Jessie Mary Forshaw-Byron.
née Fraser. Born October 1, 1892, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died January 28, 1958, New Albany, Ohio, U.S.A. Jess took her step-father's name Forshaw, as an infant. Jessie graduated from the St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing 1915. The following spring she was working at the St. Ann's Hospital, Juneau, Alaska. In 1918 she was working with the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N) and was the first V O N to establish a health centre in Saanich, British Columbia under the provincial Public Health Department. She travelled throughout the eastern part of the province visiting Women's Institute groups espousing the virtues of public health facilities. In 1922 she was in Quebec teaching Public Health Nursing at MacDonald College, part of McGill University, at the agricultural extension on Montreal Island. She went on a four month extended tour inspecting and surveying in Eastern Quebec, the Maritimes, and touched some parts of Northern Ontario. She relocated to New York State in the U.S.A. for post graduate studies in mental hygiene and by 1930 she was in Queens, New York working to employ nurses. She was also very active in community life. In 1934 she married Richard M. Bryon and by 1948 the couple had settled in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. (2021)

Angèle Arsenault.  
Born October 1, 1943, Abrams, Prince Edward Island. Died February 25, 2014, Saint-Sauveur, Quebec. When she was 14 she won a television singing contest in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. While studying at the University of Moncton in New Brunswick she  made her professional debut first in Moncton and then Quebec City. She graduated with her Master's degree from Université Laval in 1968. She performed on radio, television, and toured Canada. With a sincere love of Acadian folk music as incentive she wrote and sung her own songs in both of Canada’s official languages. She hosted the TVOntario show True North from 1973-1974. Her educational program won a Gold Hugo Award at the Chicago Film Festival in 1974. Her 1st album Première appeared in 1975. The following year she had her only English album. She earned a Felix-Award in 1979 when he album, Libre, sold more than 200,000 copies. She is perhaps best known for her Acadian Anthem Grand-Pre. She used her music to express her own special brand of humor. She hosted the TV series Angèle in 1980 for Radio-Canada Atlantique, as well as Radiomutuel’s Le Radio-café Provigo from1986 to 88, Radio-Canada’s Mes noëls en Acadie in1988 and Radio-Canada Moncton’s Morning Show in1989. She was also a correspondent in Charlottetown for Telefilm Canada's PassepArt.  After a brief break she returned to the stage in 1988 and performed in France in 1990. She was an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Member of the Order of Prince Edward Island. She also received the Order de la Pléiade from the Association of French Speaking Parliamentarians for promotion of the French language and culture. (2019)

Gladys Marie Marguerite Arnold. 
Born October 2, 1905 Macoun, Saskatchewan. Died  September 29, 2002 Saskatchewan. After high school she began teaching but by 1930 she found herself working as a secretary at the Regina Leader-Post. Journalism was to be her career. In 1935 she took a grain ship to France and was on tour in France when World War ll broke out. Her happenstance allowed her, as the only Canadian journalist on site, to post articles for the Canadian Press. Between 1936 and 1941 when she was forced to flee Germany,  she became officially named Paris correspondent reporting first hand on the European conflict. After she fled Europe she dedicated herself to the plight of France. She co-founded the Free the French Association in Canada and travelled throughout North America with her compassionate plea. In 1941, France asked her to return to report on post war life. Her work in France garnered her the order of Chevalier de a Légion d’Honeur, the highest distinction given by the grateful nation of France. In her 80’s her reports from France became the base for her  book: One Woman’s War. Returning to Canada after the war she was head of the Information Service of the French Embassy until her retirement in 1971. She would become the subject of a History Television documentary called Eyewitness to War. In 1948 and 1949 she was elected as president of the Canadian Women’s Press Club. With her adventuresome spirit she never stopped looking for a good story. During her lifetime she visited and reported from 60 difference countries. She also  established an additional legacy of perpetual scholarships in French Language and Journalism at the University of Regina. Sources: Biographical Sketches of Nine members of the Canadian Women’s Press Club. Media Club of Ottawa, 2011 page 6. ; Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan online accessed July 2011. ; Gladys Arnold Eulogy October 2002. Online accessed July 31, 2011.

Margaret Jane 'Nellie' Bryant.  
Born October 2, 1864 (1865?), Iroquois, Canada West (now Ontario). Died July 14, 1947, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Although she intended to be a school teacher when a  photographer saw some sketches he offered to teach her photograph retouching methods. This led to a life-long career as a photographer. She started doing tintype and daguerreotype photographs in Ontario at Morrisburg, Augustburg, and the Thousand Islands. After working at a studio in the Thousand Islands for seven years, she started her own studio at Iroquois, later moving to Brockville, Ontario. In 1901, following her marriage, she moved to Winnipeg with her salesman husband, Harry H. Bryant, and opened a studio on Fort Street. She is possibly the 1st photographer to use dry plates in a camera. Sources: “Mrs. H. H. Bryant dies, aged 82”, Winnipeg Free Press, 16 July 1947, page 7. Memorable Manitobans. Profile by Gordon Goldsborough. Online (Accessed December 2011).

Ashevak Kenojuak.  
Born October 3, 1927, Ikerrasak Camp, Baffin Island, Northwest Territories.  Died January 8, 2013, Cape Dorset, Northwest Territories. Kenojuak was born in an igloo to a traditional life of her peoples. Her grandmother taught her traditional crafts and she could repair sealskins for trade with the Hudson's Bay Company. At 19 she married Johnniebo Ashevak (1923-1972) in an arranged marriage. In 1950 she tested positive with tuberculosis and was sent to hospital in Quebec City for 3 years leaving her baby to be adopted by a neighbouring family. While away from her home she learned to make dolls and do beadwork crafts. In 1960 the family moved to Kinngait (Cape Dorset).  Several of her children died from disease including three daughters, and four sons. Kenojuak became on of the 1st Inuit woman in Cape Dorset to begin drawing. She also created many carvings from soapstone. In 1963 she was the subject of a documentary film from the National Film Board. The money earned from the film allowed the family to purchase a canoe to help Johnniebo provide for his family by hunting. In 1967 she was inducted as a Member into the Order of Canada and in 1982 was promoted to Companion. After her husband's death she married Etyguyakuua Pee (d 1977) and in 1978 she married Joanassie Igiu.  She is best known for the prints made of her work.   She preferred birds as subjects of her works. She designed several drawings for Canadian stamps and coins and in 2004 she created the 1st Inuit-designed stained glass window for the John Bell Chapel at Appleby College, Oakville, Ontario. In 2001 she became the 1st Inuit to have a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto.  She was a fellow of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. In 2008 she received the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts from the Canada Council of the Arts. In 2017 the $10.00 bank note in honour of Canada's 150th celebration featured Kenojuak's work, Owl's Bouquet. [2017]

Neve Adrienne Campbell.  
Born October 3, 1973, Guelph, Ontario. Acting seems to be in the family blood as Neve's grandparents ran and performed in a theatre company in the Netherlands and her father was a high school drama teacher. At six she began taking ballet and later performed  with the National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto. She changed to acting when she was 15 and performed on stage while she was still in high school. In 1991 she appeared in a commercial for Coca-Cola. On television she had roles with The Kids In The Hall, Are you Afraid of the Dark?, and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.  By 1994 she was in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. making a name for herself in acting on television with Party of Five which ran from 1994 to 2000. After the sixth season she wanted the freedom from the TV show to pursue work in movies. Her talents have seen that she has had success appearing in over 30 movies. She earned the Saturn Award for Best Actress in the 1996 film Scream. In 1995 she married Jeff Colt but the marriage ended in 1998. In Scream 2 in 1997 she the MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance. In 1998 she was listed as on of 50 Most Beautiful People by People magazine, as 100 Sexiest Movie Stare by Empire magazine, and was included as one of FHM's sexiest women in the world. She has even played a real princess, Elizabeth Windsor in Churchill: the Hollywood years in 2004. In 2006 she work on stage at the Old Vic Theatre.  She has also written scripts for movies and is a known producer of movies. In 2007 she married Jeff Light but this marriage also ended in divorce in 2011. In 2009 Neve returned to television staring on NBC's drama series The Philanthropist. She has also been guest star in numerous TV shows. Since 2012 she has been partners with J.J. Field and the couple have one and have adopted a second son. Hers is a career to watch. (2019)  

Ellen Mary Knox.
Born October 4, 1858, Waddon, England. Died January 24,1924, Toronto, Ontario.  A well established teacher in the United Kingdom Ellen came to Canada in 1894 to be the first principal of the newly established Havergal Ladies College, a private Anglican girl's school in Toronto. This administrator, who laid the foundation for one of the most prestigious ladies colleges in Canada, remained at her position until her death in 1924. She wrote text books and educational works including, Bible Lessons for Schools. (three volumes) (London 1907-1908) and The Girl of the New Day (Toronto, 1919) about the role of young women in Canada after World War 1 (1914-1918). (2021)

Madeline Hombert. 
née Borody. Born October 4, 1950, Shoal Lake, Manitoba. Madeline attended school in Rivers, Manitoba before heading off to Ryerson University in Toronto. Her education  also included  hands on training through cable television, commercial video, television and film productions.  She has worked in most areas of film and television productions, from setting up equipment through budgeting and production management to songwriting. Through this experience she had gained insight to cost control and financial accountability while still appreciating the artistic demands of production. In 1989 she received a CTV Fellowship Award. She has always taken an active interest in her community and expressed herself in politics by running as a federal Liberal Candidate in 1979 and 1980 in Calgary.  Her work in her community, her volunteer efforts, and her political involvement earned her the nomination as a Woman of Distinction in Calgary 1981. She continues her volunteering with such organizations as the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Variety Club and the Canadian Fund for the Support, and Assistance of Lung Transportations.

