movies, and numerous TV shows including a year with City TV's Breakfast Television. She has been spokesperson for the Pink Mitten Campaign for Cancer Research and in 2016 she celebrated her 20th year with Saskatchewan's CTV Telemiracke and Canada's Food Banks. Her humanitarian efforts have garnered her the 2-14 Sleight Music Humanitarian Award. (2019)

Dorothy Lidstone. 
née Wagar. Born November 2, 1938, Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Dorothy decided to join her husband and try the sport of archery in North Vancouver in 1962. By 1965 she earned the right to  participate in the World Archery. At the 1969 World Archery target event in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, U.S. A. she became the first Canadian to win a world championship in the sport. She earned the gold medal by breaking the existing top score from 1963 by 100 points. She also held the top female Canadian archery title from 1969 through 1971. In 1969 she was the Athelete of the Year for British Columbia. In 1970 she was elected to the Canadian Sport Hall of Fame. In 1972 she was inducted into the Canadian Amateur Athletic Hall of Fame. She was unable to shoot in the 1972 Olympic Games, Munich, Germany due to a conflict with her job at a Bakery. She is also a member of the British Columbia Sport hall of Fame. She retired from the active competition in 1975 to work with her husband in the family archery manufacturing business. The annual Canadian Women's Archery Female Athlete of the Years in names in her honour. While Dorothy may not have exhibited the best textbook style of shooting a bow she had the consistency of form to be an archery champion. Source: Personal knowledge. (2019)

Monica Hughes. 
née Irse. Born November 3, 1925, Liverpool, England. Died March 7, 2003, Edmonton, Alberta. Monica and her family moved often living in Egypt, Scotland, England, and Zimbabwe. Monica attended Edinburgh University in Scotland. Her studies were interrupted by World War ll when she joined the Women's Royal Navy Service from 1943 through 1946 as a decoder. After the war she returned to school. Monica married Glen Hughes on April 22, 1957 and the couple had four children. She worked out of the home as a clothing designer and later as a bank clerk and a laboratory technician. This author of children's and young adults science fiction works, between 1980 and 1984 won seven major Canadian awards for literature! In her lifetime she would publish some 35 books for young people. She is best known for the Isis trilogy of young adult science fiction. Her book, The Keeper of the Isis Light won the 2000 Phoenix Award from the Children's Literature Association and Invitation to the Game in 1990 won the Hal Clement Award as the Year's Best Science Fiction Novel for Young Adults. Her works have also garnered her the Vicky Metcalf Award, the Alberta Culture Juvenile Novel Award, the Bay's Beaver Award, and the Alberta R. Ross Annett Award. In 2002 she became a member of the Order of Canada.

Madeleine Alberta Fritz. 
Born November 3, 1896, St John, New Brunswick. Died August 20, 1990, Toronto, Ontario. Madeleine graduated with her Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. A summer job inspired her to return to university to earn a geology degree from the University of Toronto (UofT) in 1923 earning both a Masters Degree and then her Doctorate (PhD) in 1926. She is the first woman in Canada to receive that level of studies in geology. She pursued a career as a paleontologist, she would rise to associate director of the Royal Ontario Museum of Paleontology. For many years she was a geology professor at the University of Toronto. She was only the second woman in Canada to be elected to the Royal Society of Canada. She has written numerous substantial articles for scholarly journals. In 1967 she received the Canadian Centennial Medal. Her scientific studies of the Toronto Area stand as finite works.

Daphne Katherine 'Kate' Reid.
 Born November 4, 1930, London, England. Died March 27, 1993, Stratford, Ontario. As a child Kate immigrated with her family to Canada settling in Oakville, Ontario. After high school, she attended University in London in England and then studied acting at a performance art school in Canada. This warm and vulnerable performer thrived while working live theatre. She is well known for her role as Lady MacBeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth and Katharina in Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, and Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe on stage. She has also appeared in some 50 movies from the 1960's through the 1980's she appeared in numerous television productions. She was nominated for Tony and Emmy Awards and holds many Canadian awards including an A C T R A. In 1974 she was inducted as an Officer in the Order of Canada.

Jean Blewett. 
née McKishnie. Born November 4, 1862*, Scotia, Lake Erie, Canada West. (now Ontario)  Died August 19, 1934, Chatham, Ontario. After high school she married Bassett Blewett in 1879 the same year she published her 1st novel Out of the Depths. Her poem Spring won her $600.0 from the Chicago Times Herald, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. She contributed articles to theToronto Globe newspaper before joining the staff at that newspaper where she became editor of the Homemaker's Department in 1898.  She went on to publish several volumes of poetry in 1897, 1906 and 1922. Jean retired from journalism and writing in 1925. She wrote a booklet, Heart Stories to benefit World War l charities. She was a welcome lecturer on topics such as temperance and suffrage. Often she would use the name Katherine Kent for her works. She retired from the Globe in 1925 due to ill health and lived with her daughter in Lethbridge, Alberta for a couple of years before relocating back to Toronto in 1927. * Some give date of birth as 1872.

Anna Harriette/Harriet Emma Leonowens.
née Edwards. Born November 6, 1831, Ahmadnagar, India. Died January 19, 1915, Montreal, Quebec. Anna seems to have attempted to alter the facts of her early life. She claimed that she had been born in Caernarvon, Wales, United Kingdom in 1834, the daughter of Captain Thomas Crawford. She also claimed to have married Major Leonowens in 1851. It is believed that she wished to hide her low birth and perhaps her mixed racial origin. She actually married Thomas Leon Owens on Christmas Day 1849 and the couple had four children. Widowed in 1859 and in order to support her family she opened a school for children of British officers in Singapore but the school was not successful. In 1862 she became governess to the 67 children of the King of Siam (now Thailand). By 1868 she was in the United States where she opened a school for kindergarten teachers in New York City. In 1870 she produced a series of articles for the Atlantic Monthly magazine about her life in Siam which soon was published as a book under the title of the English Governess at the Siamese Court. In 1873 she published a second popular novel. In 1878 she moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with her daughter Avis and her son-in-law while still returning to the United Stages as a lecturer. In 1881 she went to Russia after the assassination of Emperor Alexander ll and was proclaimed the first foreign woman to have travelled in that country un escorted. Returning home to Canada Anna turned her attention to her grandchildren but still found time to produce books in 1884 and 1889. She became involved with her home community and raised funds for the Victoria Schools of Art and Design. The modern schools of Nova Scotia College of Art and Design contains the Anna Leonowens Gallery in her memory. She spent five years in Germany with daughter Avis and the grandchildren returning to Halifax in 1893. She played an prominent role in the Halifax Council of Women and participated in the early feminist movement of the city. She and her family relocated to Montreal in 1897 where after the death of her daughter she took care of the family. In 1944 author Margaret Dorothea Landon penned the book Anna and the King of Siam which was picked up by Rogers and Hammerstein for the Broadway play The King and I followed by the movie favourite with the same name.

