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Naheed Kurban Nenshi, business consultant, professor, mayor of Calgary, AB, 2010–21 (born 2 February 1972 in Toronto, ON). Naheed Nenshi was elected Mayor of Calgary for three terms, from 2010 to 2021. He was the first Muslim mayor of a major North American city. He was also the first Canadian mayor to be awarded the World Mayor Prize by the British-based City Mayors Foundation. Nenshi was known for pioneering the use of social media in political campaigns, promoting civic engagement, completing various large infrastructure projects and guiding Calgary’s recovery following devastating floods in 2013.

Tilly Jean Rolston, Canadian politician (born 23 February 1887 in Vancouver, BC; died 12 October 1953 in Vancouver, BC). Rolston was best known for her service as education minister for the province of British Columbia in the Social Credit government of W.A.C. Bennett in the early 1950s. She has the distinction of being the second woman cabinet minister elected in that province, but the first with a portfolio in all of Canada. Rolston was instrumental in developing a new financing formula for the funding of BC’s public schools, and also instituted the province’s first sex education curriculum. She is noted for being the first woman in British Columbia to receive a state funeral upon her death.

John Graves Simcoe, army officer, lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada (born 25 February 1752 in Cotterstock, Britain; died 26 October 1806 in Exeter, Britain). Simcoe served as an officer with the British army in the American Revolutionary War, but is best known to Canadians as the first lieutenant-governor of the new British colony of Upper Canada, which later became Ontario.

Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain, CM, CQ, first female member of Québec’s National Assembly (born 8 September 1924 in Palmer, Massachusetts; died 24 March 2016). A lawyer by training, Kirkland-Casgrain became the first female member of the National Assembly of Québec on 14 December 1961. She left her mark on Québec’s political history in 1964 by spearheading the passage of Bill 16, which improved the legal status of married women (see Women’s Movement). For more than 12 years, she was the only woman to sit as a member of the National Assembly among some 100 male colleagues. Throughout her career, she dedicated herself to improving the political, economic and social status of women in Québec.

Ken Sim, entrepreneur, politician, mayor of Vancouver 2022– (born 18 October 1970 in Vancouver, BC). Ken Sim worked as an accountant and investment banker before co-founding two successful businesses: Nurse Next Door and Rosemary Rocksalt bagels. Sim made an unsuccessful bid to become mayor of Vancouver in 2018, losing to Kennedy Stewart by 957 votes. In 2022, he and his A Better City (ABC) Party won a majority government with a platform that stressed law and order and public safety. Sim is the first Chinese Canadian to be elected mayor of Vancouver.

John Weir Foote, VC, Presbyterian minister, soldier, Member of (Ontario) Provincial Parliament, cabinet minister (born 5 May 1904 in Madoc, ON; died 2 May 1988 in Cobourg, ON). During the Second World War, Honorary Captain John Foote was the only Canadian chaplain to be awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for bravery among troops of the British Empire.

Joseph Howe, journalist, publisher, politician, premier of Nova Scotia, lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia (born 13 December 1804 in Halifax, NS; died 1 June 1873 in Halifax, NS). Howe was well-known in his time as an ardent defender of freedom of the press and freedom of speech, and was also a champion of responsible government. He was a prominent figure in the movement opposed to Confederation, yet later, as a federal Cabinet minister, played an important role in securing Manitoba’s entry to Confederation.

John Howard Tory, OOnt, lawyer, broadcaster, business executive, politician, mayor of Toronto 2014–23 (born 28 May 1954 in Toronto, ON). John Tory has been a prominent figure in Ontario business and politics since the early 1980s. He worked behind the scenes on federal and provincial political campaigns before serving as leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party (2004–09) and as an MPP (2005–07). He also served as CEO of Rogers Media Inc. (1995–99) and commissioner of the Canadian Football League (1997–2000). In 2014, he was elected the 65th mayor of Toronto. He handily won a third term in October 2022, but resigned in February 2023 after admitting to an affair with a staff member.

A member of Parliament (MP) is elected to represent a single district, or “riding,” in the House of Commons. MPs have three main duties: passing laws and crafting policies in Parliament, representing their riding and political party, and serving the people in their riding. MPs have different roles and levels of influence. They can be backbenchers, Cabinet ministers, opposition critics or the prime minister. They typically serve four-year terms. They hold office until Parliament is dissolved. They have no term limits and can be re-elected any number of times. The number of MPs changes every 10 years. There are currently 338 MPs.