Marie-Claire Blais. 
Born October 5, 1939, Quebec City, Quebec. Died November 30, 2021, Key West, Florida, U.S.A. Marie-Claire attended Laval University, in Quebec, were friends encouraged her to become a writer. At 20 in 1959 she published her first novel Labelle Bete, in English translation, The Mad Shadow. Since then there have been some 20 novels, several plays, as well as published collections of poetry. In 1963 she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. where she met her life partner, artist Mary Meigs. The couple lived in France for awhile before settling in Montreal, Quebec. Her books have been translated into English, Italian, and even Chinese. Her works have garnered her a multitude of awards from both Canada and abroad. In 1965 there was the Prix France, Canada followed in 1968 with the 1st of several Governor’s General Awards (1979, 1996, 2001, 2005, and 2008). There is also the W. O. Mitchell Award in 2000, the Prix Prince Pierre de Monaco, and in 2006 the Matt Cohen Prize. In 1972 she was inducted in to the Order of Canada and she also has been inducted into the Ordre National du Quebec. From France, she became a Chevalier in the Ordre of Lettres. In 1995/96 she was the International Woman of the Year awarded by the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia

Tina Poitras.  
Born October 5, 1970, Thompson, Manitoba. Tina grew up in Hull, Quebec across the river from Canada's capital, Ottawa.  This athlete was a race walker who specializes in the 10 km walk. Tina was  ranked #1 in this event in Canada winning the Canadian championship six times.  In 1988 she participated in the World Junior Championship in this event. She participated, for Canada, in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain and earned the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award in recognition of her community service while maintaining a high academic standing in her studies at McGill University, Montreal. In the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. she represented Canada once again. It was in 1996 that she co-founded Magma Photos which became a leader in image distribution in Canada. In 2008 the company was sold to Corbis Images, a Bill Gates Owned company, and Tina leads the Canadian chapter of the new company. In 2008 she creates Namasté Leadership Inc. bilingually helping executives, managers, entrepreneurs, and professionals achieve balance high performance with the up most self respect. In 2015 she served four years as vice President of the Board of Directors of Athletics Federation of Quebec.(2019)

Eulalie Durocher (Mother Marie-Rose).  
Born 1811. Died October 6, 1849.  She was one of 8 surviving children in her family. When she originally decided to follow a religious life she was turned down as a novitiate because of her frail health. After the death of her mother she tended house and was a parish worker for her brother who was a priest.. She became aware of the great need for education of young girls. She and her friends, Mélodie Dufresne and Henriette Cére decided to set up a Canadian convent. She became Mother Marie-Rose, the 1st Superior of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary of Canada setting up operations originally in Longueil. Today the order serves North and South America, and in Africa.  On May 23, 1982 Pope John Pall ll proclaimed Marie-Rose Durocher “Blessed”, one of the first steps in the process of being declared a Saint. Source: D C B. Image Used with permission of artist
Joan Brand-Landkamer.  

Juliette Kang.  
Born September 6, 1975, Edmonton, Alberta.  Juliette began studying the violin at the age of four! As a child prodigy she was a student of James Keene, a concertmaster of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and she made her concert debut in Montreal at the age of seven! At age nine, she was accepted as a violin student on scholarship at the Curtis Institute and became a student of Jascha Brodsky. By age 11, Juliette had garnered international attention, winning top prizes at the 1986 Beijing International Youth Violin Competition in China. In 1989, at age 13, Kang became the youngest artist to win the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York City, U.S.A. She attended university and graduated with a masters' degree from the famous Julliard School of Music in 1993. She was a winner of the 1989 Young Concert Artists Auditions, and she subsequently received 1st prize at the Menuhin Violin Competition of Paris in 1992. She has played with the most prestigious orchestras of Europe and North America.  A CD was made of her Carnegie Hall recital in 1996. She joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra and then moved to the Philadelphia Orchestra where she as served as assistant concertmaster from 2003-2005 after which she held the position of 1st associate concertmaster. She lives in Center City with her husband and two daughters.  Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia. Online (accessed 2005): The Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. Online (accessed 2005)

Daisy Juror.
née Knezovich. Born October 7, 1920, Regina Saskatchewan. Died April 29, 2012, Regina Saskatchewan. As a child she loved and excelled in sports. In 1935 she played fast ball with the Regina Caps. The team sown the Western Canada Championships in 1945 with her as all-star left field and power hitter. In order to live one had to have a paying job so she worked as a packer at the Burns Meat Company. In 1942 she married Dave Juror, foreman of the meat plant. In 1943, with men becoming involved in the impending war a four-team league of women’s baseball was formed to keep the fans interest. She refused their first offer but her sister Ruby signed on. When the league was revived and expanded in 1946 Daisy join in on the fun. This was the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), brought to modern attention through the movie a League of their own. Daisy was interviewed for the movie. She had played for the South Bend Indiana Blue Sox, the Springfield Sallies and the Fort Wayne Daisies. The teams played seven nights a week and double headers on Sundays and Holidays! Daisy returned home in 1949 and enjoyed the bowling where by the late 1950’s she was a team member of the Ladies Western Canadian Championships. She also enjoyed golf  and in 1967 was the Regina City Ladies Golf Champion. In the 1970’s she was Senior Ladies Golf Champion and a member of the five teams playing in the Canadian Championships. She has been inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Sports Hall of Fame, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and as part of the AAGPBL the Baseball Sports Hall of Fame , Cooperstown, New York, U.S.A. Source: “Pro Baseball player in league of her own, went on to excel in bowling, golf” by Chris Ewing-Weisz. The Globe and Mail May 19, 2012. (2020)

Judy Ellis Sams. 
Born Ontario 7, 1947, Toronto, Ontario. Judy graduated from Ohio State University, U.S.A. in 1980 with a degree in education. While studying at Ohio State University she played collegiate golf for four years winning the Midwest Region Championship in 1979, her junior year. She was Ontario Amateur Champion and Canadian Amateur Golfer-of-the-Year in 1980. She turned professional joining the Ladies Professional Golf League. In 1983 she lost a game in a sudden death playoff at the Rail Charity Classic event. In 1986 she recorded four top 30 finishes including a tie for 11 at the MasterCard International Pro -Am event.  She married William Ralph Sams and the couple have one daughter. (2018)

Elizabeth Wyn Wood.  
Born October 8, 1903 Orillia, Ontario.  Died January 27, 1966 Toronto, Ontario.  Elizabeth graduated from the Ontario College of Art in 1925. As a sculptor she became involved with the Federation of Canadian Artists and the Canadian Arts Council. She worked in “modern” materials like tin for her sculptures. in 1944 she was the founding secretary of the Canadian Arts Council and from 1945 through 1948 she served as chair of the International Relations Committee  Her large pieces may be seen in a parks in Welland in the Welland-Crowland War Memorial dedicated in 1939. In 1962 she created bas-relief sculptures at Ryerson University in Toronto. In Niagara Falls  a monument of King George VI was unveiled in 1963. In 1966 she was inducted into the Orillia Hall of Fame. (2019)

Mary Lile Benham.
Born October 8, 1914, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died January 26, 1991, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Mary started writing for the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper during World War ll penning a column entitled “What Can I Do?”.  After her retirement from the newspaper, she wrote a number of biographies of famous Canadians for schoolchildren, as well as local history, including a history of St. George’s Church in the Winnipeg neighborhood of Crescentwood. She won the 1984 YWCA Woman of the Year award. Her papers are held in the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections. Sources: Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 29 January 1991, page 32. Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J. M. Bumsted University of Manitoba Press, 1999

