Born June 28, 1956, Montreal, Quebec. Died September 25, 2005. Madeline-Ann graduated from Marianopolis College, (formerly Marguerite Bourgeoys College) Westmount, Quebec in 1975. Madeline enjoyed painting, especially at her family home in Croatia. She found her art to be a release from everyday tensions. She was founder of the International Children's Institute which as used art and creative writing to help young people cope with the trauma of war. . May 1, 2001 she was appointed to the Order of Canada, in recognition of her humanitarian work. The Madeline-Ann Aksich Visual Arts Studio at Marianopolis College, West mount Quebec was named in her honor.  (2022)

Born August 7, 1915, Burnt Church, New Brunswick. Died December 8, 2003, Miramichi, New Brunswick. Margaret became president of the family business, W. S. Anderson and Company LTD., a large lumber company. She served as president of the New Brunswick Women's Liberal Association. In 1978 she was appointed to the Senate, representing the senatorial division of Northumberland-Miramichi, New Brunswick. She retired in 1990 at the age of 75. In her home community she was a member of the Miramichi Historical Society, served as president of the United Church Women, and an active member of the Newcastle Curling Club and the Miramichi Golf and Country Club. Source; Obituary. (accessed 2022).

née Florence Nightingale Graham. Born December 31, 1878, Woodbridge, Ontario. Died October 18, 1966, New York City, New York, U.S.A. Florence  would study nursing and worked as a secretary to help family finances. She left Woodbridge for the bright lights of New York City when she was 25 years old. Arriving in the big city she landed a job as an assistant beautician named Eleanor Adair. Soon she decided that she would work in the cosmetic business herself. The rest is history. In 1909 she formed a short livered partnership with Elizabeth Hubbard and the trade name Elizabeth was used to save money on her salon signage. Their business was located on Fifth Avenue. She would choose the name Arden from a local farm of that name. In 1910 she founded the Red Door Salon in New York City. In 1912 she traveled to France to learn beauty secrets of Paris salons. Back home in America she showed her feminist colours by marching for women's rights. These suffragettes wore Arden's red lipstick as a sign of solidarity. By 1915 she was selling her products internationally and in 1922 she opened a salon in Paris, France. In 1934 she opened a residential spa in Rome, Maine the first destination beauty spa in the U.S.A. Her shops were the first to offer in-store makeovers and her high-end spas offered a retreat from the world where women could be pampered. Along with her rival, Helena Rubenstein, she made make-up acceptable to the average North American woman. She pioneered such concepts as scientific formulation of cosmetics, beauty makeovers, and coordination colours of eye, lip and facial makeup. At the peak of her career, she was on of the wealthiest women in the world. in 1945 she used some of her wealth to invest in race horses. In 1946 she made the cover of Time magazine. In 1962 she received the Legion d'Honeur from France for her contribution to the cosmetics industry. You can see for yourself all the various products her company makes at most large department stores cosmetic sections. She is buried in Sleepy Hollow, New York under the name Elizabeth N. Graham. The musical War Paint recreates the rivalry between Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein. (2020)

Born 1971, Yemen. Zahra married at 17 and the couple had three children. She taught English as a second language (E S L) at the Yemen American Language Institute.  She immigrated to Canada in 1996 with her children. She earned her degree in Visual Communications from the Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Alberta.  In 2006 she was the director and co-owner of Foundry Communications with Allison Wattie. The Foundry is an internationally awarded marketing and communications studio. In 2009 Zahra was listed in Calgary’s top 40 Under 40, and in 2011 she was Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year for Chatelaine. The Women’s Executive Network (W X N) and named her one of the most powerful women in Canada. She has earned the Governor General’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for her significant contribution to Canada. She is a speaker in demand internationally and has been a judge at national design competitions.

Born 1728?  U.S.A. Died 1823, Upper Canada (now Ontario). Sally was mainly known by her given name. She had several additional names, Sally Montour, Sara Hands, Sara Hains, Sara Wilson, and Sarah Hance, No doubt many of these names came from improper enunciation or clear speaking. She was an Oneida by birth and she became an accomplished fur trader about the great lakes areas. She married Andrew Montour as a teen but they became separated in 1756 with Andrew having custody of most of their children who were sent to live in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Her youngest child, Nicholas, remained with her and he was baptized in Albany, New York, U.S.A. She became the owner of a deed to land which the governor of New York did not honour her ownership. She moved to Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. during the American Revolution and expanded her prosperous business trading in furs and other goods and became known as Sally Ainse.  She held lands and even held Negro slaves. She sold her land in Detroit in 1787 and moved to land near present-day Chatham, Ontario. She served as an ally, liaison, and messenger to Joseph Brant (1743-1807) during the Northwest Indian War. In 1794 she helped negotiate peace after the Battle of Fallen Timbers. In 1790 the British refused to acknowledge that  she was the rightful owner of land and she make legal attempts in 1808, 1809, 1813, and in 1815 when the Executive Council of Upper Canada claimed she was dead. She moved to Amhearstburg, Ontario to finally settle. Source: D C B Vol. 6 pages 7-8.

