|
Post by Sharon on Nov 14, 2010 18:15:15 GMT -5
Scottish Canadians have figured strongly in the building of Canada so I thought this would be a great place to begin this journey of Canada. People of Scottish descent represent the third-largest ethnic group in Canada and they were among the first to settle in Canada. I hope you enjoy these section about Scottish Canadian figures who contributed immensly to Canada as we know it today. In this section you will be reading about politicians and scientists, educators and feminists, inventors and businesment, rebels and academics. Something for everyone! There is even a Canadian province most closely connected with Scotland, this being Nova Scotia (New Scotland). Sharon Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by Sharon on Nov 14, 2010 18:31:53 GMT -5
Let us begin with Sir John Alexander Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada who was born at Brunswick Place, across the Clyde River from Glasgow, Scotland Jan. 10, 1815. He was the dominant creative mind which produced the BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT and the union of provinces which became Canada. As the first prime minister (and the Father of Confederation) of Canada, he oversaw the expansion of the Dominion from sea to sea. His government dominated politics for a half century and set policy goals for future generations of political leaders. Very proud to be a Scottish highlander and noted to be a master of recognizing the human condition and dealing with it in whatever form was required which led to a series of scandals. His wisdom in politics and his passion for Canada served to drive him and his ambitions for the country at an astounding pace. His main accomplishments as Prime Minister of Canada also include the building of the Trans-Canadian railroad, his deft handling of relations with the United States, rising to the challenge of the Northwest rebellion and his balancing of French and English interests in acceptable terms for most. On June 6th, 1891 he passed away in Ottawa and the Father of Canada was universally mourned by Canada and the British Empire. Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by Sharon on Nov 14, 2010 19:09:01 GMT -5
In 1799, 416 of the 530 men working for the Hudson’s Bay Company came from the Orkneys, a collection of wind-swept islands forming a county of Scotland. During the 18th and 19th centuries, as many as 90 per cent of the Canadian-based employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company were of Orkney descent; an historic connection of great pride amongst the people of Orkney and the people of the province of Manitoba. The Orcadians were engaged in agriculture and also accepted seasonal employment in the fishing industry. Among the more world-famous Orcadians who came to Canada and Manitoba was Dr. John Rae, who was born in Orphir on September 30, 1813. After qualifying as a surgeon in Edinburgh, Rae signed on as surgeon abroad the HBC ship Prince of Wales in 1833. He served as the surgeon of Moose factory from 1835 to 1844. He also spent time in the Red River Settlement and later Winnipeg. But, Rae is more famous as an Arctic explorer and more especially for discovering the fate of Sir John Franklin’s expedition which had set out from England to find the fabled North-West Passage in 1847. Rae found some remains and gained knowledge from the Inuit that Franklin and his crew had perished in the Arctic. Then there is the remarkable story of Isabel Gunn who disguised herself as a man to work in the male dominated world of the fur trade as a labourer for the Hudson's Bay Company. Isabel travelled to Hudson’s Bay following her lover, John Scarth of the parish of Firth in Orkney, an experienced HBC labourer who was at home on leave in the fall of 1805. She signed on with the HBC for a three year term at 8 pounds a year, under the name John Fubbister. The two left Scotland together for Hudson’s Bay on the Prince of Wales in June of 1806. At first, her disguise worked. She was posted along with John Scarth at Fort Albany, in what is now Northern Ontario. They worked the boats running a route up the Albany River, but at the end of June, 1807 the couple was separated. John Scarth went to East Main on the eastern coasts of Hudson and James Bays, while Isabel was sent with a crew on a 1,800 mile canoe trek that ended at the post in Pembina (North Dakota). Whether Isabel knew that she was pregnant when she started this trek we cannot know, but working on the boats, collecting furs and running supplies, was dangerous work, not to mention physically demanding. Isabel had to carry up to ninety pounds on her back in harsh weather, while traveling great distances in the mosquito infested wilderness. Food was hard to come by at times, sanitation was practically non-existent and illness was frequent. This life would have been difficult for most men, one cannot imagine how a pregnant Isabel survived it, but survived it she did. While no one in authority realized John Fubbister was a woman in disguise, it is likely that some of her co-workers knew her identity, for a great many were from the Orkneys and would have concealed her identity out of a sense of loyalty. For nineteen months she remained anonymous to her superiors, until the December night that she went into labour, banging on the door of Alexander Henry’s house, head of the North West Company’s post at Pembina, revealing her secrets. Isabel gave birth to James Scarth on Henry’s floor on December 29, 1807, becoming the first European women to give birth in the North West. Sadly this Orkney lass, Hudson’s Bay Company labourer and “debauched” cross-dresser with a vagrant heart who risked everything when she swapped her skirts for trousers and sailed west to Hudson Bay was sent back to Albany in the spring of 1808 as a washerwoman. For reasons we will never know Isabel remained unmarried and therefore, was considered ‘ruined’. She did not want to return home to Orkney, but it was against company policy for a white woman to remain at the posts and HBC were concerned about how it looked supporting a woman of ‘bad character’. So, in the fall of 1809 the company sent her and her son James back to the Orkneys. Isabel never returned to Canada. She died in virtual poverty on November 7, 1861; such a pity! Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by Sharon on Nov 16, 2010 9:30:01 GMT -5
Elizabeth Arden, born Florence Nightingale Graham was born in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada December 31st, 1884. Her father, William Graham, was born in Scotland in a family of a tenant farmer. He was a Scottish grocer in Ontario when Elizabeth Arden was born. The family’s financial misfortunes and her mother’s serious illness and subsequently death when Florence was just six-years-old, affected her character and personality. Florence knew early that she wanted to be richest little woman in the world! Elizabeth Arden's first salon was opened in 1910 on Fifth Avenue in New York City using money borrowed from her brother. It was almost an instant success making her a world famous woman cosmetics and beauty entrepreneur She never retired and never considered slowing down. She was never interested in age. She thought people who told her their age were silly. She firmly believe that " You're as old as you feel." Elizabeth Arden died in 1966 in New York. This year marks the 100th Anniversary of Elizabeth Arden! Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by Louise on Nov 16, 2010 17:11:11 GMT -5
How iinteresting. I didn't realise Canada had such prominent Scottish ancestors. I've never been to Scotland before.