Susan Nattrass. 
Born November 5, 1950, Medicine Hat, Alberta. Susan was taught to shoot by her father when she was 17 and by 19 she defeated 1300 men at an international shoot in Nevada, U.S.A.! Her mother Marie was her coach. Susan attended the University of Alberta and earned a Bachelors in Physical Education in 1972 followed by a Masters Degree in 1974. She would continue to earn a Doctorate (PhD) in 1987. In the 1976 Olympics in Montreal she was the only woman entered in the trap shooting event. In 1981 she won the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canadian Athlete of the Year and became an Officer of the Order of Canada. In the 1990 Commonwealth Games she became the first woman to be entered in a shotgun event. That same year she received the Great Canadian Award. She has set four world records and has been World Champion on seven occasions. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games she won two silver medals in double trap pairs (where two clay saucers are thrown simultaneously) and women's trap pairs and a bronze medal in women's trap. She has been the Shooting Federation of Canada's Female Athelete of the year eight times from 1993 through 2009. Susan owns and heads the Puget Sound Osteoporosis Center where she studies the effects of aging in bones on active sportswomen over 40 years of age. The 2012 Olympics Games were the 6th Games in which she has competed. She sits on the Board of Directors, Sections Chairs of the Shooting Federation of Canada. She has been  the winner of a Canadian championship for 43 years!  She is a member of the University of Alberta's Wall of Fame,  Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame, Alberta Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. (2024)

Joyce Fairbairn. 
Born November 6, 1939, Lethbridge, Alberta. Died March 29, 2022, Lethbridge, Alberta. Joyce studied for a bachelor degree in Alberta and took her degree in journalism from Carleton University, Ottawa, in 1961. While at Carleton she met Michael 'Mike' Gillian (1938-2002) and the pair became soul mates. The couple had four children. After working as a journalist in the Parliamentary Press Gallery she became Legislative Assistant to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (1919-2000) for 14 years. She also served at various positions in the Liberal Party of Canada. She was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1984. She is very proud to have been inducted into the Kainai Chieftainship of the Blood Nation and given the name of Morning Bird Woman. In 1993 she was appointed to the Privy Council of Canada and was the first woman to be named Leader of the Government in the Senate. She also served as a Cabinet Minister with Special Responsibility for Literacy. Sadly in August 2012 she began indefinite sick leave from the Senate due to the onset of Alzheimer's disease. She officially resigned leaving the Senate January 18, 2013. In 2015 she was inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada.

Bertha Cook. 
née Houle. Born November 6, 1922, Clear Hills, Alberta. Died  October 21, 2014. At 18 this young Métis joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and worked her way to being a corporal. After World War ll in 1945 she was incensed by the fact that she could not have a land grant like the men who had served in the war. Women were not allowed the grants of land. During the war she had met a young Australian serviceman who returned to Australia after the war. Bertha gave birth to a baby girl but was forced to give her up for adoption. It would be 50 years before the two would find one another again. Meanwhile Bertha married George Clark, a farmer, and eventually the couple had six children. In the 1960’s they lost their farm to fire and the family moved to Fort McMurray, Alberta. Bertha worked at various jobs to help keep the family together including being a hairdresser, a receptionist, a school bus driver, and a telephone operator. During this time she was also and active volunteer in the community. She helped establish and aboriginal Friendship Center. In 1968 she founded the Voice of Alberta Native Women’s Society. She became the first president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada. All the time she was working towards making a better existence for aboriginal women. She has received both the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee medal. She has also been inducted into the Order of Canada. Source: Alicja Siekierska ‘Métis activist galvanized by injustice’. The Globe and Mail, January 31, 2015. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon Ottawa, Ontario.

Audrey Marlene McLaughlin. 
née Brown. Born November 7, 1936, Dutton, Ontario. In 1955 Audrey earned a Diploma in Home Science from MacDonald Institute (now part of the University of Guelph) Audrey became the first woman in her family to earn a Bachelor of Aarts graduating from the University of Western Ontario, (now Western University) London, Ontario. She earned her degree by correspondence from a mink farm that she and her husband ran north of London. The couple had two children. Audrey taught at a private college in Ghana, West Africa from 1964 through 1967 returning home to attend graduate studies in Social Work at the University of Toronto UofT). After graduating with her Masters of Arts she worked for the Metropolitan Toronto Children’s Aid Society. Divorced in 1972 Audrey remained in the work force and  by 1975 she was the executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association. Moving to Whitehorse, Yukon, in 1979 she worked as a business consultant and supervisor of social services. She ran and won a federal by-election in 1987 and became the first New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament elected in the Yukon. She was the first woman chair of the Parliamentary caucus of any federal party in Canada in 1988. On December 2, 1989 she was chosen leader of the NDP, becoming the first woman in Canadian history to lead a federal political party. The 1993 federal election saw a reduction of support for the NDP and the following year she stepped down as party leader but remained in parliament to represent the people of the Yukon until 1997. In 1992 she published her autobiography, A woman’s Place. In 1996 she was elected president of Socialist International Women, an organization which promotes activities amongst various women's socialist and labour party organizations. Her efforts toward social justice saw her inducted into the Order of Canada in 2004. Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia Online (accessed 2005); Audrey McLaughlin, Political Heros Online, (accessed  2009)

Roberta Joan 'Joni' Mitchell. (real name  Anderson). 
Born November 7, 1943, Fort Macleod, Alberta. Joni began her singing career in small nightclubs in her hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and then moved east to the busking on the streets of Toronto, Ontario. By 1965 she was living in the U.S.A. and began touring and introducing some of her own songs. Her songs were covered by folk singers and she cut her debut album in 1968. Moving to Southern California her works such as Big Yellow Taxi and Woodstock helped define an era of folk music. Her 1971 album Blue made the list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time produced by Rolling Stone magazine. A pop singer who is famous for her folk songs of the 1960’s with The Circle Game an Both Sides Now. She switched to jazz and in 1969 when her album Clouds won a Grammy Award. She retired from touring and released her 17th album of original songs in 2007. During her career she earned eight competitive and one honorary Grammy Awards, receiving the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. She became a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1981. and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.  In 1996 she was presented with Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, The Governor General's Performing Arts Award. In 2000 Joni received a Star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario. In 2002 she was inducted as a Companion of the Order of Canada. By 2007 she had been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and in June of that year Canada Post featured her on a postage stamp. In 2008 Rolling Stone magazine once again listed her this time as one of the 100 greatest singers. To celebrate Mitchell's 70th birthday, the 2013 Luminato Festival in Toronto held a set of tribute concerts entitled Joni: A Portrait in Song – A Birthday Happening Live at Massey Hall in Toronto, Ontario on June 18 and 19, 2013. In 2015 she was the recipient of the San Francisco Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award and at the same time Rolling Stone listed her as one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of all time!

Ellen June Evangeline Havoc.
née Hovick. Born November 8, 1912*, Vancouver, British Columbia  Died March 28, 2010 Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A. The family relocated to Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. when June was an infant. Her mother wanted stardom for June and her older sister Louise (who would become known professionally as Gypsy Rose Lee (1911-1970) ). June was featured on Vaudeville as Baby June and her Farmboys and the act continued into the 1920's when her name 'Dainty June'. Her mother forged the girl's birth certificates to keep them working as young 'children'. June, who could not speak until she was three, also appeared in some silent movies. June resented Vaudeville and at 13/16 she married Bobbie Reed, real name Weldon Hyde, in 1928. He was one of the boys in the chorus line to escape. The couple had one daughter before the marriage dissolved. June's mother, Rose Thompson Horvick, simply regrouped her energies around her older daughter, Louise. Although her marriage did not last she gathered her talents and enjoyed life. In 1935 she Donald Staley Gibbs and the marriage lasted seven years. In 1936 she had her 1st acting break on Broadway. In the 1940's she moved to Hollywood, California, U.S.A. In 1948 she married for the last time to an American writer, producer, and director for TV and radio, William Hannan Spier (1906-1973), with whom she remained until his death. June would remain on the edge of the industry. She would have two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  and was nominated for her work as a director on Broadway in 1964. June would write two memoirs Early Havoc and More Havoc. In the 1960's through 1990 she appeared in numerous roles in various popular TV shows such as The Outer Limits, Murder She Wrote, and General Hospital. In the 1970's she worked to restored an abandoned train depot in Wilton, Connecticut. The restored area still houses artisan ships, galleries, and food outlets popular with modern tourists. In 2000 she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. In 2003 the June Havoc Theatre in New York City was named in her honour. * her birth date has also been reported as 1913 or 1916

Luba Goy. 
Born November 8, 1945, Haltern, Germany. Luba's family immigrated to Canada in 1951 and settled in Ottawa, Ontario. This petite (she is only 1.5 meters tall) comedienne graduated from Montreal's National Theatre School. She began her acting career on stage at the Stratford Theatre in Ontario. In the 1980's she was featured in an education series of TV shows on computers called Bits and Bites which aired throughout north America on Public Television stations. She went on and worked on such shows as Bizarre and did some of the voices in Care Bear animated features. She became a welcome addition to Air Farce where she is known for her impersonations of Sheila Copps, Pamela Wallin, Hanna Gartner, Queen Elizabeth ll, Kim Campbell, and even Donald Duck. As part of the Air Farce tem she has won 15 ACTRA Awards, a Juno, been included on the Maclean's Honour roll, and was one of the first Canadians inducted into the International Humour Hall of Fame. In 1996 she received the Outstanding Achievement Award from Women in Film and Television. Air Farce won the 1998 the Governor General's Award for Performing Arts. for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. She speaks Ukrainian fluently and has been featured in Ukrainian films.  In May 2012 she debuted he one-person show LUBA, Simply Luba at the Berkeley Street Theatre in Toronto, Ontario.