This article is a plain-language summary of member of Parliament (MP). If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry: Member of Parliament (MP).

Alfred Schmitz Shadd, educator, physician, farmer, politician, pharmacist, editor, civic leader (born 1870 in Raleigh Township, Kent County, ON; died 1915 in Winnipeg, MB).

Edgar Peter Lougheed, businessman, lawyer, premier of Alberta (born at Calgary 26 July 1928, died there 13 Sept. 2012). In 1965, at the age of 36, Lougheed was elected leader of the small Alberta Progressive Conservative Party. A successful political career at the helm of such a marginal party seemed unlikely at the start. By the time Lougheed took charge, the party didn't hold a single seat.

Joseph-Jacques Jean Chrétien, CC, PC, OM, QC, prime minister of Canada 1993–2003, lawyer, author, politician (born 11 January 1934 in Shawinigan, QC). Lawyer and longtime parliamentarian Jean Chrétien was Canada’s 20th prime minister. Early in his political career, Chrétien helped negotiate the patriation of the Canadian constitution as well as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As Prime Minister, he led the federal government to its first surplus in nearly 30 years. However, his administration also presided over a costly sponsorship program in Quebec that sparked one of the worst political scandals of modern times. His government committed Canadian forces to the Kosovo conflict (1999) and to the war in Afghanistan (beginning in 2002). Chrétien publicly refused to provide direct support for the subsequent American war in Iraq. The recipient of numerous honours and awards, he is involved in several international organizations dedicated to peace, democracy and other global concerns.

Dwight Ball, pharmacist, businessman, premier of Newfoundland and Labrador 2015–20, leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador 2013–20 (born 21 December 1957 in Deer Lake, NL). Ball became premier at a time of economic crisis. After several years of prosperity, slumping oil revenues required his government to bring in unpopular austerity measures to fight a burgeoning provincial debt. Ball retained the premiership in 2019, when his Liberal Party won a minority government. On 17 February 2020, Dwight Ball announced his intention to resign as premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. He remained in that position until 19 August 2020, when Andrew Furey was sworn in as premier. (See also Politics in Newfoundland and Labrador.)

The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.

This article is from our Toronto Feature series. Features from past programs are not updated.

William Alexander Blaikie, PC, OC, politician, United Church minister, professor (born 19 June 1951 in Winnipeg, MB; died 24 September 2022 in Winnipeg). Bill Blaikie was an ordained United Church minister and a proponent of social gospel politics. A major figure in the New Democratic Party (NDP), he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 29 years. He sought the leadership of the federal NDP in 2003, placing second behind Jack Layton. After retiring from federal politics, he was elected to one term as a Manitoba MLA and served as minister of conservation. He was also an adjunct professor of theology and politics at the University of Winnipeg.

Gordon Sidney Harrington, labour lawyer, military officer (colonel), politician, premier of Nova Scotia (born 7 August 1883 in Halifax, NS; died 4 July 1943 in Halifax, NS). Educated at Dalhousie University, Harrington practised law in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. During the First World War, he served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1915–17, and with the Overseas Military Forces of Canada from 1917–20. After the war, he became an MLA for Cape Breton Centre in 1925. He succeeded Edgar N. Rhodes as premier of Nova Scotia in 1930. However, with the onset of the Great Depression, Harrington and the Conservatives were defeated just three years later by the Liberals in 1933. Harrington remained an MLA for Cape Breton South until 1937. A skillful administrator, Harrington’s legacy includes his instrumental involvement in the repatriation of Canadian soldiers after the First World War and his role in ending labour disputes in the Cape Breton mining industry.

Adélard Raymond, pilot, businessman and politician (born 10 July 1889 in Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka, QC; died 23 February 1962 in Montreal, QC). Raymond was a French-Canadian pilot who served in the First World War and then in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) from 1934 to 1945. He was the second French Canadian to be appointed air vice-marshal. Raymond was also involved in the hotel industry and in various commercial operations. He was elected mayor of Senneville, on the west island of Montreal, serving from June 1951 to June 1959.