née Nichols. Born March 19, 1942, Indiana, U.S.A. Died December 12, 2014, Hamilton, Ontario. In 1969 Mary earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. and moved to Canada to earn her Masters of Arts degree in 1972 from the University of Waterloo, Kitchener, Ontario. In 1974 she chose the career to be in Real Estate. She spent 21 years with Caldwell Banker residential Real Estate. In 1980’s she lead a fundraising campaign for Mary’s Place and served with the Board of the Kitchener Public Library, the United Way Campaign, the Y W C A and the Community Foundation. She served as a member of the Board of Governors at the University of Waterloo and the National Alumni Council of the University of Waterloo. She would be the Zonta Club’s Woman of the Year. In 1994 she was top producer in Canada in a network of 4,000 real estate agents. From 1998 through 2002 she was on the Board of the Grand River Hospital and in 2002 she funded Heartwood Place providing affordable housing for individuals and families. That same year she was presented with the University of Waterloo Arts Alumni Achievement Award, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, and Oktoberfest Woman of the year and Community Leader recognition from the Chamber of Commerce. In 2006 she received the Meritorious Service Award from the Governor General of Canada. In 2007 she received the Realtor Merit Award from her local Real Estate Association. Source: Obituaries, Globe and Mail December 17, 2014. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario. (2020)

Born 1919, Franklin, Manitoba. Died 1987. Gladys was educated at St. Mary’s Academy. She opened a restaurant on Main Street in Winnipeg and ended up running a restaurant consultancy firm and a bartending school, as well as managing a stable of 100 dancers. For years she was known as Winnipeg’s “Queen of Burlesque” because of the agency for exotic dancers she operated in the province. An equal opportunity employer she also hired male strippers who proved popular for bridal showers. In 2009 a made for TV movie told her story.  Sources : Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J. M. Bumsted (University of Manitoba Press, 1999) ; Memorable Manitobans , Online (accessed December 2011)

née Barbel. Born August 26, 1704, Quebec, New France. Died November 16, 1793, Quebec, Marie-Anne married a wealthy merchant, Jean-Louis Fornel in December 1723. She would birth 14 children but sadly, only five would live past their late teens. Jean-Louis ran a retail store in Place Royal, Quebec. When he began branching out into the fur business it required a lot of travel from him. In 1743 he granted his wife full power of attorney to manage their business affairs. After the death of her husband in the spring of 1745 Marie-Anne granted control of half of Louis' property (the other half was to go to his children) and control of his business affairs. By 1749 she retained a lucrative lease on a fur trade post in Tadoussac an important centre for the fur trade in New France. By 1750 she had over 40 male employees. She also purchased land in Charlesbourg and Neuville. She also attempted to have a pottery business but with no success. At the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, New France became part of the British Empire. Her enlarged store in Place Royal was destroyed by bombing. By 1770 Marie-Anne finally turned her property over to her children and retired. Source: D C B

Born June 27, 1947, Halifax, Nova Scotia. After studying at Acadia University in Nova Scotia she continued her studies at the the New York School of Interior Design. Returning to Canada she used her artistic skills and combined them with business acumen and founded the highly successful Shuttles and Seawinds of Nova Scotia Ltd in 1973. The stores sold designs with a Canadian maritime flavor and soon expanded to central Canada. For her work she has received the Design Canada Award in 1974, The Tommy Award from the American Painted Fabrics Council in 1978, and the Commemorative Medal of the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Federation 1992. She is married and is mother of three children.

née Burns. Born May 16, 1877, Almonte, Ontario. Died  December 26, 1935, Morden, Manitoba . She came to Manitoba in 1887 and settled at Wood Bay. On 22 July 1897, she married Alexander McKenzie Barclay of La Rivière, at Winnipeg. They had four children. After divorcing her husband, she moved to La Rivière late in 1914. The next year, she bought the Valley Hotel. It featured heat, air conditioning and hot water, as well as telephone service. It was originally known as Barclay House and, after her death, it was operated by two of her daughters. She was instrumental in developing ski hills at La Rivière after being approached, in 1935, by a group of young people from Winnipeg. She agreed to finance the cutting of the first ski slides on the hills facing north of the Canadian Pacific Rail station. The 1st ski trains started around 1933 and, in 1934-35, a special ski train ran from Winnipeg every second Sunday during the winter, carrying as many as 800 to 1000 people to the La Rivière slopes. Skiing continued until 1959. Following her death, the Ida V. Barclay Memorial Trophy was donated by a Mr. Mathers of La Rivière, a prominent skier. Sources: Pioneers and prominent people of Manitoba, (Winnipeg, 1925: Memorable Manitobans online (accessed December 2011