Leila Marie Dressler. 
née Koeber. Born November 9, 1869(?), Cobourg, Ontario. Died July 28, 1934, Santa Barbara, California, U.S.A. Her father was the Anglican Church organist and at age five she appeared in a church play in Lindsay, Ontario. The family relocated to Bay City, Michigan, U.S.A. in the 1889's. Marie left home when she was just 14 lying about her age, saying she was 18 and changing her name to Dressler she joined the Nevada Stock Company. Three years later she joined Robert Grau opera Company and performed throughout the American Midwest. She worked with various companies gaining in experience and popularity and finally Marie made it to Broadway stage in 1892 and became a vaudeville star comedienne headliner shortly after 1900.She continued to send money to support her parents throughout her early career. In 1899 she married George Hoppert/Hoeppert/Hopper (1862-1929). In 1900 she formed her own theatre troupe but she was soon forced to declare bankruptcy. In the early 1900's she married James Henry Dalton (1871-1921) and the couple relocated to London  England, where Marie was soon performing on stage. Once again her efforts resulted in bankruptcy and she was back in the U.S. working on Broadway and in 1909 she appeared in films. In 1914 she was in the first full-length silent film comedy. During World War l she used her popularity to help sell Victory Bonds. in 1922 she was touring in Europe. Back in the U.S. she made her final Broadway appearance in 1926. She had easily made the move to ‘talkies’ when many top silent film heroines did not survive. More homely than beautiful she was also an over-weight woman. This was an unlikely star material. However, she was talented and she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1930/31. In August 1933 she became the 1st woman to ever appear on the cover of Time magazine. There is some dispute as to her true birth date with various sources using 1868, 1869 and her grave using 1871. Marie's birth home in Cobourg, Ontario is a museum open to the public. Each year, the Marie Dressler Foundation Vintage Film Festival is held, with screenings in Cobourg and in Port Hope, Ontario. In 2008 Canada Post included Maries in a Canada In Hollywood postage stamp series. (2019)

Pierrette Alarie. 
Born November 9, 1921, Montreal, Quebec. Died July 10, 2011, Victoria, British Columbia. A famous soprano singer born in Montreal Pierrette was Winner of the Prix de Musique Calixa-Lavallée among many awards. She married Leopold Simoneau (d 2006) and the couple had two daughters. She was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1967 and became a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1995. She founded with her husband the Canada Opera Piccola in Victoria, British Columbia in 1982. In 1997 she became a Knight of the National Order of Quebec. She not only ang at the famous Metropolitan Opera, New York City, New York U.S.A. but performed at opera houses across North America and Europe..After retiring from singing, Pierrette became active as a teacher, she taught first at the Ecole Vincent d'Indy in Montréal and later at the Banff Centre in Alberta. In 2003 she received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.

Ramona Milano. 
Born November 9, 1969, Nobelton, Ontario. Before entering the Drama program at Humber College in Toronto, she worked on stage at Canada’s Wonderland theme park located just outside of Toronto, Ontario. On June 25, 1994 she married Fabio D'agostino and the couple have one child. She has appeared mainly on television and maybe best known for work  as Francesca on the TV series Due South for which she was nominated twice for Gemini Awards in 1997 and 1998. She has appeared in roles in addition TV series as well as commercials for various Canadian companies. Ramona has co-hosted Living Romance on the W Television network. She has also enjoyed appearing on stage in Sudbury, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario,  and Toronto, Ontario.

Mary Electa Adams. 
Born November 10, 1823, Westbury, Lower Canada (now Quebec). Died November 5, 1898, Toronto, Ontario. When she was two years old the family relocated to Adamsville, Upper Canada (now Acton, Ontario). In 1841 she was studying at the Coburg Ladies' Seminary and after graduation she stayed as a teachers. Mary was an educator, administrator, and a poet. She occupied several positions in various schools. She worked as preceptors at Wesleyan Academy in Mount Allison, Sackville, New Brunswick holding the highest office in a school open to a woman. After the death of her father in the spring of 1856 she returned to Upper Canada to aid in the care of her mother. In 1861 she was the founding principal of the Wesleyan Female College in Hamilton, Ontario. She was an effective and determined advocate of academic education for women she introduced courses in mathematics, the sciences, literature, and moral philosophy for her female students. After visiting Europe in 1868 she opened the Brookhurst Academy for Female Students in Cobourg in 1872. The school would close in 1880 and Mary worked as lady principal of the Ontario Ladies College, Whitby, Ontario, where she retired in 1892. She died while visiting relatives in Toronto. (2019)

Maude Eburne-Riggs.  
Born November 10, 1875, Bronte-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Died October 15, 1960, Hollywood, California, U.S.A. Maude embarked on her acting career after the death of her father in 1901 as he would not have approved of such a profession for his daughter. She began her acting career on stage in Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. and by 1914 she had made her Broadway debut in the play A Pair of Sixes. In 1905 she married Eugene J. Hall and the couple had one daughter. Maude switched to a movie career in 1930 appearing in  the movie The Bat Whispers. She would, in her career, over the next 21 years, appear in more than 100 movies. She retired from acting in 1951. (2019)

Constance Beresford-Howe. 
Born November 10,1922, Montreal, Quebec. Died January 20, 2016, Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk, United Kingdom. A novelist she produced ten lively novels about women at various stages of life who struggled to live freely trying to discover who they really were once they had thrown off restraints of husbands, fathers, and society itself. She had married Christopher Pressnell. The Book of Eve was published in 1973 in several countries was adapted to a stage play which was produced at the Stratford Festival in 1976-77. The main character in the book Eva is one of the best lover characters in Canadian literature. In 2002 a film version of the book altered the main flavour of the book and made Eva of Romanian descent rather then a Czech immigrant. Two additional works, A Population of One and The Marriage Bed were made into films by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (C B C).

Vera Frenkel. 
Born November 10, 1938, Bratazalava, Czechoslovakia. Verna's family first settled in England prior to Vera finding her way to Canada. Vera holds a degree in Fine Arts from McGill University, Montreal. Since the early 1970's she has shown her works in group and solo exhibitions. including exhibitions at the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto, Ontario, the Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, U.S.A., and the Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy. She is recognized internationally for her artistic prints and sculptures. Since 1974 she has experimented with video as an artistic medium writing and producing notable works. She is an innovative teacher and has published her poetry illustrated with her own artwork. In 1989 she received the Canada Council Molson Prize and in 1993 the Gershon Iskowitz Prize. This was followed in 1994 with the Toronto Arts Foundation Visual Arts Award. That same year she co-authored Vera-Frenkel: From the Transit Bar / du transitbar. In 2005 she earned the Governor General's Awards in Visual Media Arts. In 2007 she received the iDMAa Pioneering Achievement Award. (2024)

Violet Clara McNaughton. 
née Jackson. Born November 11, 1879, Borden, United Kingdom. Died February 2, 1968, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Violet was a teacher before immigrating to Saskatchewan in 1909 to join her father and brother. In 1910 she married John McNaughton (1876-1965). Joining the Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association (S G G A) in 1912. The following year she forced the formation of the women’s section of the group where she served as secretary eventually forming the the Women Grain Growers (W W G) where she served as president for the 1st three years. The WWG facilitated the training of midwives, nurses and doctors for rural areas. She also sparked the formation of the Saskatchewan Equal Franchise League in 1915 serving at the 1st president. Saskatchewan would give women the vote in 1916. In 1919 she became president of the Interprovincial Council of Farm Women. A pacifist she wrote for the Saturday Press and Farmer during World War l. In 1919 she was president of the Interprovincial Council of Farm Women. Continuing in journalism  she was the 1st woman editor in the Western Producer and was a founding member the Saskatchewan branch Canadian Women's Press Club. In 1935 she was inducted in the Order of the British Empire. In 1998 the Canadian Historic Sites and Monuments Board declared Violet a Person of National Historic Interest. Source: Canadaian Women Early Writers Online. (2020) +

