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Sir James Spearman Winter, politician, prime minister of Newfoundland 1897-1900 (born 1 January 1845 in Lamaline, Newfoundland; died 6 October 1911 in Toronto, Ontario).

Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper, politician, cabinet minister (born 3 August 1855 in Amherst, Nova Scotia; died 30 March 1927 in Vancouver, BC).

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.

Henry Joseph Clarke, lawyer, politician, premier of Manitoba 1872-74 (b in Donegal, Ire 7 July 1833; d on a train near Medicine Hat, Alta 13 Sept 1889). Admitted to the bar 1855, Clarke practised law in Montréal and spent several years in California and El Salvador.

Mary John Batten (née Fodchuk), lawyer, politician, justice and chief justice of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench (born 30 August 1921 in Sifton, MB; died 9 October 2015). Mary John Batten was the first Ukrainian Canadian woman elected to a Canadian legislature. She served as an MLA in Saskatchewan from 1956 until 1964. That year, she became the first woman to be appointed as a federal judge in Saskatchewan, and only the second in Canada. In 1983, she became Saskatchewan’s first female chief justice. She also chaired a Saskatchewan royal commission. She retired from the bench in 1989.

The prime minister (PM) is the head of the federal government. The PM is typically the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons. The PM controls the governing party and speaks for it. They appoint senators and senior judges. They also appoint and dismiss all members of Cabinet. As chair of Cabinet, the PM controls its agenda and sets the goals of Parliament. Recent years have seen a debate over the growing power of prime ministers and the effect of this on Parliament.

This article is a plain-language summary of the Prime Minister of Canada. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry: Prime Minister of Canada.

John Brant (Ahyonwaeghs), Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk) Grand Chief, Indian Superintendent (born 27 September 1794 near Brantford, ON; died 27 August 1832 near Brantford, ON). John Brant was the son of Joseph Brant, Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk) chieftain and the first Indigenous person to receive a commission in the British Army, as a captain in 1757. Brant was also the nephew of Robert Johnson Kerr, who was the son of Major General Sir William Johnson and brother-in-law of Joseph Brant.

Alfred Boyd, merchant, politician (born ca. 1836 in England; died 16 August 1908 in England). Alfred Boyd is often referred to as Manitoba’s first premier, though his title was provincial secretary, and he did not head the government. A merchant and fur trader in Red River, Boyd was elected to the Convention of Forty in January 1870. In September 1870, he was appointed provincial secretary by Lieutenant-Governor Adams George Archibald. Elected as the MLA for St. Andrew's North in 1870, Boyd briefly served as minister of public works and agriculture and minister of education. He served only one term and returned to his native England around 1899.

Abraham “Abe” Okpik,OC, Inuit community leader (born 12 January 1929 in the Mackenzie Delta area, Northwest Territories; died 10 July 1997 in Iqaluit, Nunavut). He was instrumental in Project Surname, a movement to replace the identification numbers assigned to the Inuit in Northern Canada with surnames. He was also the first Inuk to sit on what is now the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. In the mid-1970s, Okpik left a lasting mark on the Inuit language as he worked with other linguists to simplify the Inuit writing system. Okpik is remembered for his efforts in protecting and promoting Inuit language and culture.

Henry “Harry” Herbert Stevens, businessman, politician, federal cabinet minister (born 8 December 1878 in Bristol, England; died 14 June 1973 in Vancouver, BC). Henry Herbert Stevens was a Vancouver city councillor, a long-serving member of parliament (MP) and a federal cabinet minister. He was a key figure in the King-Byng Affair and in the turning away of the Komagata Maru. Stevens was outspoken in his opposition to immigration, Vancouver’s Chinese community and BC’s First Nations, and in his efforts to preserve Canada as “a white man’s country.” (See also Racism; Prejudice and Discrimination in Canada.) He was also the founder and leader of the short-lived Reconstruction Party.

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.

Laurence George Decore (born Lavrentiy Dikur), CM, lawyer, entrepreneur, community activist, alderman and mayor of Edmonton, Alberta MLA, leader of the Alberta Liberal Party, Alberta’s opposition leader (born 18 June 1940 in Vegreville, AB; died 6 November 1999 in Edmonton, AB). Laurence Decore was a Ukrainian Canadian community activist and politician. He served as an Edmonton alderman (1974–77) and mayor (1983–88) and chaired the Canadian Consultative Council on Multiculturalism. In this role, he led the drafting of section 27 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It entrenched multiculturalism in Canada’s Constitution. Decore also served as an Alberta MLA (1989–97). He led the Alberta Liberal Party (1988–94) and was leader of the Opposition (1993–94).

Harjit Singh Sajjan, PC, OMM, MSM, CD, soldier, policeman, politician, Minister of National Defence 2015–21, Minister of International Development 2021–present (born 6 September 1970, in Bombeli, Hoshiarpur, India). Harjit Sajjan enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces at age 19 and joined the Vancouver Police Department in 1999. He served for 11 years and became a detective. He also served three tours of duty in Afghanistan, where he was hailed as Canada’s “best single intelligence asset.” Sajjan rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and became the first Sikh Canadian to command an Armed Forces regiment. He was elected as a Liberal MP for Vancouver South in 2015. He was Minister of National Defence for nearly six years — one of the longest tenures in the country’s history. He has been Minister of International Development since 2021.

Elsie May Gibbons (née Thacker), first woman elected as mayor of a municipality in Québec (born 23 May 1903 in Ottawa, Ontario; died 28 January 2003 in Shawville, Québec). In 2015 the pioneering role of Gibbons in municipal politics was recognized by the Québec government, and in 2017 the Elsie-Gibbons award was created by the Fédération Québécoise des Municipalités.