née Wettstein. Born November 8, 1926, Switzerland. Died February 20, 2018, Toronto, Ontario. Sonja came from a well to do historical family in Switzerland and as a student she studied architecture. She was active in community activities, establishing the first Swiss Rotary Club and working for the Red Cross. In 1946 she married shoe business magnate, Thomas Jan Bata (1914-2008), who brought her to Canada. The couple had four children. She helped her business and life partner husband rebuild his family shoe business into one of the world's largest after the devastation of World War ll (1939-1945). In 1979 she created the Bata Shoe Foundation for research and study of the history of footwear. In 1995 the Bata Shoe Museum was founded. The couple both worked on numerous foundations including the National Design Council of Canada and the World Wildlife Fund. Her knowledge of five languages was a help with all the travel for work, volunteerism, and pleasure. She received the 125th Anniversary of Confederation of Canada Medal in 1992 . In 2002 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Golden Jubilee Medal and the 2012 Diamond Jubilee medal. In 2007 she received the Meritorious Service Medal in the Military Division.  She served as Honorary Captain with the Royal Canadian Navy 1989-2013. She is a Companion in the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. They both received the Order of Canada and in 2003 the Retail Council of Canada gave both a Lifetime Achievement Award. Source: Canadian Business Hall of Fame. Online (accessed 2023).

Born July 5,1952, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Susan earned Bachelor of Arts from the University of Manitoba in 1973 and the following year a second Bachelor degree from McGill University, Montreal. An import and retail executive, she showed promise of achievement early in life in music at the Winnipeg Music Festival 1968. She would work in the field of small business and enterprise and use her knowledge and experience to write the book: Small Business and the Big Banks. published in 1995. Combining an interest in world crafts where she is the owner/manager of Frida Craft Stores. She is also a mother of a family of three. (2018)

Born 1820? France.  Died May 2, 1899, Barkerville, British Columbia. Fanny went to California in the U.S.A. during the Gold Rush where she met and married Louis A. Bendixen. The couple moved on to the Fraser River Gold Rush in British Columbia. October 1862 the couple opened the St George Hotel in Victoria on Vancouver Island. The business and the marriage failed and Fanny moved to the next gold rush in Barkerville in summer of 1865 returning to winter at the St George in Victoria. In 1866 she settled in the Cariboo region and opened the Parlour, a saloon in Barkerville. In June 1867 she opened her second saloon in Bella Union but it was destroyed by fire in September 1868. By 1869 she had partnered with James Burdick and opened the St George Hotel in Barkerville in 1871. Archival records make suspect that the saloon and boarding house was a brothel in reality. She moved to the next gold rush in Lightening Creek and founded the Van Winkle Hotel. By 1874 she had sold the Van Winkle to open the Exchange Hotel in Stanley. When the gold began to peter out she returned to Barkerville and continued to run a saloon into the 1890’s as the only listed businesswoman in the area. Her Barkerville saloon was next to the Masonic lodge and was a main fixture of the town as was the very stout Mme Bendixen herself. There were legal problems with her will over a pair of earrings which were disputed by a Mrs. Andrew Kelly, a hotel keeper and Fanny’s grand-niece Leonie Fanny Perrier-Cochrane who lived with her husband as companions to Fanny when her health began to fail.  Elizabeth Kelly finally received the earrings after having the court declare that the almost comatose Fanny was not competent and was forced to sign the earrings to her grandniece. (2021)

Born March 12, 1943, Toronto, Ontario. Died January 23, 2015, Toronto, Ontario. . In 1962 she attended Wellesley College, a private women's liberal arts college, Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S.A. prior to earning a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Toronto (U of T) in 1965. She worked at Manufacturers life Insurance Company working her way to vice president of Corporate Development in 1985 making her the most senior-ranking woman in financial services in Canada at this time. In 1989 she established her own consulting Firm, Jalynn H. Bennett and Associates Ltd. Over the time of her career she was a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Nortel Networks, Teck Cominco, Sears Canada, Cadillac Fairview, Bonbardier, Rexel Canada Electrical, CanWest Global Communications Corporation, Ontario Power Generation, Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan, Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, the Ontario Provincial Public Accountants Council,  and the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation  From 1994 to 1999 she was the Chair of the Trent University Board of Governors, Peterborough, Ontario. She was presented with the Y W C A of Metro Toronto Woman of Distinction Award in Public Affairs and Communications and the McGill University Management Achievement Award. In 1999 she was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors. In 2000 she became a Member of the Order of Canada. She also received the Top 100 of Canada's Most Powerful Women Award.  Her life partner was Bill James. She was mother of three children and stepmother to five children.  Source: Obituary online (accessed 2022)