|
|
|
Post by Sharon on Nov 16, 2010 17:58:52 GMT -5
Althought fewer than five million Canadians claim they have a Scottish background, the contribution from that tiny country has been immense Louise.
More to come!!!!!!!!
Sharon
|
|
|
Post by Sharon on Nov 17, 2010 11:31:29 GMT -5
When considering the giants of Canadian politics, T.C. Douglas surely stands at the forefront. Tommy Douglas was a remarkable Canadian whose contributions have helped to shape our great nation. Although he is most famous as the founding father of Medicare, the most advanced health-care system in the world, Douglas’ contributions to Saskatchewan and Canada were tremendous. Douglas established democratic socialism as a mainstream in Canadian politics and his CCF government became the first socialist government in North America. A visionary who achieved his dreams, Douglas changed the face of Canadian politics. More importantly, Tommy Douglas was a politician who put the good of the people he represented first and foremost. Tommy Clement Douglas was born on October 20, 1904 in Falkirk, Scotland. In 1911, Tommy, his mother and his sister moved to Winnipeg to join his father who had moved there the previous year. Shortly after settling in Winnipeg, Tommy was diagnosed with osteomyelitis in his right leg. Tommy’s family was not wealthy and subsequently his family could not pay for the best or most immediate treatment. The delay nearly cost Tommy his leg. This experience marked the beginning of Tommy’s quest for universal, public health care. His proudly working-class and religious family provided a strong background for both his politics and his faith. During his 42 years in politics, Tommy Douglas proved himself as an outstanding Canadian leader. He is largely responsible for our central banking, old age pensions, unemployment insurance, and our universal Medicare. Tommy Douglas was true to himself, to what he stood for, and to the people he represented. He died in Ottawa in 1986, at age 81. Actor Kiefer Sutherland is Tommy Douglas' grandson. Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by Sharon on Nov 19, 2010 10:10:16 GMT -5
George Brown was born in Alloa, Scotland in 1818. He came to Toronto in 1838. He founded the Toronto Globe, which was a very influential newspaper. In 1853 he took up the idea of representation by population. Brown was a great journalist with a dominating personality and one of the Fathers of Confederation. A dismissed Globe employee, George Bennett (whom he had never known), accosted him in his office and shot him in a sudden struggle. The seemingly minor leg wound grew infected and finally brought his death in Toronto May 9, 1880. Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by Sharon on Nov 19, 2010 10:42:25 GMT -5
Pierre Elliott Trudeau whose mother was of Scottish ancestry became the 15th Prime Minister of Canada and he led the country through some of the most tumultuous events and passionate politics in the history of Canada. In his prime, Trudeau was exciting, charismatic, sexy. He drove sports cars, wore capes, ascots and floppy hats, and always the signature red rose in his lapel. He slid down bannisters, canoed in white-water rapids, did pirouettes behind the Queen's back at Buckingham Palace. He made politics fashionable for the upbeat Sixties generation that emerged from the sleepy 1950s. He dated some of the most interesting women in the world — singer Barbra Streisand, movie star Margot Kidder, classical guitarist Liona Boyd. At the age of 52, he married Margaret Sinclair, the beautiful 22-year-old he had met while vacationing in Tahiti. By the spring of 1968 a wave of "Trudeaumania" swept Canada and Trudeau became a star with his statements such as "The state has no business in the nation's bedrooms." Pierre Elliot Trudeau was Prime Minister from April 20, 1968 - June 4, 1979 and March 3, 1980 - June 30, 1984. Trudeau instantly made dull Canadian politics accessible and exciting. Trudeau was "cool." But it was not that he lacked substance, far from it. During his 16 years as prime minister he championed seminal changes in the Canadian political landscape, among them: -Official Languages Act, 1969 -Implementation of War Measure Act, 1970 ("Just watch me…") -Wage and Price controls, 1975 -Appointed Jeanne Sauve first woman Speaker of House of Commons, 1980 -Canadian Charter of Rights, 1982 -Partition of Canadian Constitution, 1982 -Appointed Jeanne Sauve first woman Governor-General, 1984 In December 1999, Pierre Elliott Trudeau was named top Canadian newsmaker of the 20th century. He was born in Montreal on October 18, 1919 and he died September 28, 2000. Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by Louise on Nov 19, 2010 16:55:37 GMT -5
How interesting. What a sad way George Brown died. =( After all that from getting shot, he died of an infection.
|
|
|
Post by Sharon on Nov 22, 2010 18:05:18 GMT -5
I know Louise .... sad how some lives turn out. That I suppose is why we must make the best of what we have when we have it as it could be too very soon gone.
Life is for the living!
Sharon
|
|