Mary Ann Shadd - Cary. 
née Shadd Born October 9, 1823 Wilmington, Delaware U.S.A.  Died June 5, 1893 Washington D.C. U.S.A.. Born a free black, Mary Ann Shadd Cary was the granddaughter of a Hessian soldier with the British army who came to America during the French and Indian War in the mid 1700's. growing up her family home was used as refuge for runaway slaves. After the U.S. passed the fugitive Slave Act in 1850 the family relocated to Canada and settled in south western Ontario. Mary Ann worked with Black refugees in Windsor, one of the Canadian ends of the famous Underground Railway for slaves escaping for the United States. She opened a racially integrated school in the Windsor, Ontario area and served as a teacher. In 1853 she became the 1st Black woman in North America to become publisher of a newspaper when she established the Provincial Freeman, a weekly paper designed to cover the lives of Canadian Blacks and promote the cause of Black refugees to Canada. although it was published in Canada the newspaper was also circulated in major northern cities in the U.S.A. In 1855 she attempted to participate in the Philadelphia, U.S.A. Colored Convention but the assembly debated whether to even let her sit as a delegate. The following year she married Thomas F. Cary, a barber from Toronto, who also worked on the Provincial Freeman. The couple would have two children. In 1880 she was writing for the National Era and the People's Advocate newspapers and was organizing the Colored Women's Progressive Franchise.  In 1883 at 60 she became one of the 1st Black female lawyers in the United States. She joined the national women's suffrage association and became the 1st African American to vote in national election. In 1976 the house she lived in from 1881-1885 in Washington D.C. was declared a National Historic Landmark in the United States. She was inducted into the U.S. National Women's Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2018 Canada designated her a person of national historic significance.(2019)

Aimee Semple McPherson.  
née Kennedy. Born October 9, 1890 Ingersoll, Ontario. Died September 27, 1944 Oakland California, U.S.A. Her mother volunteered with the Salvation Army and Aimee would gather a congregation of her dolls to give a sermon. As a teen she wrote to the Canadian newspaper, Family Herald and Weekly Star, questioning why taxpayer-funded public schools had courses, such as evolution, which undermined Christianity.  In 1907 she met  Robert Semple and  converted to being a Pentecostal and began a life long crusade against the concept of evolution. They Married April 12, 1908 and soon moved to Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. where joining the Full Gospel Assembly and Aimee soon learned of her ability to preach. She was an evangelist. The couple both contracted malaria in China while on tour and Robert died in Hong Kong shortly after the birth of their daughter. On the ship sailing back to America Aimee held Sunday School classed and held services with almost all passengers attending. Back home she worked once again with the Salvation Army. While in New York City she met Harold Stewart McPherson and they married May 5, 1912 settling in Providence, Rhode Island,  U.S.A. The couple had one son. She felt she had the calling to preach and in 1915 she took the children and left her husband. She invited him a few months later to join her in her evangelism. After several successful revival tent tours in 1917 she started her own magazine Bridal Call,  boosting Pentecostalism into an ongoing American Religious presence. The following year her faith healings became part of the attraction to crowds attending her events. Moving to Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. her followers built her family a home. Crowds soared in numbers to over 500,000 people by 1921. She opened, in the U.S.A., the Angelus Temple of the Four Square Gospel for 1.25 million dollars! That was a lot of money in 1918! In her day, she was the most publicized revivalist in the world. She was a pioneer in the use of modern media using weekly radio to present her faith leading to form one of the 1st megachurches in North America. In 1926 her reported kidnapping and escape caused a frenzy in the national media. She wrote several books about her teachings and her faith and in 1927 she published, In the Service of the King: The Story of My Life. During World War ll the Temple became a visible symbol of home front sacrifice for the war effort. with the building used as an air raid shelter. On September 26, 1944 her son found her in her hotel room unconscious. There were pills and a bottle of capsules half empty nearby. The verdict was accidental overdose. Her son, Rolf McPerson, would  lead Foursquare Gospel Church for the next 44 years.  In 2012 a Broadway musical was produced called; Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee McPherson is one of numerous plays, many of which were loosely based on her life, which have been written over the years. (2019)

Alice Star Tilly. 
Born October 10, 1843 St Stephen, New Brunswick. Died May 1921. On October 22 1867 she married widower Samuel Leonard Tilley (1820-1896) a brewer and a politician. She became stepmother to eight children and the couple would have two more children. She was a founding member of the National Council of Women and served as the President of the St John Local Council of Women. Both husband and wife were activists in the temperance movement. Alice was a founder of the Victoria College Hospital, Fredericton, New Brunswick and aided in founding the Industrial Schools for Boys, the Nurse’s Home, and The Seamen’s Mission and the Home for Consumptives. She was 1st Lady of New Brunswick when her husband served as Lieutenant Governor from 1873-1878 and again in 1885. Since Leonard Tilly is a Father of Confederation, Alice could be considered one of the Mothers of Confederation. Source: Henry James Morgan, Types of Canadian Women and Women Who are or Have Been Connected With Canada (Toronto, 1903)

Isabel Grace McLaughlin.  
Born October 10, 1903, Oshawa, Ontario. Died November 26, 2002, Toronto, Ontario. Isabel was one of five daughters born to the family of Robert Samuel McLaughlin (1871-1972). Her father was the founder of McLaughlin Motor Car Company which became General Motors Canada. Isabel studied art at the Ontario College of Art (O C A), Toronto, Ontario graduating in 1930. In her last years at the OCA she also took time to study in Paris, France and Vienna, Austria. An important early modernist painter in Canada she used bright colours in her highly subjective paintings. In 1933 she was a founding member of the of the Canadian Group of Painters where she served as the 1st woman president in 1939.  She donated many of her works as well as works from other artists to the Robert McLaughlin Gallery. In 1993 she was inducted into the Order of Ontario and in 1997 the Order of Canada. (2019)

Annie Maude 'Nan' McKay.
Born October 10, 1892, Fort à la Corne, North West Territories (now Saskatchewan). Died  July 27, 1986, Saskatchewan. As a girl Nan was tutored at home by her cousin. After the death of her mother she and her sister attended St. Alban's Ladies College in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. She was nominated, and won,   an for a $200.00 entrance Scholarship to the University of Saskatchewan. While on campus She worked on the campus newspaper, the Sheaf, served as a member of the Student's Representative Council executive,  was vice president of of Pente Kai Deka Sorority, and served as secretary of the Literary Society. She also enjoyed figure skating, ice hockey, and later as an alumni she joined various sports teams. She graduated in 1915 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours in English and French. After graduation she began working at the university library as an assistant librarian working there until 1959.  She was one of the founders of the University Alumni Association formed 1917 and she served as secretary-treasurer. During the flu epidemic of 1918 she worked as a volunteer nurse.  She would take short courses in the U.S.A. to learn cataloguing of library collections. In 1933 she became the 'first assistant' at the Library a position she held for 31 years. After a hiking accident in 1944 she would walk with the aid of two canes.  Source: Annie Maude (Nan) Mckay. Aboriginal Research Resources, University of Saskatchewan Library online (accessed 2024) Suggestion submitted by K L Gunn.

Mary Isabella Macleod. 
née Drever. Born October 11, 1852, Red River, Manitoba  Died April 15 1933, Calgary, Alberta.  During the famous Red River Rebellion (1869-70) a 17 year-old Mary successfully avoided detection by the Métis and delivered an important dispatch to Colonel Garnet Joseph Woolsey of the militia which had been sent to quell the rebellion. She married James Farquharson Macleod (1836-1894) July 28, 1876 and settled in Fort MacLeod in the North-West. The couple had five children. Mary frequently accompanied her husband on his tours of duty. James would become Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police, a judge and a member of the North-West Assembly making Mary a very busy wife and partner in the community. (2019)

Mary Ellen Smith. 
née Spear. Born October 11, 1863, Tavistock, United Kingdom. Died May 3, 1933. Mary Ellen taught school before she married Ralph Smith (1858-1917). The couple immigrated to Canada and settled in British Columbia in 1891. Ralph became a politician and served in both the Legislature in British Columbia and the federal parliament in Ottawa. Mary Ellen was a member of the Suffrage League of Canada, the Women's Canadian Club where she served as president,  the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (IODE) and the Canadian Red Cross. After the death of her husband she ran in the January 1918 by-election for his seat and became the 1st woman elected to the British Columbia provincial legislature and the 1st woman Cabinet Minister in the entire British Empire. After World War l she raised money for war veterans and helped to establish factories to employ blind children. She was elected again in 1920 and 1924. During her time in the provincial legislature she introduced a law establishing a minimum wage for women and girls, and helped enact laws establishing juvenile courts, allowing women to sit as judges, creating social welfare support for deserted wives, passing laws protecting women in the workplace and establishing a pension for mothers. She also reflected her era by accepting the ideas justification of legislation to protect the Anglo-Canadian race. She would serve as acting speaker of the Legislative Assembly in February 1928 becoming the 1st woman to hold the position of Speaker in the British Empire.  In 1929 she went to Geneva, Switzerland as Canada's delegate to the International Labour Organization. Sources: Cathy Converse, Mainstays: Women Who Shaped BC,1998.