Born 1928, Bucharest, Romania. Died September 20, 2010, Toronto, Ontario. Mira married Reginald S. Bennett and in 1948 the family moved to Paris, France where Mira studied physics and mathematics at the famous Sorbonne University. She also studied medieval art history at Ecole de Louvre. Moving to Montreal she earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Concordia University and went on to McGill to earn her masters in Business Administration. She eventually began her career as a metrology engineer at Aviation Electric. She also enjoyed being an art dealer, this avocation she pursued for nearly 50 years. She opened her 1st gallery in Montreal in 1962 and ran it until 1979. She set up in Calgary, Alberta, from 1972 through 1983 and finally settled with her gallery in Toronto. She was a founding member and first president of the Art Dealers Association of Canada. As a philanthropist she was a patron of the Toronto Symphony, and Chair in Vision Research at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children. She was inducted into the Order of Canada. Source: “Birth and Death Notices” The Globe and Mail September 27, 2010. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario.

née Miller. Born August 10, 1868, New West Minster, British Columbia. Died 1919. Alice married Henry Azariah Berry (1862-1899) on June 24, 1890. After the death of her husband she earned a living by teaching piano and was the “Lady Manager” of Mutual Life Insurance of Canada. In 1905 she founded The World Printing and Publishing. With the help of her father, Jonathan Miller, she purchased the newspaper The World in 1911. She became the only woman managing director of a Canadian daily newspaper in this era. The newspaper, which had originally been founded in 1888, would become the highly respected Vancouver Daily World. It was the first Canadian paper to bypass Canadian Press telegraph and get its news from the U.S. press associations. One of her early partners was Louis Denison Taylor whom she married on June 9, 1916. Source: The History of Metropolitan Vancouver – Hall of Fame  (accessed June 17, 2009); not on find a grave 2024

Born July 5, 1952. An import and retail executive she showed promise of achievement early in life with achievements in music at the Winnipeg Music Festival 1968. She would work early in the field of small business and enterprise and use her knowledge and experience to write a book, Small Business and the Big Banks. (1995) Combining an interest in world crafts where is the owner/manager of Frida Craft Stores. She is also a mother of a family of three. 

Born September 7, 1940. Martha studied sciences at the University of Toronto (U of T), but she had more of an interest in business. She has worked her way to become the Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Tire. She is also married and has one son. In 1996 she was the Entrepreneur of the Year. In 1997 she bought out her two brothers from the family business. She envisions future beyond her native Canada with perhaps expansion to China and South America. She received an honourary doctorate from Ryerson University in 2002.  Dr. Billes has striven for the creation of, and is the Chairman of, the Canadian Tire Foundation for Families, an organization that is dedicated to helping families in times of crisis. She is a trustee of the Calgary Emergency Women’s Shelter Endowment Fund and has also served as a member of Sunnybrook Medical Centre Foundation. She has served on the boards of several other public corporations. Dr. Billes is the Honourary Consul Emeritus, Southern Alberta region, for the Republic of Chile. A firm believer in encouraging entrepreneurship and in 1996 through 1998 she has been a Judge, Entrepreneur of the Year, Prairie Region; in 2001, Ontario Region; and in 1998, a National Judge, Entrepreneur of the Year. When she is not working, Dr. Billes enjoys theatre, gardening and bicycling. Not unexpectedly, she is an accomplished handyman.

née Sutherland. Born December 2, 1846, River John, Nova Scotia. Died November 8,1934, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A.  While Anna was quite young her family moved to DePere, Wisconsin, U.S.A.  Like many young women of her era she became a school teacher by the time she was 16. At 19 she married Melville R. Bissell (1843-1889) and worked with him in a crockery and china business. The couple had five children together. She evidently complained about the saw dust that was a problem in the family carpets. Melville improved a carpet sweeper to do the job and in 1876 he became a travelling salesperson with his sweeper. After the death of her husband in 1889 Anna took over the business establishing new guidelines on trademarks and patents. She would go on to introduce pioneering progressive labour policies including workman's compensation and pension plans. She was a charter member of the Ladies Literary Club, a life member of the Women's City Club, and was an active member of Zonta. She was for many years the only woman with the National Hardware Men's Association. She established Bissell House, a recreation and training program for in Grand Rapids, Michigan for youth and immigrant women. In July 2016 a statue of Anna Bissell was dedicated in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. A.  (2021)