Alice M. Gerard.  
Born November 11,1907, Waterbury, Connecticut, U.S.A. Died January 1, 1999. Her family was originally from Quebec and when she was just 11 in 1918 her family returned to Canada. Alice studied nursing at the Hôpital St-Vincent de Paul, Sherbrooke graduating in 1931. By 1939 she had earned a diploma in public hygiene at the University of Toronto and went on to earn her baccalaureate in nursing sciences at the University of Washington and obtained her masters in education from Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. in 1944. As a public health nurse she would develop into a leading nursing educator. She was a founder of the faculty of nursing sciences at the University of Montreal in 1962 and served as Dean of the Faculty of Nursing through to 1973. She was the 1st Canadian woman Dean at a French language university. She was the 1st Canadian president of the International Council of Nurses, Geneva, Switzerland 1965-1969. She also served as president of the Canadian Nurses Association. In 1967 she received the Canadian Centennial Medal and the Florence Nightingale Medal from the Red Cross. She served as president of the national Victoria of Nurses 1975-1977.  In 1977 she was inducted as a commander of the Order of St John. In 1980 she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of Saint Lazarus. In 1994 she became a Chevalier of the National Order of Quebec. In 1995 she became an Officer of the Order of Canada.  (2017)

Kathleen Shannon. 
Born November 11,1935, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died January 14, 1998, Kelowna, British Columbia.  Kathleen dropped out of high school in Ottawa and began working Crawley Films cataloguing music. She joined the National Film Board in 1956 as an editor and by 1962 had 115 films to her credit. She became a film editor and executive producer for the National Film Board of Canada using film to examine the role of women in society. In 1970 she directed her 1st film, Goldwood, was a film based on her childhood memories in northern British Columbia. In 1974 she was the founder and 1st executive producer of Studio D of the National Film Board which was the 1st government funded film studio in the world dedicated to women filmmakers. Studio D provided women with employment, training and information needs of Canadian women where they could explore and expand their creativity. The films produced included Academy Award winning documentaries I'll find a Way in 1977 and If You Love This Planet in 1982. Studio D was closed in 1996 with one of the last films produced being Kathleen Shannon: On Film, Feminism, and Other Dreams. The Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival in Saskatchewan presents an annual Kathleen Shannon Award established by the National Film Board. (2019)

Agnes Nanogak-Goose. 
Born November 12, 1925, Baillie Island, Northwest Territories. Died May 5, 2001, Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories. Agnes' family moved a couple of times prior to settling at Holman, Victoria Island in 1934. In 1943 Agnes married Wallace Goose. This Inuit artist is known for her energetic and colourful representations of native myths and legends. Her 1st drawings were completed using graphite pencils but once colourful felt-tip pens became available she preferred to work in colour. She was the 1st Inuit to receive an honorary degree from a university in Canada. You can see her work in the book she illustrated Tales From the Igloo, a book of Inuit stories. Agnes' works have been featured in exhibitions throughout North America and Europe.

Barbara Jean McDougall. 
née Leamen. Born November 12, 1937, Toronto, Ontario. After graduating from the University of Toronto (U of T) with her Bachelor of Arts in 1963 she became an investment manager. She expanded her career to include being a business journalist in print and TV broadcasting. In 1984 her interest in politics led to her being elected to the Federal Parliament. Barbara served as Minister of State for Finance and Minister of State for Privatization, a portfolio which was expanded to include women's issues and regulatory affairs. In 1988 she was appointed Minister of Employment and Immigration and in 1991 she moved to become Minister of Secretary of State for External Affairs. In 1993 she returned to private business. In 1999 she was the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs. In 2000 she was inducted as an Officer in the Order of Canada. (2024)

Tracy Elizabeth Dahl. 
Born November 13, 1961, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Tracy enjoyed music as a child and studied music and theatre at the Banff School of Fine Art. She made her opera debut in 1982 transferred to the school's opera program. She launched her career at the San Francisco Opera in California, U.S.A. She had her European debut in 1987 in France and appeared at the Metropolitan Opera of New York City, U.S.A. in 1991. She has made several recordings. Tracy is married and is the mother of two children. She teaches voice at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg and conducts workshops throughout North America. In 2009 she was the recipient of the Ruby Baton Award by Opera Canada for her outstanding achievements on stage. In 2010 the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra presented her with a Goden Baton Award.  (2019)

Linda Jackson. 
Born November 13, 1958, Nepean, Ontario. Linda has been a member of the Canadian Cycling Team since 1993. In 1994 she won silver medal in the Commonwealth Games road race event. In 1996 she earned a Bronze medal in the World Road Racing Championships. In 1997 she was named the Canadian Female Road Cyclist of the year and Velo News named her the North American Female Cyclist of the Year. She holds six Canadian National Championships, three for road race and three for time trials. In 1998 she placed the in the top ten finalists in all events she entered, including three 1st places. Linda retired from competition in 2000 and although she qualified for the summer Olympic Games she did not compete. She worked as a chief financial officer of a San Francisco internet start-up company . She has served as the Director Sportif of the Team TIBCO elite women's cycling team. She is the owner of the TIBCO Software. (2019)

Marie Louise Monique Mercure. 
née Emond. Born November 14, 1930, Montreal, Quebec. Died May 16, 2020, Montreal, Quebec. This actress who now heads up the National Theatre School has acted the classics but also retained an active interest in new works of our writers and directors .In 1949 Monique married Pierre Mercure and the couple had three children. She has won the Palm d’Or for Best Actress at the world famous European Cannes Film Festival in 1977. In 1983 she won a Genie for Best Supporting Actress in Beyond Forty and she earned a second Genie for her role in Naked Lunch in 1992. Her third Genie was earned in 1999 as Best Supporting Actress in Conquest. She is an Officer in the Order of Canada in 1979 and was promoted to Companion of the Order in 1993. She has received the Governor General's Award for Lifetime Achievement and in 2006 she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. (2024)

Silken Laumann. 
Born November 14,1964, Mississauga, Ontario. By the age of 19 Silken had won a bonze medal in the double rowing event at the Los Angeles Olympic Games 1984..Silken earned her bachelor degree from the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario in 1989.  She would be in the hearts of  many Canadians, when she suffered a severe leg injury in a rowing accident while practicing for the 1992 Olympic Games. With little time remaining until her event, she trained with a special brace on her leg and, with the perseverance of a real winner,  she went on to win the bronze medal in singles rowing in the 1992 Olympic Games, Barcelona, Spain! For her Olympic effort she earned the Harry Jerome Comeback award for 1992. She was Canada's Female Athlete of the Year in 1991 and 1992 and she was also declared Canada's Outstanding Athlete in 1991. In 1993 she married John Wallace. She retired shortly after winning a silver medal in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. In 1993 she received the Canadian Olympic Association Award of Merit.  In 1998 she was inducted into the Canadian Sport Hall of Fame and the following year she was inducted into the Mississauga Hall of Fame, and was awarded the Thomas Keller Medal for her outstanding international achievements. In 2002 she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal. In 2004 she was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. In the mid to late 2000's she was named as one of the Most Influential Women in Sport by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS), the Globe and Mail newspaper, and the Women's Executive Network. In 2015 she received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. Silken was a Member of the International Board of Directors for Right to Play, from 2000 - 2015, an international development agency dedicated to reintroducing play into the lives of children in disadvantaged areas around the world.She works as a promotional speaker to help people overcome obstacles in their lives. (2019)

May Agnes Fleming. 
née Early. Born November 15, 1840, Saint John, New Brunswick. Died March 24, 1880, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. May Agnes was an avid writer even as a school child at the Saint John Convent of the Sacred Heart. While still in school she sold her 1st story to the New York Mercury. She enjoyed writing romance and mystery novels but as was the fashion of the time her novels would appear as serials (chapter by chapter in newspapers) under the pen name of Cousin May Carleton before being published as 21 full books. In 1865 she married an engineer, John W. Fleming and the couple with their four children eventually settled in New York where her 1st novel Ermine had been published in 1863. Her serials were published in New York and London, England! She also used the pen name M. A. Earlie. She often paid tribute to her Canadian heritage by introducing Canadian episodes and characters into her novels. It is not really known exactly how many stories she wrote as some were not written by her but were attributed to her by her publisher after her death because of her popularity.