Dorothy Kathleen May Livesay. 
Born October 12, 1909, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Died December 29, 1996 Victoria British Columbia. Dorothy attended the University of Toronto graduating in 1931 and earned a diploma from the School of Social Work at U of T in 1934. She also did some studies at the University of British Columbia and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. In 1931 she became a Communist and joined the Communist Party of Canada in 1933. A journalist and literary critic, she is also known for her short stories of fiction and her poetry. She was active in the Canadian Labour Defense League, the Canadian League Against War and Fascism, Friends of the Soviet Union and the Workers' Unity League. In 1935 she settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1937 she married Duncan Macnair and the couple had 2 children  In 1941  she was one of the founders of the poetry magazine Contemporary Verse. In 1944 she won the Governor General’s Award for her work Day and Night and won again in 1947 for Poems of the People. That year she was elected a Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada and earned the Lorne Pierce Medal from the Society.  She taught in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) from 1953 through 1963. In 1973 she wrote a memoir, A Winnipeg Childhood which she followed in 1977 with another memoir, Right Hand Left Hand: A True Life of the Thirties. She was an instructor and writer-in-residence at universities across Canada. In 1977 she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Medal.  In 1984 she earned the Governor General's Persons Case Award. She was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1987. In 1989 The Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize was named in her honour. It is a category of the BC Book Prizes that is awarded to authors of the best work of poetry in a given year, where those authors are British Columbia or Yukon residents. In 1991 her last memoir, Journey With My Selves: A memoir 1909-1963 was published. (2019)

Joan Fraser. 
Born October 12, 1944. Joan earned a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages from McGill University, Montreal, Quebec in 1965. She began her career as a cub reporter with The Gazette newspaper in Montreal and joined the Financial Times of Canada in 1967. In 1978 she returned to The Gazette as editorial page editor and in 1993 became Editor-in-Chief. She joined the Council of Canadian Unity in 1997/98. She has won several national newspaper awards for her editorial writing and four National Newspaper Award Citations of Merit. She was appointed as a member of the Senate of Canada and served until retirement February 2, 2018.

Dorothy Reitman. 
Born October 13, 1932,  Montreal, Quebec. Dorothy was educated at McGill University. May 26, 1952 she married Cyril Reitman (1928)  son of the Reitman Clothing entrepreneurs. The couple have one son. Dorothy was a founding member of the Portage Program for Drug Dependency, the Council of Canadian Unity and Auberge Shalom for Battered Women as well as being instrumental in establishing Kosher Meals on Wheels in Montreal. She was also a founding member of the Match Centre which was established in the UN Year of the Woman in 1975 to enable women from Canada to share their experience and expertise with women from developing countries. Dorothy was particularly interested on Kenya. At the 1985 Match International conference she was part of the Jewish coalition fighting the UN Declaration on Zionism as racism. She has served as honorary chair of the McGill University Centre for Research and Teaching for Women, co-chaired the Canadian Conference of Christians and Jews and chaired the Commonwealth Jewish Foundation of Canada. She was the first woman elected as president from 1986-1989 of the Canadian Jewish Congress.  Her endeavors have been marked with the Montreal Jewish Community Young leadership award in 1965, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 1967, the Commonwealth Jewish Council Annual Award in 1989 and the Governor’s Generals Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case in 1992. On October 22, 1997 she was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada. Sources: Canadian Who’s Who, University of Toronto 2006 : Brown, Michael “Dorothy Reitman. Jewish Women: A Commemorative Historical Encyclopedia. 1 March 2008. Jewish Women’s Archive. (accessed August 2011)

Dorothy Moore. 
Born October 13, 1933, Sydney, Nova Scotia . Dorothy earned her Bachelor of Arts at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia and then on to her Bachelor in Education and a Masters of Education in 1984 at Mount St Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has earned a position of an respected Elder of the Mi’kmaw (Mi’Kmaq) devoting a life time of service in education, preservation and restoration of the Mi’kmaw language and culture. She taught in public and reserve schools for many years before joining University College of Cape Breton as native education coordinator and native studies consultant. The school grew from nine to 200 native students in just ten years. She has served on numerous committees and boards including the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. She enjoys theatre as both an actor, costume director, and Mi’kmaw singer. In 1989 she received the Stephen Hamilton Award for outstanding achievement in education. In 1990 she was the Atlantic Educator of Innovation of the year. She is proud to have the Eagle Feather Award as well as honorary degrees from Mount St. Vincent and University College of Cape Breton. In 2003 she received the Order of Nova Scotia. Sources: The order of Nova Scotia  (accessed August 12, 2008; Canadian Who’s Who 2005 ; University of Toronto Press, 2006.

Teresa Toten. 
Born October 13, 1955, Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Croatia). At only a few days old her mother left Croatia to join the baby’s Canadian Father. Teresa’s early life was rather unsettling with the family moving 17 times from city to city to city. Unfortunately her father died when she was only seven months old. Her 1st career choice was to be a mermaid. But practicality of life took over. She attended the University of Toronto and completed a Masters in Political Science just in time to marry and moved to Montreal, Quebec. Once settled she worked as a freelance broadcaster for Radio Canada International before moving to Ottawa, Toronto, New York City, U.S.A., and back again to Toronto. In between moves two daughters were born and she decided to become a stay at home mother. During this time she turned to writing. She also became involved as a volunteer with Frontier College and teaching English as a second language. Her writing has been mainly for young readers and has resulted in numerous books having been published starting in 1995. According to Teresa writing is almost as good as being a mermaid! Source: Teresa Toten by Dave Jenkinson CM Magazine Profile online accessed January 2007.;

Frances Norma Loring.  
Born October 14, 1887, Wardner, Idaho U.S.A.  Died February 5, 1968, Newmarket, Ontario. Frances studied in Switzerland, Germany, and Paris, as well as in Chicago, New York, and Boston in the U.S.A. It was while she was  the Art Institute of Chicago that she met Florence Wyle (1881-1968), another Canadian sculpture who became a lifelong friend and collaborator. She chose to open a studio with Florence in Toronto in 1913 to show her sculptures. During World War l, the Canadian War Records Office commissioned Frances to make sculptures of industrial workers on the home front. Her architectural designs, war memorials and monuments earned her a reputation as one of the 1st women known for her sculptures in Canada. The National Gallery in Ottawa has obtained her works as well as the Art Gallery of Ontario. Some works grace the grounds of the parliament buildings in Ottawa predominantly the statue of Sir Robert Borden.  She was co-founder of the Sculptors Society of Canada in 1928. Frances was also active in the Federation of Canadian Artists which was a forerunner to the National Arts Council founded in 1955. The Loring -Wyle Parkette in Toronto is home to two busts, the Loring-by-Wyle and the Wylie-by-Loring. 

Nancy Riche.
Born October 14, 1944, St. John’s Newfoundland. Died October 1, 2011, St. John’s Newfoundland . Nancy graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland and during her career held various career in Labour organizations. She was secretary-treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress from 1984 through till retirement in 2002. She served as Vice-president of the Brussels based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (I C F T U) and chair of its women’s committee from 1993-2002. After retirement she returned to her beloved Newfoundland and was President of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party from 2003-2008. She received both the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC) Woman of Courage Award and the Governor’s General Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case in 2002. The AFL-CIO presented her with the Meary-Lane Human Rights Award. In 2004 she became an Officer in the Order of Canada. In 2009 she received the Elijah Barayi Award from the Congress of South African Trade Unions for her struggle against apartheid.  Sources:  Women of Ottawa: Mentors and Milestones (accessed October 2011.) (2020)

Marie Marguerite d'Youville. 
née Dufrost de Lajemerais. Born October 15, 1701, Varennes, Quebec.  Died December 23, 1771.  She was a daughter of one of the great families of New France. She was married in 1712, she was the mother of two children, and  became . widowed in 1730. By 1742 both sons had become priests and Marguerite worked to ease the plight of the poor. She was joined by other women and their work extended to the running of the Hôpital Générale. The group of tireless workers would eventually become a religious order known as the Grey Nuns. Marguerite was described as a remarkable woman who was courageous and processed remarkable administrative talent. image © Canada Post Corporation. used with permission

Elizabeth Anne Betsy Clifford. 
née Clifford. Born October 15, 1953, Ottawa, Ontario. By the time she was 5 years old she was comfortable on skis and was winning competitions at 8. At 12 she was Canadian Junior Champion and at 13 she was Canadian women’s champion. Participating in the 1968 Olympic Games, Grenoble, France at 14 made her the youngest Canadian skier at the events. From 1968 through 1976 she was voted Ottawa’s Outstanding Skier dominated 3 alpine skiing disciplines: Downhill, Slalom and Giant Slalom. At 16 she was the youngest person to win world ski title with a giant slalom gold medal at Val Gardena, Italy in 1970. The next year she won the women’s special slalom title in Val-d’Isère, France. In 1972 she suffered a freak accident and broke her heels. In 1973 she was back in competition and in 1974 she won a silver medal at the World Championships downhill at St, Moritz, Switzerland and her 3rd World Cup downhill. Back in Canada she won the Can-Am giant slalom. She was twice Canadian Athlete of the Year. Betsey was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1970 and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1971.  Upon her retirement from competition in 1976 at the age of 23, she was awarded the John Semmelink Memorial Award by the Canadian Ski Association in recognition of how a skier through sportsmanship, conduct and ability, best represents Canada in international competition.  In 1978 she was nominated to the American National Ski Hall of Fame. In 1982 she became a member of the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and in 1983 she became a member of the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame. In 1995 she was induced into Les Panthéon des sports de l’Outaouais and the Laurentian Ski Hall of Fame.