née Madsen. Born June 18, 1943, Belleville, Ontario. She studied foreign languages at the University of Alberta and enjoys speaking English, Russian, French and Spanish and is considering learning Mandarin. She helped to negotiate Canada's historic auto pact with the United States, played a pivotal role in EXPO 86 and founded the British Columbia Securities Commission and was the first woman deputy minister (Consumer and Corporate Affairs) , responsible for financial institutions. She currently heads up Golden Heron Enterprises as CEO. In 2004 she was presented with a lifetime achievement award from the Association of Women in Finance.

Born 1953, London, Ontario. After university she worked at retailers Fairweather and then with Holt Renfrew prior to living in Hong Kong as president for Lane Crawford from 1997-2008. She was the 1st in retail to launch an in-house style magazine, Flair serving as editor-in-chief for three years.  Served as President and C E O of the Hudson Bay Company retiring in December 2016 and that month she was named a Member of the Order of Canada. Collectively she raised more than $17 million for charitable organizations, including the Canadian Olympic Foundation, and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. In 2013 she became a member of the Marketing Hall of Fame in the Legend category.

Born August 19, 1912, Jamaica. Died December 6, 1999, Ottawa, Ontario. Estelle married Herbert 'Pops' Brown who had immigrated to Canada in 1939 and with the breakout of the World War ll (1939-1945) had enlisted and became a sergeant in the Canadian Army. His being in the army granted him automatic citizenship. Estelle and their children joined him in Canada in 1955. Together this husband an wife would open on of the first Black businesses in Ottawa, Brown's Cleaners and Tailors in 1957. Estelle was the tailoring side of the business. The business began out of the Beacon Arms Hotel and soon expanded and would open additional locations across the city. The business served as an example to other Black families who had dreams of owning a business. 'Pops' became a stand-in father figure to many of the Caribbean women who came to Canada as part of a domestic workers campaign by the Canadian Government in the 1950's. Estelle made her home a welcome gathering place for new immigrants. There were always a lot of Caribbean or African immigrants coming to Ottawa and they were always told for comfort and guidance to see the Browns.  Estelle became ill in the late 1970's and Pops left the business to care for her leaving other family to take over the business. Eventually the business was sold in 1978. (2024).

Born August 25, 1845, Queenstown, Ireland. Died January 4, 1925, Victoria, British Columbia. About 1860. Nellie, her mother and her sister, were among the tens of thousands of Catholic Irish who landed in Boston, Massacheutts, U.S.A. in the hope of a better chance at life. By 1869 they had worked their way across country to San Francisco just in time for the silver boom in the state of Nevada. Always a businesswoman at heart they opened a Miners’ Boarding House in Pioche, Nevada. From there it was on to the gold mining camps in Cassiar, British Columbia before settling a short while in Victoria, British Columbia. When she heard that Cassiar needed supplies desperately and was suffering from an outbreak of scurvy she gathered supplies and 6 volunteers. They took 77 days traveling through snow and storms to reach Cassiar to distribute supplies and tend the sick. She remained for two years raising funds helping to build a hospital. She was often called, ‘Miners’ Angel’ or the ‘Angel of the Cassiar’. By 1876 she was touring the mining camps in the American west and by 1879 settled in Tucson, Arizona Territory. Here she opened a restaurant before relocating to Tombstone, Arizona. She ran several businesses and raised money for St Mary’s Hospital, the Catholic Church building and the 1st public school in town. In 1886 she kept moving until the 1897 word of the gold in the Canadian Yukon. The next year she was back in Victoria, British Columbia getting supplies to go to the northern gold fields. She gained the reputation as an exceptional miner at a time when only 1% of the 30,000 gold seekers were women. In Dawson City she ran a restaurant, a grocery store and a hotel. Then it was on to Alaska, where she prospected well into her 70’s. When ill with pneumonia she returned home to Victoria where she died. Source: D C B (2021)

Born March 16, 1953, United Kingdom. Died April 14, 2004, Montreal, Quebec. Micheline and her partner, Ronald Weinberg, were the founders of Cinar Films Inc. in 1976 and it became, an award-winning animation company producing such popular children's Television shows as Arthur and Caillou. At one time the Hollywood Reporter named her to the top twenty most-powerful women in Hollywood. In 1993 she was awarded the Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year. and in 1994 she was the Outstanding Achievement Award winner for Women in Television and Film. In 2000 there were sever financial problems and the two were ousted from the company and fined 1,000,000 dollars each while baring them from managing any Canadian company for five years. She died during  from complications experienced during recovery from some plastic surgery.