Helen Mersi Kelesi. 
Born November 15, 1969, Victoria, British Columbia. This tennis player had a form that was so flamboyant on the courts that she was known as "Hurricane Helen". She was chosen as Canada's Female Athlete of the Year in 1990.  She began to suffer from headaches and blackouts and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She survived several operations and returned to her sport as a coach with Tennis Canada.  She is also a Colour News Commentator for many major tennis events. She is a motivational speaker for the Brain Tumor Foundation of Canada.

Rachel Browne. 
née Ray Minkoff. Born November 6, 1934. Died June 9, 2012, Ottawa, Ontario. Rachel loved to dance and to teach dance to others. After high school she trained in New York City, New York, U.S.A. She joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 1957 and retired from ballet in 1961. She was the founder of Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers in 1964. Rachel traveled to New York City annually to study and learn  as a dancer. It became Canada's longest running modern dance company. Rachel was Director until 1983 but remained connected working as a fundraiser and advisor. In 1995 she was awarded the Jean A. Chalmers Award for Creativity in Dance. In 1997 she became a member of the Order of Canada. That same year the venue for the Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers named their venue in her honour the Rachel Browne Theatre. (2019)

Diana Krall.
Born November 16, 1964, Nanaimo, British Columbia. One of the world's greatest jazz performers she began to study piano when she was 4 years old. Performing in a local restaurant at 15, she was soon studying on scholarship in Boston, U.S.A. She continued her studies/career in LA playing with the great jazz performers of the era. Back in Toronto she released her first album in 1993. Her albums released in 1998 and 1999 won Grammy Awards. Her albums have turned double platinum in Canada, platinum in Portugal, New Zealand, and Poland and turned gold in France, Singapore, and England. She has appeared herself or as a musical performer in numerous movies. She has won several of Canada's Juno Awards for her music and in 2000 she received the Order of British Columbia. She married performer Elvis Costello December 6, 2003 and the couple have twin boys. In the spring of 2004 she received her own star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto and the following year she became an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2008 the Nanaimo Harbourfront plaza was renamed Diana Krall Plaza. (2019)

Maria Jelinek. 
née Jelinkova. Born November 17, 1942, Prague, Czech Republic. At he beginning of the Cold War in 1948 the Jelinek family emigrated to Canada. In 1950 the brother and sister pair of Otto (1940-  ) and Maria Jelinek decided to figure skate seriously. By the mid 1950's Maria and Otto were junior Canadian Champions and the following year competing a seniors they placed 2nd. In 1955   they won the Canadian Pairs title and came second at the senior level in 1956-57-58 and 1960. In 1961 and 62 they were Canadian Champions and were silver medalists at the worlds. In 1960 they represented Canada a the Winter Olympic Games, Squaw Valley, California, U.S.A. where thy came in 4th. In 1961 they were the North American Champions and Canadian National Champions. They were scheduled to fly with the American team to the world event in Prague but they missed the flight. Sabena Flight 548 crashed killing the entire U.S. Tam. In 1962 they won the World’s pairs figure skating title in Prague, Czech Republic. They were the 1st pair to perform lifts with several rotations and side by side double jumps. Retiring that year they toured with the famous Ice Capades. In 1962 they were inducted into the Canadian Sport Hall of Fame. In 1994 she were inducted into Skate Canada Hall of Fame. (2024)

Petra Burka. 
Born November 17, 1946, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Petra immigrated to Canada with her family in 1951. When she was about 10 years old she began taking figure skating lessons. At the age of 15, at the 1962 Canadian Championships Petra became the 1st Canadian to complete the triple salchow jump in competition. Participating in the World Championships held in Prague Czechoslovakia that year she would place 4th. After winning the Canadian National Senior Women's title she participated at he the 1964 Olympic Games, Innsbruck, Austria  winning the Bronze Medal in figure skating. 1965 she won the Canadian, North American and World Championships and was voted by the Canadian Press as winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada's Top Female Athlete of the Year and the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's Outstanding Athlete of tf the Year. She became the 1st Canadian skater to perform in the Soviet Union she she did a two-week Tour appearing in Moscow and Kiev. She was the Gold medalist at the 1965 World Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.A. becoming the 1st Canadian woman to win Worlds since Barbara Ann Scott in 1947. At the event, she also became the 1st woman to complete the triple Salchow at a World Figure Skating Championships. In 1965 she was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. Petra toured as a professional with an ice show until 1969.She went on to be a figure skating commentator and a coach. In 1995 she was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. (2024)

Margaret Eleanor Atwood. 
Born November 18, 1939, Ottawa, Ontario. Peggy is a poet, novelist, editor, and critic is one of Canada's major contemporary authors. She did not attend school until she was twelve as the family spent a lot of time travelling from the backwoods of Quebec to Ottawa. She loved to read and devoured books of any kind including comic books. She was writing writing plays and poems from the time she was six years old. Margaret earned her BA from the University of Toronto where she was published in university reviews. She earned her Master's degree from Radcliffe College at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. in 1962.  She has written novels, television scripts, short stories, and children's books, including graphic novels, many of which have won awards locally, nationally, and internationally. Her works have won the Governor General's Award for Literature, the Giller Prize, the Los Angeles Times Prize just to name a few! In 1968 she married James 'Jim' Polk but they divorced in 1973. She later had a relationship with fellow novelist Graeme Gibson and the couple have one daughter. She has been elected to the Royal Society of Canada. She has also edited such monumental tomes as the Oxford Book of Canadian Poetry. She has an active interest in Amnesty International. Recognition of her career have been way to numerous to list in one paragraph. She is a founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Writer's Trust of Canada. Margaret is also an inventor and developer in 2004 of LongPen and associated technologies that facilitate the remote robotic writing of documents. The variety of awards runs from MS Magazine Woman of the Year 1986 to being a Companion in the Order of Canada. She also holds the Order of Ontario. A number of her works have been adapted to film and TV. Check out the online edition for the Canadian Encyclopedia for complete listings of her works and her awards. (2019)

Dorothy Collins. 
née Marjorie Chandler. Born November 18, 1926, Windsor, Ontario. Died July 21, 1994, Watervliet, New York, U.S.A. This singer had the nick name of "Lucky Strike Girl" after the cigarette sponsor of a TV show on which she sang. She appeared on the Canadian television show Your Hit Parade (1950-1957). In 1957 she became a regular on the Steve Allen Show. She also had her own record label in the 1950's. She worked on setting up gags on the show Candid Camera. In 1952 she married musician and band leader, Raymond Scott and the couple toured throughout the U.S. until a divorce happened in 1965. In 1966 she married Ron Holgate and the marriage lasted eleven years. In 1971 she appeared in a Broadway musical and continued her singing by presenting jazz in nightclubs. In 1980 she was forced into retirement by asthma and volunteered with the Muscular Dystrophy Association as vice-president from 1988 until her death. (2019)

Elizabeth Ann/Anne Cleaver. 
née Mrazik. Born November 19,1939, Montreal, Quebec. Died July 27, 1985, Montreal, Quebec. An illustrator and author, Elizabeth was most concerned with myths and legends. She obtained several awards for her works including The Hans Christian Anderson Award in 1972, the Frances Howard-Gibbon Award in 1978, and the International Board on Books for Young People's Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1882. She was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1974. Elizabeth earned her Master's in Fine Art from Concordia University, Montreal in 1980. In 1985 the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award was created. Maybe you have seen her works The Loon’s Necklace or the The Enchanted Caribou which is an Inuit legend illustrated with shadow puppets? The Library and Archives Canada hold the original illustrations for eleven of her 13 books. (2019)

Maureen 'Mimi' Mitchell Donald.  
Born November 19, 1917, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Died September 24, 2012, Vancouver, British Columbia .Mimi became deaf as a toddler and was educated in schools for the deaf in Winnipeg and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 1945 she became the 1st teacher of deaf children at the British Columbia Provincial Jericho Hill School for the Deaf, Vancouver. She remained at the school until her retirement in 1978. She was awarded an honorary doctor of laws in 2000 from the University of British Columbia which considered her the 20th centuries most outstanding teacher of the deaf in Canada. She was the 1st woman president of the Vancouver Association of the Deaf and was on the executive of the Western Canadian Association of the Deaf. She was one of only a few Canadians named to the U.S. National Fraternal Society of the Deaf Hall of Fame. She was involved with the production and publication of the Canadian Dictionary of American Sign Language. She refused to take it for granted that the deaf could not attend university and she encouraged and paved the way for many deaf students. Source: “Lives lived” by Stephen McClure. The Globe and Mail November 15, 2012 ; Obituary, The Vancouver Sun.