Marianne Bossen. 
Born October 16, 1918, Willemstad, Curacao, Dutch Antilles.  Died  March 1, 2008, Winnipeg, Manitoba. After high school in the Netherlands in 1937, she earned a nursing diploma during World War ll. In the 1940s she worked as a social worker at the Unilever company. She immigrated to Canada in 1951 and worked in Toronto and northern Ontario with the Canadian Red Cross. In 1957 she earned a BA from the University of Montreal and a Masters' degree in Economics, University of Toronto, 1964. She served as assistant professor of economics at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario and at the University of Winnipeg, 1966 to 1968. In 1962, she began working for the Government of Canada in various capacities with the Civil Service Commission, the Department of Industry, and with the Department of Manpower and Immigration as a research economist. She was a consultant for the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, 1967 to 1969. In 1972 she established a private practice as a consulting economist on manpower and social policy. In 1977, Marianne was a recipient of the YWCA Woman of the Year Awards in the Business Category. In 1982 she began years of advisory service with the city and the province to develop transportation services for those with physical disabilities. In 1994 she was recognized by Winnipeg Transit for her contribution to the Task Force to Review Handi-Transit Issues. She served on the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, the YWCA and YWCA Boards, the Manitoba Board of the Canadian Paraplegic Association, and the Provincial Council of the Manitoba League of the Physically Handicapped. During her retirement, she lived in White Rock, British Columbia for three years before returning to Winnipeg. Sources: Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 8 March 2008; Memorable Manitobans. Online (accessed December 2011)

Jane Elizabeth Vasey. 
Born October 16, 1949, Winnipeg Manitoba. Died July 6, 1982, Toronto, Ontario. Jane loved music and began piano lessons when she was six. She performed on the CBC television’s Calling All Children. She earned the Earl Ferguson Award at the Manitoba Music Festival. In 1970 she graduated from the University of Manitoba. She played for a short while for the Winnipeg Ballet School before relocating to Toronto to further studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music. She played for ballet classes, the Global Village Theater, the Toronto Workshop Theatre and the Young Peoples’ Theatre. A;; the while she was composting music for Carol Bold Plays. It was during this time that she came to love and perform the blues. In 1973 she joined the all male band Downchild Blues Band. The group would record six albums together and travel to demanding crowds throughout North America. She played with the Band in Toronto when she became too ill with leukemia to travel. Brandon University established a scholarship for piano Performance in her memory.

Margot Ruth Kidder.  
Born October 17, 1948, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Died May 13, 2018, Livingston, Montana, U.S.A. The Kidder family moved frequently when Margot was a child to follow the father's mining career. She was educated in a boarding school in Vancouver, British Columbia. Sadly she suffered from an undiagnosed bipolar disorder that led to several breakdowns and an suicide attempt when she was a teenager. This youth from the Northwest Territories was to date  Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau in real life and become the girl friend of Superman in the movies. She appeared in all IV of the Superman movies. She has over 80 movie and major TV productions to her credit. She married actor John Heard in 1979 but the marriage only lasted one year. From 1974 to 1977 she was married to writer Thomas McGuane. She married Philippe de Broca, a French movie director in 1983 but again the marriage lasted only one year.  Did you know that the comic book characters of Superman and Lois Lane were the idea of a young Canadian artist? Look it up!

France St Louis.  
Born October 17, 1958. In the 1980s, France  competed for the Ferland Quatre Glaces ice hockey team at 1st based out of Brossard, and then Repentigny, in the League Régionale du Hockey au Féminin in the province of Québec, France also plays Canada's oldest National Sport, Lacrosse. She was a member of the Canadian Lacrosse women's team from 1985 through 1989 playing in the 1986 and 1989 World Championships when the team took the gold medal. She was the Quebec Lacrosse Athelete of the Decade in 1990. A member of the Canadian Women’s Hockey team from 1990 to 1999, she was a member of the silver medal team at the 1998 Olympic games in Nagano, Japan. Team Canada went on to win gold at the IIHF Women's world Championships, gold in the 1996 Three-Nation Cup and gold again at the 1996 Pacific Rim competition. She earned The Quebec Athelete Award of Excellence in Women's Hockey 1986 and again in 1991. France was an assistant coach for Team Quebec at the 1991 Canada Winter Games. In 1998 she was named Most Valuable Player at the Esso Nationals where Team Quebec placed third to win the Maureen McTeer Trophy. In 1988, 1990, 1991, 1997 and 1998 she was named the Most Valuable Player on her team at the Canadian Championships. France earned her BA in Physical Education  In 2003 she was inducted into the Panthéon des sports du Québec Sports Hall of Fame  In 2010 she was a consultant for the Montreal Carabins women's ice hockey program. In 2011 she travelled to Bratislava, Slovakia to participate in the IIHF High Performance Women's Camp. In 2014 she received the Order of Hockey in Canada from Hockey Canada. (2018)

Elizabeth Catherine Bagshaw.  
Born October 18, 1881, Cannington, Ontario. Died January 5, 1982, Hamilton, Ontario. One of Canada's 1st women doctors graduating from the University of Toronto in 1905. She had a successful 60-year practice. Starting in 1932 for 36 years she was the medical director of the Hamilton Ontario Birth Control Clinic which was the 1st of its kind in Canada. The clinic became legal in only in 1969. You can just imagine the forces that this courageous woman had to face while attempting to present women of her era with information on Birth control. She retired at the age of 95 and was at the time the oldest practicing physician in Canada. She was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada for the more than 30 years she devoted to the practice of medicine in the City of Hamilton. The National Film Board of Canada made a movie of her life which was shown at a party marking her 99th birthday. The Elizabeth Bagshaw Woman's Clinic in Vancouver is names in her honour. In 2007 she was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.

Iona Campagnolo.  
née Hardy. Born October 18, 1932, Galiano Island, British Columbia. She began her working career as a broadcaster in her native British Columbia in 1965. She became very involved in her community, being head of the local school board, and alderman. In 1973 she was made a Member of the Order of Canada and promoted to the level of Officer in 2008.  She was elected as a Member of Parliament for Skeena from 1974 to 1979. In 1976 she came to the national spotlight when she became Minister of Fitness and Amateur Sport. In 1977 she was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth ll Silver Jubilee Medal. She returned to politics as the 1st woman President of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1982 to 1986. In 1992 she received the 125th Anniversary of Confederation of Canada Medal. As a private citizen she retained her interest in politics and can be seen and heard making political comment on major current topics. In 1992 she was elected as the founding Chancellor of the University of Northern British Columbia. In 1998 she was inducted into the Order of British Columbia retiring in 1998. In 2001 she became the 1st woman to be appointed as Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. In 2002 she received the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal In 2003 the Chief Herald of Canada granted her armorial bearings.  In 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal. (2017) Image:  Coat of Arms for Iona Campagnolo

Marie Gérin-Lajoie.
née Lacoste. Born October 19, 1867, Montreal, Quebec. Died November 1, 1945, Montreal, Quebec. As a youth she read her father’s law books and developed a concern for women’s rights. She combined her religion and family life with reform work bringing together Canadian Francophone women. Marie married when she was 20 to lawyer Henry Gérin-Lajoie. The marriage was established on the premise that she could continue her campaigning for women's rights. The couple had four children. Although she was self taught she was a professor at the Université de Montréal and was the author of two legal works, the 1st in 1902 Traité de droit usuel and in 1929 La femme et le code civil. In 1907 she was one of the co-founders of the Fédération nationale Saint-Jean-Baptiste which campaigned for social and political rights for women in the province. In 1908, partly in response to her actions, the Quebec Catholic clergy agreed to open the 1st francophone women's college. She worked closely with branches of the national Council of Women of Canada. In 1922 she protested for women's suffrage in the province. She would give strong testimony before the Dorion Commission that recommended change to Quebec law. In 1931, the Quebec Civil Code was changed to reflect the changes Gérin-Lajoie had been arguing for. In 1998 she was designated as a Person of National Historic Significance. (2019)