Zita grew up on Fogo Island, off the coast of Newfoundland, where life did not include electricity nor running water. She traveled to Ontario to attend the University of Ottawa. After earning he B.A. she worked for a while in Alberta and traveled across Canada and even to Africa.  She was a successful entrepreneur who in 2001 left her position as a C E O in the tech industry to dedicate her energies to philanthropic work. She had earned millions in stock options in the company and decided to purchase a yacht and sail the world for four years. She would set philanthropic projects distributing radios in Rwanda and providing scholarships for students in her home Fogo Island. She is actively involved in projects to contribute to a resilient and vibrant future of Fogo Island and Change Island. She launched, with her brothers, in 2006, the Shorefest Foundation on Fogo Island. She invested 10 million of her own money along with monies from the federal and provincial governments to make Fogo Island an international destination for the arts and tourists.  She became an innkeeper at her home of Fogo Island in 2012. The inn is a destination for upscale tourists. On June 30, 2016 she became a Member of the Order of Canada. She was a staunch supporter of the incorporation of the Town of Fogo Island on March 1, 2011. Shorefest Foundation also has a project to microfinance local peoples with diverse projects such as green houses, sewing businesses and a craft guild. (2019)

Born July 26, 1926, Saint John, New Brunswick. February 15, 2019, Saint John, New Brunswick. For some 50 years Erminie was a respected businesswoman of the Saint John business community. In 1991 she received a Certificate of Appreciation for distinguished service to the community from the United Nations Association. In 1948 she married Edgar Cohen. The couple have three children. She was the first woman to be elected president of her synagogue. As a result of her work she was elected National Vice President of the Hadassah WIZO Organization of Canada  She was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1993 and served until retirement in 2001. After retirement she continued to serve on the Progressive Conservative National Task Force on  Poverty. She has been awarded the Humanitarian award from the Salvation Army and the Red Cross Humanitarian Award amongst other awards. She became a Member of the order of Canada invested on May 27, 2011.

Born North Bay, Ontario. She earned her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Ottawa in 1967 and later, in 1986 topped off her education with Advanced Management Program at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. She has held numerous executive positions with such groups as Petro Canada, the International Assistance Corporation and was a financial advisor with Treasury Board. She also worked with the RCMP with the Reform Implementation Council. She has worked as Director with BC Tel, Manitoba Telecom Services, President of Cora Group and C E O of Stentor Telecom Policy Inc where she was CEO. In 2005 she was invited to join Ryerson University Board of Governors.  She has been named Woman of the year by the Canadian Women in Communications and the Award for Excellence from the International Association of Business Communications.  She was invested with the Order of Canada on September 26, 2012 and has also been presented with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Born January 18, 1697, Montreal, Quebec. Died February 26, 1764, Montreal, Quebec. Thérèse was the daughter of one of the richest merchants in Montreal. She married François Poulin de Francheville, a merchant trader, in 1718 and became a widow on November 28, 1733. She became interested in business after her husband's death and took over his affaires. She would be known as an astute business woman and played an active role in New France economy. She was the owner of the slave Marie Joseph Angelique (1705-1735). It was this slave who while trying to cover her escape would set fire to the widow's house in 1734 and the fire would get out of control burning much of the settlement. Thérèse would rebuild her house. Source: D C B

née Ebbitt. Born September 4, 1923, Montreal, Quebec. Died March 3, 2011, Montreal, Quebec. May graduated with a Bachelor of Arts then a Master of Arts from McGill University, Montreal.  After she earned a second master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. she worked for the United Nations in New York. Returning to Canada she became a reporter for the Montreal Herald and also wrote for the Montreal Standard. She was the second woman hired by the Canadian Press news agency. In 1953 May married labour lawyer Phil Cutler (died 1987) and the couple had four sons. She joined the faculty of McGill University and founded the three year program for journalism. In 1967, using money from her biographical novella The Last Noble Savage, she founded Tundra Books in her home becoming the first Canadian woman publisher of children's books. She would own and operate Tundra books for almost three decades publishing works of writers and artists she sought to produce children's books. Some of her own works were published under her maiden name.She penned a musical, two theatrical plays and the biography of William Kurelek called Breaking Free.  In 1987 she ran for a position of mayor in Westmount  and became the first woman mayor of the city. She did not run for re-election in 1991. In 1998 she sold Tundra Books to McClelland and Stewart Publishing. In 2020 she took her dream trip traveling to Antarctica. Source: May Cutler, Founder of Tundra Books, Dies at 87. Toronto Star March 4, 2011 online (accessed 2022)