Maryon Kantaroff. 
Born November 20, 1933, Toronto, Ontario. Died June 9, 2019, Toronto, Ontario. This sculptor has had showings of her works in Toronto, Los Angeles California, U.S.A., Milan, Italy, and Japan. One of her sculptures was chosen to be installed in the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. She opened and maintained her own foundry for 14 years. Her works have been recognized with awards from the Sculptor's Society of Canada and she was the YMCA Woman of Distinction in 1992. A supporter of the feminist movement she has contributed articles on art and feminists. She was a founding member of the Toronto New Feminists and was a passionate speaker on this subject as well as the subject of art history. While she may have been best known for her rather large cast art works she also had created some limited edition jewelry.

Conni Louise Massing. 
Born November 20,1958, Alberta. Conni studied at Red Deer College, Alberta and earned a Master's in Fine Arts in playwriting from the University of Alberta. This writer has many screenwriting credits with the National Film Board of Canada and CBC TV. She has also written for television, radio and published some short fiction. She has written for the TV program North of 60 and others and has some 20 produced stage works to her credit. In 1994-5 she was the playwright-in-residence at the National Theatre School of Canada. as well as having been Writer-in-residence at Edmonton Public Library, Edmonton's theatre Network and Playwrights Workshop in Montreal. In 2002 2002 she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth ll Jubilee Medal.  In 2009 she produced a commissioned adaptation of W. O. Mitchell's Jake and the Kid which premiered at Theatre Calgary. In 2010 she published her 1st book Roadtripping: On the Move with the Buffalo Gals.

Lucy Christie Harris. 
née Irwin. Born November 21, 1907, Newark, New Jersey U.S.A. Died Jan 5, 2002, Vancouver, British Columbia. Christie grew up in British Columbia. Trained as a teacher, she taught school until her marriage in 1932. When she was 50 years old she began writing children's books. This author soon found her true talent in writing children's' books. Often her stories are told in a Native setting, teaching the need and respect for balance of nature. She has been awarded the Canadian Association of Children's Librarians book of the year award for Raven's Cry in 1966 and Mouse Woman and the Vanished Princesses in 1976. In 1973 she earned the Vicky Metcalf Award. The Trouble with Princesses, published in 1980, won the Canada Council's Children's Literature Prize. In 2002 she was awarded the Mr. Christie's Book Award. There is even a Canadian juvenile literature book award named after her called the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Book Prize. She is a Member of the Order of Canada. (2019)

Marjorie Evalena Bailey. 
Born November 21, 1947, Lockeport, Nova Scotia. A Practical Nurse by profession, Marjorie's avocation was track and field especially track sprinting. She competed internationally for Canada. She participated in the 1974 British Commonwealth Games, New Zealand where she managed to place 4th in the 200 metre race. In 1975 she won a bronze medal for the 100 meter in the Pan Am Games She also won a bronze medal in  the 200 metres in the 4 X 100 Relay with Joanne McTaggart (1954-   ), Joyce Yakubowich (1953-   ), and Patty Loverock (1953-   ). She also represented Canada at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal but did not place on the podium. She now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia and enjoys life with her son, Anthony. Source: Who’s who in Canadian Sports by Bob Ferguson  (2024)

Dormer M. Ellis. 
Born November 22, 1925. She must have been an independent child. As a teen she was the only youth working as a “Sales girl” at her Woolworth’s 5 and 10 cent store. She could do math and calculate the correct change for customers when there were no cash registers! She told her High School Teacher she wanted to learn engineering but the teacher told her to attend university orientation with all the other girls. She studied engineering anyhow earning a PhD!  In 1950 she was a professor of electrical engineering at Ryerson Institute of Technology in Toronto, the 1st (and only women) of her time to hold such a position. She shocked her family when she married in 1952 by retaining her maiden name. She interested women in the Business and Professional Women’s Club of Toronto when she told them that she had worked all during her pregnancy because her students wanted to learn from her. She marked student exam papers in the maternity word after giving birth to her daughter. In 1982 she was the President of the BPW of Toronto herself. In 1983 she was honoured with the Woman of Distinction Award of the Metropolitan Toronto YWCA. In 1984 she became the 1st woman to receive the Ontario Professional Engineers Citizenship Award. And in 1988 she received the Elsie Gregory McGill award from BPW of Canada. In 1991 she was the 1st woman to be awarded the University of Toronto Engineering alumni gold medal. In 1992 she became Professor Emeritus of the University of Toronto. In 2002 she was the only Canadian among pioneers honoured by the International Congress of Women Engineers and Scientists. Source The Toronto Business and Processional Women’s Club. Online (accessed February 2013.) (2024)

Irene Margaret  MacDonald. 
Born November 22, 1933, Hamilton, Ontario. Died June 20, 2002, Delta, British Columbia. Brought up in an orphanage in Hamilton, Ontario she reigned as Canada’s champion diver from 1951-1961. She won medals at the 1954 and 1958 Commonwealth Games and in 1956 she won Canada’s 1st Olympic diving medal, a bronze, at the Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. Irene was Female Athlete of the Year in 1958. She became a dedicated administrative supporter to the Canadian Diving fraternity. She became a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1981 and received the Order of British Columbia in 1991. She won the YWCA Woman of Distinction for sport in 1998. The Irene MacDonald Fund was established for the support of children in diving. (2019)

Bessie Thelma Pullan - Singer. 
née Pullan. Born November 23, 1896? York County, Ontario. Died (????). Bessie graduated from the Ontario Medical College foe Women in 1909. For the next two years she did post graduate studies at the New England Hospital for Women and Children, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. She returned to Toronto where she married on July 11, 1911  Louis Michel Singer (1885-1959) a lawyer and the second Jewish member elected to the Toronto City Council where he served during World War 1. The couple had one son. Bessie is considered the 1st Jewish woman doctor in Canada. Source; Canada From Outlaw to Supreme Court Justice 1738-2005 by Michael Brown  Encyclopedia Jewish Women's Archive (2019)

Patricia Kathleen 'P. K.' Page Irwin. 
Born November 23, 1916, Swanage, Dorset, England. Died January 14, 2010, Victoria, British Columbia. Her family moved to Red Deer, Alberta in 1919. After graduating from high school P. K. went to England for a year. She returned to live in Saint John, New Brunswick. She worked as a shop assistant and several other jobs. In 1941 she relocated to Montreal, Quebec. During World War ll she became associated a group of Montreal poets. He own poems were published in various Canadian magazines and journals. In 1944 some of her writings were included in an anthology, Unit of Five edited by Ronald Hambleton. That same year, using the pen name Judith Cape she published a novel The Sun and The Moon. In 1950 she married William Arthur Irwin a Canadian diplomat. In 1954 her work, The Metal and The Flower garnered the Governor General’s Award for poetry. She lived with her ambassador husband in Australia, Brazil and Mexico where she learned to paint. She would have in her lifetime several one man shows of her art. Some of her paintings are held in Canada’s National Gallery. Her painting are signed P. K. Irwin. In 1977 she was inducted into the Order of Canada and in 1998 she was promoted to the level of Companion of the Order of Canada. In 2003 she was inducted into the Order of British Columbia. In 2004 she was awarded the 1st of the British Columbia’s Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence and that same year she was presented with the Terasen Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2006 she was named a Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada. Coal and Roses, her last collection of poetry was published after her death. The P. K. Page Founders’ Award for Poetry is presented annually in her honor. (2019)