Marilyn Grace Bell - Di Lascio. 
Born October 19, 1937, Toronto, Ontario. After moving several times the family returned to settle in Toronto where Marilyn took swimming lessons in 1946. The following year she entered the one-mile swim at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Lake Ontario. It was at this 1st race that she met coach Gus Ryder from the Lakeshore Swimming Club. Marilyn joined the Lakeshore club and in July 1954 she finished 1st among female swimmers as a 26 mile competition in Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.A.  It was September 8, 1954 when at the 16-year-old Toronto Girl entered the CNE sponsored marathon swim across Lake Ontario. Two other women, Florence Chadwick and Winnie Roach also entered the cold waters of Lake Ontario. She was the only entrant to actually finish the 32-mile race. It took 21 hours! She actually had to swim much further  than the 32 miles across the lake because of strong winds and the lack of modern navigation equipment. Waves that day were almost 5 metres (16 ft) high, water temperature was 21 °C (65 °F) and lamprey eels were attacking her legs and arms. Marilyn was the 1st to successfully swim Lake Ontario. Radio stations broadcast hourly reports of her progress and newspapers published "extra" editions throughout the day. A crowd estimated at over 250,000 was gathered to see her arrive. The CNE decided to give her the $10,000 prize, and  was later given numerous gifts, including a car, television, clothing, and furniture. She also appeared on The Ed Sullivan television show. The Canadian Press named her the Canadian Newsmaker of the Year for 1954. She  earned the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's Athlete of the Year and the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as top female athlete.  Marilyn would go on to swim the English Channel in 1955 as the youngest swimmer to succeed in the crossing. In 1956 she swam the Straight of Juan de Fuca of the Pacific coast  and became the 1st woman and 1st Canadian to complete the swim. After she retired from long distance swimming in 1956 she married Joe Di Lascio and the couple settled in New Jersey in the U.S.A. and raised four children. Marilyn earned her Bachelor's degree, became an American citizen and taught school for 20 years. After the death of her husband in 2007 Marilyn relocated to New Paltz, New York. U.S.A. She is a member of the Ontario and Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and in 1993 she became a member of the Canadian Swimming Hall of Fame and was named one of Canada's top athletes of the Century. The story of Bell's historic swim was told in the 2001 made-for-TV film Heart: The Marilyn Bell Story with Caroline Dhavernas portraying Marilyn Bell. In 2003 she was presented with the Order of Ontario. The National Historic Sites and Monuments Board designated her crossing of Lake Ontario as a National Historic Event in 2005. In 2008a federal historic plaque was erected in  near the site where she finished she swim of Lake Ontario and the area is now  named Marilyn Bell Park. In 2010 the ferry that serves the Toronto Island Airport was named the Marilyn Bell.

Nellie Letitia McClung. 
née Mooney. Born October 20, 1873, Chatsworth, Ontario. Died September 1, 1951. At 16 she attended Normal School (teacher’s college) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. While teaching, she was introduced to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union by her future Mother-in-law. Marrying Wes McClung in 1896 they raised five children. As an accomplished writer, she joined the Canadian Women’s Press Club. In 1912, a founding member of the Political Equity League, she helped female wage earners. She imitated Manitoba Provincial Premier Roblin in the 1914 “Women’s Parliament” mocking the idea of giving votes to men! She was the only woman delegate at the Canadian War Conference of 1918 and was a Methodist delegate to the world ecumenical Congress of 1921, where she advocated women as clergy. She represented her ideas as a member of Alberta’s legislature 1921-1925 and in 1927 she was one of the “Famous Five”, who forced the courts to recognize women as “Persons” in 1929.  The 1st woman to be appointed to the Board of Directors, Canadian Broadcasting Network in 1936 she was also a Canadian representative to the League of Nations, 1938. A popular author, she wrote newspaper and magazine articles, columns, short stories and published 16 books and 2 autobiographies. In 1954 Nellie was named as a Person of National Historic Significance. In October 2009, the Senate of Canada voted to name Nellie McClung and the rest of the Famous Five Canada's 1st 'honorary senators'. (2019) image © Famous Canadian Women

Pauline Emily McGibbon.  
née Mills. Born October 20, 1910, Sarnia, Ontario. Died December 14, 2001, Toronto, Ontario. Pauline graduated from the University of Toronto in 1933. In 1935 she married her high school sweetheart Donald Walker McGibbon and the couple settled in Sarnia, Ontario. A long time volunteer for various charities and groups she served as president of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (IODE) from 1963-1965. Pauline was also the 1st woman chancellor at the University of Toronto and at the same time 1st woman Governor of Upper Canada College 1971-1974. She was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Ontario from 1974-1980, the 1st woman in the British Empire to obtain such a position. She was also the 1st woman President of the Canadian Conference of the Arts in 1972 and 1st woman Director of 4 major Canadian companies: George Weston, IBM, Imasco and Mercedes Benz. Pauline was inducted into the Order of Canada in 1967 and promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in 1980. In 1988 she was inducted into the Order of Ontario. On October 5, 2006 the Ontario Heritage Trust and Sarnia Kiwanis Foundation unveiled a provincial plaque commemorating Pauline in Sarnia, Ontario. Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia Online (accessed 1999): The Ontario Trust Foundation (accessed 2006); The Hon. Pauline M. McGibbon , Collections Canada. National Library of Canada (accessed 2009)

Julie Payette.  
Born October 20, 1963, Montreal, Quebec.  Did you know that this Canadian astronaut plays piano and has sung with the Montreal symphonic Orchestra Chamber Choir? In 1982 she earned an International Baccalaureate diploma at the United World College of the Atlantic in South Wales, United Kingdom. She earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1986 from McGill University, Montreal and by 1990 she had completed her Master of Applied Science degree in computer engineering at the University of Toronto. She speaks 4 languages besides English and French. This young engineer was chosen as an astronaut in 1992 and went into space serving on the space Shuttle from May 27 to June 6, 1999. In 2000 she was inducted into the National Order of Quebec and the following year as a Knight of Ordre de la Pléiade de L'Association des parlementaires de langue Française. In 2009 she served on the space station. June 25, 2010 she received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. Julie married a second time to William Flynn and is the mother of one son. For a year in 2010 she worked at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars in Washington D.C., U.S.A. In 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 2013 she became chief operation officer for the Montreal Science Centre. She has served on numerous boards including at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Drug Free Kids Canada, The Montreal Bach Festival and the National Bank of Canada.  In October 2, 2017 she was sworn in as  29th Governor General of Canada. She has been invested as  Extraordinary Commander of the Order of Military Merit, the Order of Canada and holds Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces of her Majesty. In 2016 she was named a Commander of the Order of Montreal.  She enjoys triathlon, skiing, racquet sports and scuba diving. The City of Whitby, Ontario has named a public School in her honour. image © Canada Post Corporation Used with permission (2019)

Mélanie Turgeon.  
Born October 21, 1976, Alma, Quebec. This Quebec skier has raced Slalom, Downhill, and Super G for the Canadian Ski Team since 1992. As a junior, she won 5 medals at the World Championships at Lake Placid, New York, U.S.A.. She represented Canada on the slopes in the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, Nagano, and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. In 1998 she was the top Canadian skier in the World Cup. In 2003, she won a gold medal in the downhill event at the F I S Alpine World Ski Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland. In October 2005 she retired from competitive skiing after suffering a severe back injury in the previous season.