Born July 6, 1705, Montreal, New France. Died October 22, 1776, Chambly, Lower Canada (now Quebec) . Louise was one of the five daughters of the Governor of Trois Riviéres. She was educated with the Ursuline sisters in Quebec. At 30 she became interested in the administration of her family’s properties. From 1739 through the 1760’s she oversaw the operations of the family sawmill making sure the foremen were well schooled in required book keeping. She also ran sawmills outside of the family interests through astute partnerships. She also used her strong business sense in the tannery business. Her won knowledge was no doubt augmented by advice of other of her upper colonial class show shared their successful business techniques. After the establishment of the Canadian boarder she lost her claims to areas about Lake Champlain in New York State and it seems that it was about this time she chose to divest herself of some of her other business properties. Near the end of her life she made grants of numerous lots to local habitants in the Richelieu Valley.

Born 1956, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Lisa relocated with her family to Montreal, Quebec when she was ten. Lisa graduated from McGill University, Montreal, Quebec and is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada. She worked at the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC). She worked as President and C E O of Astral Television Networks Inc. In 2005 she became C E O of TVOntario. In 2015 she became a Member of the Order of Canada.

Born June 6, 1906. Indian Head, Saskatchewan She began her working career as a teacher. During WW II (1939-1945) she worked in the Department of Munitions and Supply and the Department of Transport. After the war she became Director of Education and Woman’s Division at Canadian Life Association in Toronto. She retired in 1971 and became a free lance Public Relations Consultant. She was president oft he International Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs from 1971 through 1974. In 1977 she was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Medal.  Sources: Canadian Women of Note. Media Club of Canada. (York University 1994) page 212. : Canadian Who’s Who volume 14. 1979 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press)

Born December 29, 1753, Boston, Massacheutts, U.S.A.. Died December 25, 1827, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sarah married successful merchant, George Deblois, on Christmas Day 1771 and raised a family of nine  children. In April 1775 the family fled to Halifax, Nova Scotia. As loyalists or people who had left the colonies in the United States because they were still loyal to the British monarchy, her family relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1777 they once again tried living in the U.S.A. but returned to Halifax in 1781. When her husband died June 18, 1799 she assumed supervision of his highly successful merchant  business. The store, S. Deblois sold imported dry goods and hardware. She was somewhat of a novelty in Halifax society and the business survived difficult times. In 1802 Sarah and some of her children sailed to once more settle in Massachusetts but maintained her Halifax business.  She provided a solid foundation for the business which continued as a family business into the 19th century.

Born February 25, 1841, Langolen, France. Died December 20, 1920, Point-l'Abbé, France. Marie was born to a former aristocrat family that had lost face and fortune during the French Revolution(1789-1799). She married Count Gustave de Grandsaignes d'Houterives another fallen aristocrat. With a small inheritance she began to invest in tourism and bought a villa to entertain paying guests. After the death of her husband Marie headed to Montreal to help her floundering businessman son in October 1897. The mother and son successfully formed Historiograph Company to produce exhibitions of films and soon they had traveling exhibitions of films. They traveled thoughtout Quebec and Ontario prior to heading to New York, U.S.A. They did exhibitions in the summer in Canada and the northeaster United States in winter. The company became Parisian Mimodramas exhibiting French films. In Montreal Marie was known as the 'Motion Picture Countess'. With the gain in popularity of nickelodeons business had stiff competitions for a woman in the business and she left for St Louis. Later she took her business to the French Island of St Pierre off the coast of Canada. At the age of 72 in 1913 she returned to Brittany, France but World War l closed down her business. She was a true pioneer in the motion picture industry.   (2019)

Born September 17, 1858. Died June 14, 1932.  Dorimène married Gabriele-Alphonse (1854-1920) a journalist and newspaper owner on September 2, 1879. The couple would have 10 children. Along with her husband, she was co-founded the pioneering credit union Caisses populaires de Lévis on December 6, 1900, and opening in January 23, 1901. She was made full-time manager from 1903 to 1906 for a nominal salary of $50 per year, while her husband received the official title. After his death in 1920, she played an active role in founding the Union régionale des caisses populaires Desjardins in Quebec City. She was appointed vice-patron of the board and made an honorary member in 1923. In 1982 their home became an historical center.  Dorimène became the first laywoman to be honoured on Parliament Hill in Quebec City in 2008. Dorimène Desjardins was appointed a Person of National Historic Significance in 2012.