Florence Norma Wyle. 
Born November 24, 1881, Trenton, Illinois, U.S.A.. Died January 14,1968, Newmarket, Ontario. Originally Florence wanted to be a doctor and she entered the University of Illinois in Urbana. She became fascinated with the human anatomy. In 1903 she entered the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Illinois to study clay modeling. Here she studied under Frances Loring (1887-1968). Florence would become partners with Frances Loring setting in 1909 in New York City and in Toronto, Ontario in 1913. In 1920, Loring and Wyle moved into an old abandoned church. This location became their home and their studio. It also became a gathering place for Toronto's artistic community and the headquarters of the Sculptors' Society of Canada (S S C). She was a co-founder member of the Sculptor's Society of Canada in 1928. She was the 1st woman sculptor to become a full member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Her work was often exhibited by the Women's Art Association of Canada. She worked on numerous Canadian War Memorials for WW 1. Much of her work was cast in Bronze, but she also carved stone, marble and wood. In 1953 she was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth ll Coronation Medal. She had a love of nature that was reflected in her two volumes of published poems. In 2000 the Canadian Portrait Academy made Wyle an Honorary Academician naming her one of the Top 100 Artists of the 20th Century. (2019)

Lauren Woolstencroft. 
Born November 24, 1981, Calgary, Alberta. When Lauren was born she was missing her left arm below the elbow and both legs below the knees. This never held her back from participating fully in life. At the age of four she was learning how to ski and by 14
she was a competitive skier. Lauren moved to British Columbia in 1999. In 2002 she earned two gold medals and a bronze medal
at the Winter Paralympic Gamed, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A. In the 2006 Winter Paralympic Games, Turin, Italy she won a gold medal in the Giant Slalom and a silver medal in the Super G events. That same year she was named as Best Female in Paralympic Sports by the International Paralympic Committee. In 2007 she was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame in Toronto. In the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games, Vancouver, British Columbia, she won five gold medals becoming the first Canadian to win three gold medals at the same Winter Paralympic Games. At these Vancouver Games she set a Canadian record for most gold medals at any Winter Paralympics. Lauren retired from competition after 2010 and with over 50 world cup medals, eight world championship titles to go with her Paralympic medals. Lauren hold a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Victoria in British Columbia. In 2011 she became a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. In 2012 she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 2015 she was inducted into the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame. Lauren married Derek Uddenberg and in 2016 they had their first child. In 2018 she joined the C B C covering the Winter Paralympic Games in Korea. Sources: Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. (2019)

Holly Cole.
Born November 25, 1953, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Holly resettled in Toronto, Ontario in order to further a musical career. In 1986 she founded the Holly Cole Trio and in 1989 they released their 1st album. Holly is an acclaimed jazz singer who has produced several music albums that have made her one of the best-selling jazz artists ever to emerge from Canada. In 1995 she left the Holly Cole Trio and followed with two jazz albums solo. She is also very well liked in Japan where she toured in 2012-2013. (2017)

Jillian Hennessy. 
Born November 25, 1969, Edmonton, Alberta. Jillian has an identical twin sister Jacqueline. The girls were partially raised in Kitchener, Ontario by their grandmother. She is multi lingual speaking Italian, French, Spanish, and German. The twin girls played call girls in 1988 film Dead Ringers. but it was Jillian who went on to a full career as an actor in numerous movies. She earned roles in  Robocop and had TV presence on in dramatic roles in Law & Order and Crossing Jordan which ran for 6 seasons. In 1990 she debuted in the Broadway musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. In 2000 she wrote, produced and co-directed the independent film The Acting Class. That same year she married Paolo Mastropietro. The couple has two children. In 2001 she played Jackie Kennedy in the film Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot. June 9, 2007 she received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. She plays guitar and as a singer cut her 1st album in 2003 and she had brought out her second album I DO  in 2011 for which she wrote all the songs. The band Molly cuddle wrote a song, The Ballad of Jill Hennessy. In 2012 she appeared in Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town in which she was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Film. She continues to appear in movies and TV series. (2019)

Eunice Williams. 
Born September 17, 1694, Deerfield, Massachusetts U.S.A. Died November 26, 1785, Kahnawake, Canada. She was also known by the names Marie, Maria, Margueritte, Marguarett, Gannenstenhawt (meaning she who brings in the corn), Ouangote, Aongote (meaning they took her and placed her as a member of the tribe). Eunice was captured by Indians in her home in Deerfield, in the colony of  Massachusetts in 1703 or 1704. She was taken with 100 other prisoners to Canada. Her father spent many years trying to trade or exchange his daughter and bring her home. The tribe she lived with became very fond of the child and she learned their ways. Eventually she married a brave. She would keep in touch with her family and often visited her brothers with her own husband and children. Her children took their mother's name as is the native tradition. One of her grandsons became a chief of Sault-Saint-Louis. Her descendants may be found living in this same area today. 

Emma Robinson. 
Born November 26, 1971, Montreal, Quebec. This athlete is a member of the Canadian Olympic Rowing team. In the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, Emma won a silver medal. She had worked her way to the Olympics with participation and recognition in international regattas, U.S. Championships, World University Games and World Championships. While participating in her beloved sport she also was a Canada Scholar 1990-1994 and the winner of the Petro Canada Olympic Torch Scholarship 1995. She won a bronze medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. (2017)

Sheila Maureen Copps. 
Born November 27, 1952, Hamilton, Ontario. Sheila followed her father Victor Copps, a longtime Mayor of Hamilton, by choosing the profession of politics. Graduating from the University of Western Ontario in London with a degree in French and English she has been a consistent supporter of bilingualism in Canada. She studied for advanced degrees at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and the University of Rouen in France. Her 1st jobs were as a newspaper journalist in Hamilton and Ottawa. In 1981 she was elected to the Ontario Provincial legislature and in 1984 she successfully ran as a member of Parliament (Liberal) for the federal Government. She penned her autobiography entitled Nobody’s Baby in 1986. She was the 1st sitting member of Canadian Parliament to give birth in 1987 and made headlines by bringing her baby to work with her. On November 4, 1993 she became the  1st woman Deputy Prime Minister. In 1996 she changed cabinet positions to Canadian Heritage. Sheila had promised during the election to resign if the Liberals failed to eliminate the controversial Goods and Service Tax (GST) and kept her word resigning in May 1996 when Prime Minister Paul Martin said the tax would remain. She was re-elected on June 17, 1997 and was once again Minister of Canadian Heritage and Deputy Prime Minister. She was defeated in the March 6, 2004 election and on May14, 2004 she retired from elected politics in conflict with leader Paul Martin. After leaving politics her public appearances were on stage in Kingston Ontario in a dinner theatre production of the play, Steel Magnolias. In October 2004 she published her second autobiography Worth Fighting For which caused more controversy with Liberal Leader Paul Martin. She returned to her 1st career writing columns for the National Post and the Toronto Sun which she ceased in December 2007. Sheila also became a broadcaster with a radio talk show and later on a series for History Television. On March 23, 2006 a gala tribute to her was held by the Liberals to help heal the controversial wounds. After losing her run for the president of the Liberal Party of Canada in 2012 Sheila announced her full retirement from politics. She was appointed to the Order of Canada on December 30, 2012. Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia Online ; Order of Canada; +