Ashley Callingbull-Burnham. 
Born October 21, 1989, Enoch Cree Nation, Alberta. As a youth of ten she was winning local princess crowns. She studied drama at university in Edmonton, Alberta.  She was chosen Miss Canada and participated in the Miss Friendship International Pageant, Hubei China and the Queen of the World Final held in Germany that same year.  In 2011 she was in Barbados participating  in the Miss Humanity International pageant. As an actress she has a role in the series Blackstone, produced in Canada for APTN and Showcase television. In 2013 she was the runner-up in the Miss Universe Canada pageant. In 2015 she married Ryan Burnham. In August 29, 2015 Ashley became the 1st Canadian and 1st indigenous  woman to win the Mrs. Universe title. In 2016 she participated with her step-father in the TV series The Amazing Race Canada

Mary Jane Burnet. 
Born October 22, 1955, Toronto, Ontario. As a young girl she studied classical piano but at 20 she turned to jazz and due to having developed tendonitis she she switched instruments playing flute and soprano saxophone. She studied music at the Royal Conservatory of Music. In 1991 she won the All-Music Guide Award for one of the Top 300 Jazz Discs of all time with Spirits of Havana. In 1983 she and her husband, trumpeter Larry Cramer, started a band.  She has seven CD’s of jazz and Cuban Music. In 1993 for the album, Spirit of Havana, she won a Juno Award. In 1995 she won the Socan Award as Jazz Composer of the Year.  In 2002 she won the Canadian National Jazz Award as Saxophonist of the Year. In 2003 she earned the Down Beat Award for the third year in a row, the American Jazz Writers' Association Award and the Jazz Journalists Award. In 2004 she became an Officer in the Order of Canada. She and has gone on to win three more Juno awards including Best Group Jazz Album of the Year in 2014 with the all-female Afro-Cuban/jazz group, Maqueque. She has also won two Grammy nomination.  She also plays the trompeta china which is a Cuban wind instrument of Chinese origin. (2019)

Julia Annette Elizabeth Dafoe. 
Born October 22, 1900, Montreal, Quebec. Died April 25, 1960, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Elizabeth and her family relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1901.  Elizabeth earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Manitoba in 1923 and earned her Library degree from the Library School of the New York Public Library (Later the Library School of Columbia University in New York City) U.S.A. She also studied at the Graduate School at the University of Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. Elizabeth returned to the University of Manitoba in 1925 to work as a Librarian  In 1937 she was appointed Head Librarian at the university. She was a member of the Canadian Library Council Inc., of the Canadian Library Association and chaired the Association's conference in 1955 as President. In addition, she served as a member of the National Library Advisory Board, and was a strong supporter of the need for the National Library in Canada which was founded in 1953 opened in 1967 (now Library and Archives Canada). She served on the Manitoba Library Board and was a founding member of the Manitoba Library Association. The Elizabeth Dafoe Library, build in 1953,  is the University of Manitoba's largest library. (2019)

Kateryna Antonovych. 
née Serebriakova. Born October 23, 1887, Kharkov, Ukraine,  Died February 22, 1975, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Kateryna studied at the St. Petersburg Medical Academy in Russia before completing her studies at the Kiev Academy of Art in the Ukraine.  She became an internationally known artist who studying in several western European countries. She married art historian Dmytro Antonovych and the family immigrated to Prague in 1923. She worked in Prague at the Museum of Ukrainian National Struggle for Liberation and was also a director of an Ukrainian Orphanage. She joined her daughter in Winnipeg in 1949. She opened an art school in 1954 while she exhibited her own works across Canada.  Antonovych was active in Ukrainian women’s and various community organizations. Her papers are at Library and Archives Canada.

Lucie Laroche.  
Born October 23, 1968, Quebec City, Quebec. Lucie earned her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and computer science from McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. Her youthful  love of skiing led her to become a member of a group of freestyle skiers known as the "Quebec Air Force". The group included Donald Stevens, Nancy Gee, Kellie Casey, Rob Boyd, Michelle Ruthven, Alain Villard, Mike Carney and others. In 1988 Lucie competed in super G skiing event at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, Calgary, Alberta, where she ranked 19th. She also competed in the 1992 Winter Olympic Games, Albertville, France. Lucie attended York University earning a Master Certificate from the Schulich School of Business in 2005. She has worked as a business analyst at Bell Canada, Gerard Zagrodnik Inc., Cofomo and is a senior analyst at McGill University. (2019)

Micheline Beauchemin. 
Born October 24, 1930, Longueil, Quebec. Died September 29, 2009, Quebec City, Quebec. Micheline studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Montreal prior to attending the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and Académie de la Grande Chaumére, Paris, France. Her 1st work was in stained glass and in 1953 she had a show in Chartres, France of her stained glass work.  In 1955 she exhibited her 1st tapestries at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Chartres, France. In 1957 she returned home to Canada. She designed and made the stage curtain of the National Arts Centre, Ottawa in the late 1960's. She also was commissioned to create works for Queen's Park, Toronto, York University, Toronto, the Hudson's Bay Company, Winnipeg, and the Pearson International Airport, Toronto. In 1970 she created a tapestry for display at the Canadian Pavilion at the Osaka, Japan, World's Fair. She is considered one of Canada's foremost tapestry weavers. In 1970 she became an elected member of the Royal Academy of Arts. In 1973 she was names an Officer in the Order of Canada. In 1991 she was inducted as Knight of the National Order of Quebec. In 2005 she received the Prix Paul-Emile-Borduas from the Quebec Government. In 2006 she earned the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts. Some of her works reside in the collections of the  Place des Arts, Montreal, the National Arts Center, Ottawa, and internationally in Tokyo, and San Francisco, U.S.A.. (2019) Tapestry curtain, National Arts Centre, Ottawa

Sheila Martin Watson.  
née Doherty. Born October 24, 1909, New Westminster, British Columbia. Died February 1, 1998, Nanaimo, British Columbia. Sheila earned her Bachelor Degree from the University of British Columbia in 1931 and went on to earn her Masters' degree in 1933. She worked as an elementary and high school teacher in various locations in British Columbia. In 1941 she married poet Wilfred Watson (19911-1998).She taught at Toronto's Moulton Ladies College for two years in the mid 1940's and then lectured at the University of British Columbia for two years. From 1957 to 1964 she she worked on her thesis for her PhD degree from the University of Toronto.  Her novel Double Hook, written in the early 1950's was turned down by numerous publishers. Finally published in 1959 it is considered the point for the beginning of contemporary writing in Canada. In 1961 she worked as a professor of English at the University of Alberta. She and her poet husband were founders of the White Pelican which published from 1971 through 1975 and won the Governor General's Award in 1973.  She was awarded for her writings the Lorne Pierce Medal from the Royal Society of Canada. Sheila retired from teaching in 1975 and the following year she and her husband relocated to Nanaimo, British Columbia. (2019)

Helen Nell Shipman.  
née Foster-Barham. Born October 25, 1882, Victoria, British Columbia. Died January 23, 1970, Cabazon, California, U.S.A.  When she was 13 her family relocated to Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. Prior to being in films Nell worked in theatrical stock companies working on stage. In 1910 she married silent film producer Ernest Shipman (1871-1931). The couple moved to Hollywood and raised one son. Nell was became a pioneer in early Hollywood. She was one of the first women in the world to direct her own films and she even established her own production company. She was one of the first directors to shoot her films almost entirely on location. In 1919 she and Ernest had a successful Canadian silent film entitled Back to God's Country in which she debuted and performed one of the first nude scenes in film. Filmed on location in Alberta, Nell swam in frigid water during some of the film. She began an affair with co-star Bert Van Tuyle (1878-1951) and she divorced Shipman. Nell loved animals and spoke out against animal cruelty in Hollywood. She rescued animals and developed her own zoo containing more than 200 animals. The couple created Nell Shipman Productions focusing on major themes with wild animal, feminist heroes, and filming on location. By 1924 the production company had financial problems and she broke up with Bert Van Tuyle who had become unstable and killed many of her animals. In 1925 she married Charles H. Austin Ayers (1889-1964) and the couple had twin daughters.  Nell's las major project was her autobiography, The Silent Screen and My Talking Heart which was published posthumously. (2019)

Rebecca Ann Burke.  
Born October 25, 1946. In 1972 after earning a Bachelor degree in English Literature from the University of Guam, Agana, Guam Rebecca earned a Master of Fine Arts from Ohio State University, U.S.A. This artist has shown her works in exhibitions in the Canadian Maritimes, Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia, and the United States.In 2010 she became a professor emeritus in fine arts at Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick where she taught painting, drawing and contemporary art from 1980 through 2009. (2019)

Lena "Lee" Delmonico. 
née Surkowski. Born October 26, 1925, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Died March 30, 2012, California, U.S.A. Lee enjoyed playing baseball with her sister Anne. Anne was the 1st of the two sisters to be scouted by the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). In 1944 she played with the South Bend Blue Sox and in 1945 she and her sister Anne played on the team together. In 1947 Lee and Anne returned home for the season for family reasons. In 1948 Lee was back in the league playing for the Fort Wayne Daisies. The women in the AAGPBL wore one piece short skirted uniforms with knee socks, baseball shoes and caps. They played a grueling schedule to keep baseball going while the men served during World War ll. In the early days of the League the women were coached off the field with lessons in Charm to make sure they would respectfully represent the AAGPBL to the press and fans. She married Alphonso Delmonico and in 1957 the couple moved to California, U.S.A. where they raised their three children. Source: AAGPBL Online (Accessed February 2014)

Anne-Josée Dionne.  
Born  October 26, 1975. A member of the Canadian National Diving Team, Anne-Josée has been nine times National Champion (in various age groups). She has also won medals at international events. In 1993 she earned three gold medals at the Canada Games. In 1998 she placed fifth in the one metre and the three metre spring board diving events at the Commonwealth Games. In her spare time she enjoys photography, movies, and camping. 

