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April (Dawn) Verch. Fiddler, composer, b Pembroke, Ont, 7 Apr 1978. Growing up in the Ottawa Valley, where there is a strong tradition of fiddle playing, Verch studied step-dancing at age three, and fiddle (with Rob Dagenais) from age six. Her family were amateur musicians.

Avis (Ruth) Phillips. Soprano, teacher, b Winnipeg 16 Nov 1900, d Vancouver 7 Mar 1986; ATCM 1918, ARCM voice 1925, ARCM piano 1925. After piano studies in Mount Forest, Ont, with Alice Roger Collins, she attended the RCM 1921-5 under Aubyn Raymar (piano) and Edith Grepe (voice).

Andrea Nann, dancer, choreographer, dance educator, artistic director (b at Vancouver 20 Sep 1966). Andrea Nann's interest in using dance to explore and express human experience stems from her youth, growing up as the youngest child of social workers.

Arla Agnes Isabella Axelsdotter Saarukka, film editor (born 28 November 1915 in Finland; died 9 May 2013 in Vancouver, BC). Arla Saare was one of Canada’s first women film editors. After working as a cutter at the National Film Board, Saare worked for CBC TV in Toronto and Vancouver. She edited acclaimed films by Allan King, Harry Rasky and Don Owen and won two Canadian Film Awards.

Catherine Ruth MacLellan, singer, songwriter (born 23 April 1980 in Burlington, ON). Catherine MacLellan is a contemporary folk-roots singer-songwriter whose recordings have won multiple East Coast Music Awards, Canadian Folk Music Awards, Music PEI Awards and a Juno Award. She is the daughter of “Snowbird” composer Gene MacLellan.

Lisa LeBlanc, singer, songwriter, musician (born 13 August 1990 in Rosaireville, NB). Lisa LeBlanc has known success ever since her first album came out in 2012. Her music, which she describes as folk-trash with bluegrass and Cajun accents, reaches a wide audience. Her songs are often humorous accounts of the perils of love. She has been compared to Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton and even Quebec singer-songwriter Plume Latraverse. Beneath her often funny lyrics, there are pearls of poetry. Her choice of words and her relentless sincerity transform the ordinary and anecdotal into a thing of beauty. Listening to Lisa LeBlanc, one can easily be laughing one minute and all choked up the next. She belongs to a generation of young Acadian artists — such as the Hay Babies, Radio, Joseph Edgar and Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire — who are firmly grounded in modern life. She says that she has been influenced by Sam Roberts, Feist, Aerosmith and, most strongly, by Stevie Nicks. Since LeBlanc’s career began, her albums have sold slightly over 140,000 copies in North America and Europe. She composes and sings in both French and English. Winner of the 2010 Festival international de la chanson de Granby, she has won many other awards in New Brunswick and Quebec and across Canada. LeBlanc first made her name with a song whose title echoes its refrain, with which many of her fans seemed to identify: “Aujourd’hui, ma vie c’est d’la m—de”  (“Today, my life is s—t”).

Angela Jean Elisabeth Watt, lyric soprano (born 13 November 1915 in Brandon, MB; died 4 June 2017 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England). West Coast lyric soprano Ann Watt enjoyed a high profile singing career in Vancouver in the 1940s. She was perhaps best known for her starring roles with Vancouver’s Theatre Under the Stars and for singing on CBC Radio’s wartime broadcasts. She drew praise for her vivacious and charming performances, her rich and lovely lyric soprano voice and her versatile range. She was inducted into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame as a pioneer in 2013.

Aszure Barton, dancer, choreographer (born at Edmonton). Aszure Barton began tap dance classes at age 3 and soon added ballet, highland, musical theatre, jazz and modern dance to her training.

 Boardman was promoted to principal dancer in 1985.

Dorothy Anne Wheeler, filmmaker, producer, director, writer (b at Edmonton 23 Sept 1946). Anne Wheeler received a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the University of Alberta in 1967 and had some experience as an actor before making her first film in 1971. She made documentaries for the National Film Board as a freelancer in the late 1970s and joined the board's Prairie region as a staff member from 1978 to 1981. From this period dates the highly acclaimed A War Story (1981), a documentary-docudrama based on Wheeler's father's diaries as a Japanese prisoner of war.

Angela Abdou, writer (born 11 May 1969 in Moose Jaw, SK). Angie Abdou earned a PhD in English literature and creative writing from the University of Calgary, following degrees from the University of Regina and University of Western Ontario.

Aritha van Herk, novelist, anthologist, essayist (b at Wetaskiwin, Alta 26 May 1954). Aritha van Herk, the daughter of Dutch immigrants, was raised on a farm in the Scandinavian community of Wetaskiwin.

In 1973 av Paul moved to Montréal, joining Les Grands Ballets Canadiens as principal dancer. Her beauty, artistic maturity and versatility won her a wide-ranging repertoire in both purely classical and neo-classical works and she created many roles in new ballets including several by Macdonald.

Author Lee Maracle reflects on the presentation of the summary of the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission by Justice Murray Sinclair on 2 June 2015.

Saidye Rosner Bronfman, OBE, community leader, philanthropist (born 9 December 1896 in Plum Coulee, MB; died 6 July 1995 in Montreal, QC). Saidye Bronfman was a leader in the Jewish community who generously supported the arts and various charities. She received the Order of the British Empire for her work with the Red Cross during the Second World War. Saidye and her husband, Samuel Bronfman, drew from their fortune in the liquor business to create a foundation that continues to fund community groups today.

Zoe Ada Caldwell, OBE, actor, director (born 14 September 1933 in Hawthorn, Australia; died 16 February 2020 in Pound Ridge, New York). Zoe Caldwell was an Australian actor who began her career in England before moving to Canada in 1961. She became a prominent leading lady in Canadian theatre, starring in productions at the Stratford Festival, the Shaw Festival and the Manitoba Theatre Centre, as well as on CBC TV. She began performing in the United States in the 1960s and went on to win four Tony Awards, including three for plays produced by her husband, Montreal-born theatre producer Robert Whitehead. Caldwell was also an accomplished director. Her renown as an actor in both classical and modern productions garnered her the Theatre World Award (1966), the Order of the British Empire (1970) and the Bernard B. Jacobs Excellence in Theatre Award (1999).

Anna Wyman, née Schalk, dancer, choreographer, teacher, director (born 1928 in Graz, Austria; died 11 July 2020 in North Vancouver, BC). 

Zsuzsi Gartner, writer, editor, journalist, (born at Winnipeg, MB, 4 May 1960) began her career in journalism.