Reformers & Activists | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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  • Article

    Michael Luchkovich

    Michael Luchkovich, teacher, politician, author (born 13 November 1892 in Shamokin, Pennsylvania; died 21 April 1973 in Edmonton, AB). In 1926, Michael Luchkovich became the first Ukrainian Canadian to be elected to Parliament. A member of the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA), he was re-elected in 1930 but defeated in 1935, when he ran as part of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). A staunch defender of minority rights in Canada, Luchkovich was an early advocate for multiculturalism. He later translated books from Ukrainian into English.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/Michael_Luchkovich_-_1930_16661079827.jpg Michael Luchkovich

  • Article

    Paul Rose

    Paul Rose, Québecois indépendantiste leader, terrorist, unionist (born 16 October 1943 in Montreal, Quebec; died 14 March 2013 in Montreal). He was a member of the Chénier Cell, also known as the South Shore Gang, of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) and a key player in the October Crisis. On 13 March 1971, he was sentenced for the kidnapping and murder of Pierre Laporte, a minister in the government of Quebec.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/single_use_images/Paul_Rose.jpg Paul Rose

  • Article

    Robert Silverman (Bicycle Bob)

    Robert Silverman (a.k.a. Bicycle Bob), cycling enthusiast, activist (born 30 November 1933 in Montreal, QC; died 20 February 2022 in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, QC). Silverman is recognized for his efforts to promote cycling as a primary means of transportation in Montreal (see Bicycling). Popularly known for his theatrical protest methods, he also aimed to develop and improve safe cycling infrastructure (see Active Citizenship; Political Protest). Silverman co-founded the cycling safety and advocacy group Le Monde à bicyclette and is credited with having laid the social and cultural foundation for Montreal’s extensive bike lane network and general bicycle-friendly atmosphere.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/bicyclebob/bicyclebob.jpg Robert Silverman (Bicycle Bob)

  • Article

    Stanley G. Grizzle

    Stanley George Sinclair Grizzle, CM, OOnt, citizenship judge, politician, civil servant, labour union activist (born 18 November 1918 in Toronto, ON; died 12 November 2016 in Toronto, ON). Stanley Grizzle had an illustrious career as a railway porter, soldier, civil servant, citizenship judge and activist for the rights of Black Canadians.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/Twitter_Cards/Grizzle.jpg Stanley G. Grizzle

  • List

    Notable Wrongful Convictions in Canada

    Canadians like to think our justice system is one of the best in the world. But ask the dozens of people prosecuted and imprisoned for serious crimes they didn't commit, and you're likely to get a different view, especially from those accused of murder. In recent decades, more than 20 Canadians have been locked up — much of their lives destroyed — for murders they had nothing to do with. Their wrongful convictions are a stain on our history, while their subsequent exonerations give cause for hope. Here are six of their stories. (See also Wrongful Convictions in Canada.)

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/a5a37c90-f350-403f-b8fd-d2b40c0520a9.jpg Notable Wrongful Convictions in Canada

  • Article

    Tommy Douglas and Eugenics

    Tommy Douglas — the father of socialized medicine in Canada and one of the country’s most beloved figures — once supported eugenic policies. In 1933, he received a Master of Arts in sociology from McMaster University for his thesis, “The Problems of the Subnormal Family.” In the thesis, Douglas recommended several eugenic policies, including the sterilization of “mental defectives and those incurably diseased.” His ideas were not unique, as two Canadian provinces (and 32 American states) passed sexual-sterilization legislation in the 1920s and 1930s. However, by the time Douglas became premier of Saskatchewan in 1944, he had abandoned his support for eugenic policies. When Douglas received two reports that recommended legalizing sexual sterilization in the province, he rejected the idea.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/Eugenics/Eugenics_congress_logo.png Tommy Douglas and Eugenics

  • Article

    Viola Desmond

    Viola Irene Desmond (née Davis), businesswoman, civil rights activist (born 6 July 1914 in Halifax, NS; died 7 February 1965 in New York, NY). Viola Desmond built a career and business as a beautician and was a mentor to young Black women in Nova Scotia through her Desmond School of Beauty Culture. In 1946, Viola Desmond challenged racial discrimination when she refused to leave the segregated Whites-only section of the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Viola Desmond was arrested, jailed overnight and convicted without legal representation for an obscure tax offence as a result. Despite the efforts of the Nova Scotian Black community to assist her appeal, Viola Desmond was unable to remove the charges against her and went unpardoned in her lifetime. Desmond’s courageous refusal to accept an act of racial discrimination provided inspiration to later generations of Black persons in Nova Scotia and in the rest of Canada. In 2010, Lieutenant-Governor Mayann Francis issued Desmond a free pardon. In December 2016, the Bank of Canada announced that Viola Desmond would be the first Canadian woman to be featured by herself on the face of a banknote — the $10 note released on 19 November 2018. Viola Desmond was named a National Historic Person by the Canadian government in 2018.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/c844682d-f9ce-4992-a28e-d729b51e6762.jpg Viola Desmond

  • Editorial

    Women on Canadian Banknotes

    The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated. Though Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on the $20 bill since she was eight years old, identifiable Canadian women have only appeared on a Canadian banknote once. In 2004, the statue of the Famous Five from Parliament Hill and Olympic Plaza in Calgary, and the medal for the Thérèse Casgrain Volunteer Award were featured on the back of the $50 note. They were the first Canadian women to appear on our currency. However, in 2011, they were replaced by an icebreaker named for a man (see Roald Amundsen). The new bill was part of a series of notes meant to highlight technical innovation and achievement, but the change sparked controversy. Other than the image of a nameless female scientist on the $100 note issued in 2011, and two female Canadian Forces officers and a young girl on the $10 bill issued in 2001 , Canadian women were absent from Canadian bills. On 8 March 2016, International Women’s Day, the Bank of Canada launched a public consultation to choose an iconic Canadian woman who would be featured on a banknote, released in the next series of bills in 2018. More than 26,000 submissions poured in. Of those, 461 names met the qualifying criteria, and the list was pared down to a long list of 12 and finally a short list of five. The final selection will be announced on 8 December 2016. But how did we get here? 

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/872b7e98-03f8-4457-85b8-5657ff4e4f65.jpg Women on Canadian Banknotes