Elizabeth Smart. 
Born December 27, 1913, Ottawa, Ontario.  Died March 4, 1986, London England.  She studied piano at school and at 19 she went to London, England for music studies. She gave up piano, returned to Canada and began her career as a journalist working for the Ottawa Journal newspaper. During World War ll she worked briefly in the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.,  U.S.A, before returning to England. To support her family she worked writing advertising copy for magazines.   In 1945 she published her 1st book, which was considered a masterpiece and was reprinted several times. By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept was published in England and was based on her love affair with the poet George Baker, a married man with whom she had four children. Her mother prevented the book from selling many copies in Canada. Republished in 1966 the 1st Canadian hardcover edition was published in 1982. The novel was considered a masterpiece. It was 32 years before she produced her next two books in 1977, A Bonus, a short collection of poems, and The Assumption of the Rogues and Rascals, which was a prose poem that offers a continuation and comment on her earlier work. In 1982 she was writer-in residence at the University of Alberta.   She published again in 1984. An edited edition of her early journals was published posthumously. Her biography By Heart: Elizabeth Smart a Life was written in 1991 by Rosemary Sullivan. That same year the film Elizabeth Smart: On the Side of Angels was produced. (2019)

Audrey Jeanne Kunkel. 
Born October 27, 1946. Died April 2, 2009, Phoenix, Arizona.  Audrey studied to become a teacher with her Bachelor of Education in 1969 and her Bachelor of Arts in 1971 from the University of Saskatchewan. She was a member of the Canadian Educational Press Association from 1972 and in 1985 she began serving as the Executive Secretary for the association. She received eight Distinguished Achievement Awards for Excellence in Educational Journalism from the Educational Press Association of America. She was also a member of the communications staff of the Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation where she served as editor of the Saskatchewan Bulletin. From time to time she also worked for the United Church Observer. Sources: Audrey Kunkel, Who’s Who in the Media Club of Canada 1991 ; Obituary, The Star, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A. April 2009.

Marie de l'Incarnation. 
née Marie Guyant. Born October 28, 1599, Tours, France. Died April 30, 1672, Quebec City, New France (now Quebec). In 1617 Marie married Claude Martin who died after two years later. Marie was a widow with a six month old son. For awhile she helped her brother in his business.  In 1631 she decided to enter the Ursuline convent inn Tours assuming her religious name Marie de L'Incarnation and she took her final vows in 1633. She read about Canada in the famous Jesuit Relations, which were reports sent back to France by Jesuit Priests serving in Canada, and decided it was the place for her. She would arrive August 1, 1639 and here she found the Ursuline Order of Canada. She became an expert in several native languages and translated several religious books for her native students. In 1980 she was officially declared 'Blessed' which is a step towards canonization. April 3, 2014 she was declared a Saint  with Pope Frances using a process known as equivalent canonization which does not require the verification of miracles made through the saint's intervention. The canonization was celebrated October 12, 2014. Sources: J. Marshall editor, Word from New France: The Selected Letters of Marie de L'Incarnation, 1967. 

Catherine Parker-Austin. 
née Dunn. Born April 14, 1841, Dublin, Ireland. Died October 28, 1890, Vancouver, British Columbia. By 1860 she was in England where she met Samuel Parker (d 1873) and where their 1st two daughters were born. The family immigrated to British Columbia and ran a store in Douglas where another daughter and son were born. Moving to Barkerville during the Cariboo gold rush in June 1867 they opened the Broadway House with a grand ball. The coupe became involved in the Cariboo Dramatic Association where they sang and performed in dramatic presentations. After the fire of 1868 destroyed their hotel the Association gave a benefit for Mrs. Parker. A new large 10 bedroom boarding house was built. In 1872 the saloon and boarding house was auctioned off and the couple followed the gold rush opening the Stanley Hotel on Lightening Creek. Widowed early 1873, Catherine married John Austin on August 3, 1873 and the couple soon had a daughter. By 1875 Catherine was Madame to four ladies of entertainment known as ‘Hurdies’. The family relocated one more to Richfield to run the Austin Hotel and by 1891 they took over the Barkerville Hotel. Later that decade they moved to Vancouver. In 2009 the Barkerville Theatre Royal presented Firestorm, a play featuring a pregnant Catherine Austin during the fire of 1868.

Ruth Schiller. 
née Boswell.  Born October 29,1931, Victoria, Prince Edward Island. Died February 27, 2023, Moncton, New Brunswick. Ruth graduated in music studies from Mount Allison University in New Brunswick. She Married John Schiller (died 2001). This mother of three children was a leader and music specialist for over 30 years. A conductor, adjudicator and lecturer she has represented Canada numerous times at the International Society of Music Education. The Hillsborough Girls' Choir, which she founded in 1979 was under her direction, has captured awards internationally. She has been awarded the André Thadée Bourque and Louise Manny Award for Excellence in Music, the Centennial Award, the Leslie Bell Choral Award, the Paul Harris Fellow Award and recognized by the New Brunswick Teachers Association for outstanding contribution to education in the province. She was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1992. The Ruth Boswell Schiller Music Education Fund was established in her honour and will promote music Education.  (2019) Source: Obituary online (accessed 2024)

Nora McLellan. 
Born October 29, 1954. This actor and singer made her stage debut at age nine in La Boheme produced by the Vancouver Opera Association in British Columbia. She has appeared in more than 50 roles on stages in Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto, London, Victoria, Saskatoon and Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. . Her TV appearances have included such hit shows as X-Files, Cardinal, Saving Hope, Orphan Black and Killjoys.. In 1987 she was co-founder, with Michael Dobbin, of the Aids-Relief Fundraising for the Actors' Fund of Canada. (2019)

Elizabeth Bell Ross.
Born October 30, 1878, Demerara, British Guiana, South Africa. Died March 13, 1953, Ottawa?. Ontario. At some point the family immigrated to Canada and settled in Nova Scotia. Elizabeth served with a voluntary unit of the French Red Cross in Belgium. She enlisted as Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on February 30, 1916, London, England.  She was posted to the Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital in 1916. By spring of 1917 she was Acting Matron. She served at No. 10 Canadian General hospital . By January 1918 she was Matron. After the war she returned to Canada and was demobilized in October 1920. She worked at the Woman's Hospital, New York City, New York, U.S.A. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)

Joanna Shimkus. 
Born October 30, 1943, Halifax, Nova Scotia. When Joanna was 19 she worked as a fashion model in Paris, France, and soon caught the eye of movie producers. Joanna began he film career in the mid 1960's with some 14 movies to her credit by the mid 1970's.In 1969 she was cast in the film The Lost Man opposite leading man and award winning actor, Sidney Poitier. In 1976 she married  Sir Sidney Poitier (1927- 1922), who had been knighted by Queen Elizabeth ll in 1974, becoming Lady Poitier. Joanna abandoned her career to devote herself to her family of two daughters. In 1997 through 2007 she accompanied her husband while he served as the Bahamian Ambassador to Japan. The couple live in Nova Scotia.  (2019)

Ada Mackenzie. 
Born October 31, 1891 Toronto, Ontario. Died October 25, 1973.  She would win the Ontario Ladies Amateur Golf title 9 times and the Canadian Ladies Open Amateur  title 5 times.   Ada would open a ladies only golf club in Thornhill, Ontario in May 1925. In 1933 she was declared the Canadian Athlete of the Year.  This sporting pioneer with her ladies only club and her leading titles would make ladies golf a sport to be taken seriously in Canada.

Public domain

Muriel Helen Duckworth. 
née Ball. Born October 31,1908, Austin, Quebec. Died August 22, 2009, Magog, Quebec. Muriel graduated from McGill University in 1929 and followed up with graduated studies at the Union Theological Seminary in New York state, U.S.A. In 1920 she returned to Montreal where she married Jack Duckworth  (   -1975) and the couple had three children. Muriel involved with the Student Christian Movement and other community organizations. Relocating to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1947 she worked with the provincial Department of Education for 14 years. She was a founding member and a committed member of the Voice Of Women (VOW) which was concerned with world peace. She formed the Halifax branch of the VOW  and in 1967 she became national president and represented Canada at the international Conference of Women for Peace in Moscow, Soviet Union. This was the 1st of numerous international conferences for Muriel. She was also a founding member of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW) in 1976. She served as National President 1979-1980. In 1981 CRIAW established the Muriel Duckworth Award to be presented annually to a woman making a significant contribution to the advancement of women within Canada. She was also a founding member of the Canadian Conference on Education, the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport, the Canadian Council for International Cooperation, the Nova Scotia Women’s Action Coalition and the Movement for Citizen’s Voice and Action, Halifax. In 1974 and 1978 she was a candidate for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in Nova Scotia. In 1981 she was given the Governor General’s Award of the Persons’ Case and in 1983 she became a Companion in the Order of Canada. In 1991 she was awarded the Lester B. Pearson Peach Medal.