Nicole Brossard-Soubliére. 
née Matte. Born November 27, 1943, Montreal, Quebec. Nicole graduated with her Bachelor degree from the Université de Montréal in 1960. In 1965 she published her 1st book, Aube a La Saison and founded the literary magazine La Barre du jour. In 1966 she married Robert Soubliére. She concentrated on organizing the jazz and poetry reading for the Youth Pavilion at Expo '67. She obtained her Masters' degree in 1972. She became a mother in 1975 and that same year she won the Governor General's Award for poetry. She would win again in 1984. She was a visiting professor at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario 1982-1984 and Princeton University in U.S.A. in 1991. She served as Vice President of the Quebec Writer's Union from 1983-1985. After founding the feminist editorial collective Les Tetes de Pioche and touring Europe she founded her own publishing house. (2024)

Kathleen Heddle.
Born November 27, 1965, Trail, British Columbia. Died January 11, 2021, Vancouver, British Columbia. Kathleen grew up in Vancouver and while attending the University of British Columbia she took an interest in volleyball. She was disappointed when she was told she was not varsity volleyball material. Her mood was soon lifted as she was 'discovered' by the coach of the university rowing team. She won her first gold medal in 1987 at the Pan American Games. In the 1990's she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
psychology but remained active in the sport of rowing. In 1990 she was partnered with Marnie McBean and the two women would
partner into Canadian sport history. In 1991 Kathleen was a member of the eights rowing team and pairs team winning Canada's first world championships. This world title was won again in 1994 and 1995. In the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, Barcelona, Spain, the rowing partners won a gold medal in coxless pairs and a second gold medal in the rowing eight member team even. Returning to North American the two women participated in the Atlantic City Summer Olympic Games in 1996 and took first place on the podium for women's double sculls even and a bronze medal in the quadruple sculls for women. in 1997 Kathleen was the British Columbia Athlete of the Year and she was inducted into the Order of British Columbia as well as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. She and Marnie McBean were presented with the Thomas Keller Medal by the F I S A, th International Rowing Federation. In
2002 she was inducted into the University of British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame and the following year into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame. (2021)

Eleanor Ann Saddlemyer. 
Born November 28, 1932, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Ann earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Saskatchewan, her Masters from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, and her Doctorate (PhD) from the University of London, United Kingdom. This educator and author is a professor at Massey College and the Graduate Centre for Study of Drama and Victoria College at the University of Toronto. In 1976 she was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 1986 she earned the Rose Mary Crawshay Award from the British Academy and the following year she became a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 1989 the Association for Canadian Theatre Research created the Ann Saddlemyer Award. Among the many distinguished recognitions she was presented with were the 1994 YWCA Toronto Woman of the Year Award and the Order of Canada. Her more than one dozen published books have been related to drama and English literature. She is considered a pioneer in the field of Irish studies having published scholarly research in numerous publications. She has been a welcome lecturer not only in North America but also in Japan, China, Ireland, and Australia. She is also an accomplished editor and member of several editorial boards such as Theatre History in Canada/ Histoire du Théâtre au Canada of which she is a founding president. (2024)

Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova. 
Born November 28, 1909, Prague, Czechoslovakia Died July 1990, Ottawa, Ontario. She studied journalism and politicall sciences in Europe and earned her PhD from Prague University. She wrote article for European newspapers which were unfavourable to the Nazi government and was force to flee. She also changed her birth sir-name, Hitschmann, to make it sound less German.  It was however her 1st hand view of the horrors of life in war torn Europe that would affect the rest of her life. She eventually emigrated to Canada and in June 1945 was founder and a tireless worker of the U S C (Unitarian Service Commission), an international development organization with the original goal of sending supplies to war-torn Europe for relief.  Internationally she was recognized for her works with humanitarian awards from France, Korea, Greece, India and her adopted Canadian homeland with the Order of Canada. People who are presented with awards often wear a small coloured ribbon signifying their award. Dr Hitschmanova had five rows of ribbons to wear!!!! Her trademark attire was that of an army nurse. She travelled annually to poverty stricken parts of the world to uncover areas in need of Canadian assistance to fight poverty and disease. Her uniform is now preserved at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Image © Famous Canadian Women

Marcelle Françoise Maximilienne Nicole Germain. 
née Marcelle Landreau. Born November 29, 1917, Montreal, Quebec. Died February 11, 1994, Montreal, Quebec. Nicole began her acting career in 1939 on radio and was voted the French Canadian Miss Radio in 1946. She enjoyed a successful career in French language films in the 1940’0 and 1950’s. By the mid 1950’s she was a television journalist and moderator. She was co-chairman of the 1960 Christmas Gift Campaign for the Quebec Division of the Canadian Mental Health Association which raised gifts for Quebec's hospitalized mentally ill. For her efforts to promote the French Language she was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 1974. (2024)

Marie Laberge.
Born November 29, 1950, Quebec City, Quebec. Marie studied journalism at Laval University in Quebec City but changed her studies to join the Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Quebec. she began her career as a comedy actress before trying her hand at being a playwright, director, and novelist.1977-1980 she was an administrator for the Theatre du Trident in Quebec City and as served at this time as an administrator for the Centre d'essai des auteurs dramatiques and from 1987-1989 she served as president of the organization. In the 1960 she polished several collections of poetry. She received the Governor General's Award for French language drama in 1981 for her play C'etait avant la guerre a L'Ance. In 2002 she was named a Chevalier in the French Order of La Pleiades and in 2004 she became a Chevalier in the National Order of Quebec and an Officer in the French Ordre des arts et des lettres. Many of her works have done well  translated into English and her work has often been popular in France. She has also written song lyrics for such notable singers as Celine Dion.

Lucy Maud Montgomery - MacDonald. 
Born November 30, 1874 Clifton, Prince Edward Island. Died April 24, 1942 Toronto, Ontario. It is no surprise to know that she was born in Prince Edward Island.  She would use the stories and lessons of growing up in her world famous novels about a young orphan named Anne. The book, Anne of Green Gables, was 1st published in June 1908 and by November 1909 the book had already been through six printings!  The book is still enormously popular today. Later there were also Emily and Jane, new characters L. M. Montgomery would share share with the world. There have been movies, TV shows, and a stage musical all produced based on the book. Actually Lucy Maude went on to publish 20 novels, over 500 short stories, 500 poems, and 30 essays. Her works made Prince Edward Island a literary landmark destined to become a popular tourist site. In 1911 Lucy married a Presbyterian minister Ewen/Ewan Macdonald (1870-1943) and the couple moved to Ontario. Their home in Leaskdale in now a Museum. The couple would have three sons two of whom would live to adulthood. She was a staunch supporter of the home war effort during World War 1 (1914-1918) and lent her celebrity to recruiting Canadian soldiers. Her diaries showed that she felt tortured by the war itself. Both Ewen and Lucy would suffer from severe bouts of depression during their lives. She continued to write until 1940 when her last book, The Blythes Are Quoted was delivered to the publisher on the day she died. Her writing was a saving grace for Lucy. She was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1935. In 1943 she was designated a Person of National Historic Significance.  Her diaries and papers are held in the Archives of the University of Guelph. In 1975 the Canadian Post Office issued a stamp honouring Anne of Green Gables and in 2008 a stamp was issued making the centennial of the publication. On November 30, 2015 Google honoured Lucy Maud Montgomery with a Google Doodle that was published in 12 countries.  Have you ever read "Anne of Green Gables?"  In which of the 14 languages the book is translated did you read the book?     Image c Canada Post. Used with permission                                          

Ann Mortifee. 
Born November 30, 1947, Durban, South Africa. In the late 1950's the family immigrated to Canada and settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. While in school she entered and won talent shows. At summer camp she was asked to replace a sick performer  and she knew what she she wanted as a career. She has written an impressive list of songs and two musicals. She was married to Jazz flutist Paul Horn (1930-2014).  In 1975 Ann produced her 1st solo album Baptism. In 1980 she received the Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival Grand Prix Award for her TV Ontario Special, Journey to Kairos, a one woman show. In 1981 she earned the West Coast Music Award as Best Female Vocalist and followed this up in 1982 with nominations for the Genie Awards and the Juno Awards. In 1991 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada and the following year she was inducted into the British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame. In 1994 she was a featured soloist at the Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony, Victoria, British Columbia. In 2002 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Golden Jubilee Medal. In 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to Canada.  Ann has co-authored two books In Love With the Mystery and The Awakened Heart. (2024)