People - Canadian Confederation

Photograph: Prime Minister St-Laurent, speaking at welcoming ceremonies

By Name / By Province or Territory

Painting: The Fathers of Confederation at the London Conference, 1866

The Fathers of Confederation at the London Conference, 1866 Copyright/Source

One of the most familiar historical images in Canada is the painting of the Fathers of Confederation. These gentlemen, the delegates to the Confederation Conferences, included John A. Macdonald, George-Étienne Cartier, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Charles Tupper and George Brown. They were probably the most prominent figures involved in Canada's creation. However, they were not the only important people. Many others, not all of them supporters of union, played a part in the formation of our country prior to 1867. As the nation continued to grow in the years following Confederation, each new province and territory had its "founders", from the notorious, to the eccentric, to the trailblazing.

In this section you will find a collection of biographies for many of the people involved in the creation and building of Canada. Some of these people are well known, while others are relatively obscure. They are arranged alphabetically, and by the province or territory with which they are associated. "Fathers," those present at the Charlottetown, Quebec and/or London Conferences, are indicated by an asterisk.

Amagoalik, John
Anawak, Jack
Archibald, Sir Adams George *
Baldwin, Robert
Bennett, Charles James Fox
Black, Judge John
Bradley, F. Gordon
Brown, George *
Bulyea, George Hedley Vicars
Campbell, Sir Alexander *
Carter, Sir F. B. T. *
Cartier, Sir George-Étienne *
Cashin, Peter J.
Cauchon, Joseph-Édouard
Chapais, Jean-Charles *
Cockburn, James *
Coles, George *
Curley, Tagak
De Cosmos, Amor
Dickey, Robert Barry *
Dorion, Sir Antoine-Aimé
Dorion, Jean-Baptiste-Éric
Douglas, Thomas, Earl of Selkirk
Fitzpatrick, Sir Charles
Galt, Sir Alexander Tilloch *
Gordon, Arthur Hamilton
Gray, John Hamilton *
Haultain, Sir Frederick William Alpin Gordon
Helmcken, John Sebastian
Henry, William Alexander *
Howe, Joseph
Ittinuar, Peter
Kusugak, Jose
La Fontaine, Louis-Hippolyte
Laird, David

Langevin, Sir Hector-Louis *
Macdonald, John Sandfield
Macdonald, Sir John A. *
Mackenzie, William Lyon
Maksagak, Helen Mamayaok
McCully, Jonathan *
McDougall, William *
McGee, Thomas D'Arcy *
Mowat, Sir Oliver *
Mulock, Sir William
Okalik, Paul
Palmer, Edward *
Pope, James Colledge
Pope, William Henry *
Riel, Louis
Ritchie, John William *
Ritchot, Noël-Joseph
Robson, John
Ross, James Hamilton
Ross, John
Salaberry, Charles-René-Léonidas d'Irumberry de
Scott, Alfred H.
Scott, Thomas Walter
Shea, Sir Ambrose *
Sifton, Sir Clifford
Smallwood, Joseph "Joey"
Steele, Sir Samuel Benfield
Taché, Alexandre-Antonin
Taché, Sir Étienne-Paschal *
Thibault, Jean-Baptiste
Tilley, Sir Samuel Leonard *
Tupper, Sir Charles *
Walsh, Sir Albert
Walsh, James Morrow
Whelan, Edward *

By Province or Territory

Alberta / British Columbia / Manitoba
New Brunswick / Newfoundland / Northwest Territories
Nova Scotia / Nunavut / Ontario / Prince Edward Island
Quebec / Saskatchewan / Yukon Territory


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