Born June 7, 1965. Hélène graduated in business administration from HEC (École des hautes études commerciales de Montréal), Montreal and  then to The Paris School of Political Sciences (Sciences Po) in France. She also studied art history in London, England at Christie's Auction House and history of architecture at the New York School of Design, U.S.A. In 1996 she founded and served as CEO and chair of the board of the Montreal Centre for Enterprise and Innovation (CEIM), the 1st technology think tank and consulting service of its kind. She has served on the board of H R C and was HEC Chair in 2003. Since 2006 she has chaired the Université de Montréal's Faculty of Medicine Advisory Committee. She has served on numerous other boards including Christian Dior, Garda World Security, Génome Québec, and Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal. She was also governor of the International Economic Forum of the Americas. In 2010 she became a Member of the Order of Canada and was named to the Académie des Grands Montréalais. In 2013 she was inducted as an Officer of the the Ordre national du Québec. (2019)

Born 1945. She started in television when she helped create a successful children's show, All in a Tube in 1972. Her career has encompassed being an on-air journalist, a producer, a university professor , a social activist and visionary television pioneer. In 1988 she was one of the founders of the world's firs multi-faith and multicultural enterprises of its kind...VISION TV. She has mentored the careers of visible minorities and aboriginal hopefuls. She assures positive portrayal of women of all ages on VISION TV. Her work has been diversified from Obsidian Theatre to the Couchiching Conference of Public Affairs. In 1993 she was included in Maclean's Roll of Outstanding Canadians. She has received the Canadian Black Achievement Award and is a member of both the Broadcast Hall of Fame and the Order of Canada.

Born October 8, 1956, Germiston, South Africa. Arlene emigrated to Canada with her family when she was quite young. She attended High School in Calgary. She married when she was 19 and the couple had 4 children. By the time she was 31 she was divorced and lost the custody of her children because she had no  financial system of support. After several attempts at various positions in 1988 she was working at venture Communications. Within 10 years she was the CEO and owner of the business. She was listed as one of Canada’s top 100 Most Powerful Women, Calgary’s Business owner of the Year and earned the Pinnacle Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence. A self made millionaire she entered the successful CBC television business show, Dragons’ Den in 2008. She has served on numerous boards including Kids Help Phone, Marketing Magazine and is the national spokesperson for the Breakfast Club which raises awareness of the necessity of a nutritious morning meal for children. In 2011 she published her 1sdt book , Persuasion and earned the Women in Film and Television Showcase Lifetime Achievement Award. Source: Alexander Dixon  (accessed February 2014)

Born 1956. She entered broadcasting in 1985 when she joined MuchMusic. In 1997 she had worked her way up the corporate ladder to Vice president and general manager of MuchMusic. She was instrumental in taking the company to an international audience. In 2000 she accepted a position as President of Sony Music Canada. She has won two Gemini Awards, the Peter Gzowski Award of Merit, 3 times she has received Canadian Music Week's Broadcast Executive Award and she has received the Outstanding Achievement Award from Women in Films and television. Shift Magazine 1998 listed her as one of the top 25 most important people in New Music. In 2002 she was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and in 2005 she was appointed a Member in the Order of Canada.

née Noel. Born January 13, 1766, Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, New France (now Quebec). Died November 17, 1829, Quebec. Marie-Geneviève married Joseph Drapeau in 1782 and became a widow in 1810. As a wife she had no rights nor power but as a widow she had the same rights as an adult male. This was a law entitled Coutume de Paris. She took over the family businesses and rented out houses, businesses and lands. The monies were invested in real estate. She was a well known and respected business personality of her day. Upon her death her estate was divided evenly among her six daughters who ably continued the family businesses. 

Born February 14, 1915, Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. Died January 29, 2008, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Eileen relocated to Winnipeg as a youth where after High School she worked as a secretary at the J. H. Ashdown Hardware Company. On June 29, 1940 she married James Couper Duncan (d.1966). The couple had five children. Upon her husband’s death she stepped in as president of the James Duncan Singers and produced shows at the Hollow Mug Theatre Restaurant. She was also Executive Secretary to the manager at the International Inn until she retired in 1985. She was a supporter of post secondary education for women through the P. E. O. Sisterhood, serving as the provincial president in 1967. She also served as president of the Inner Wheel Club of Winnipeg as well as being and active lifelong member of the United Church of Canada. Source: ‘Eileen Valentine Duncan’ in Memorable Manitobans. Online (accessed September 2014)

Born 1876, Des Moines, Iowa. Died 1981, Lethbridge, Alberta. After her marriage dissolved and Emma became divorced she came to Lethbridge Alberta with a doctor and his family. She would opened a Café called Emma's Hot Tamale Parlour and served  specialty dishes that may have formerly been considered exotic. She closed her café in 1943 and opened a boarding house providing overnight hospitality for train porters. Although she did not have children of her own she opened her home to many foster children. She was always willing to mentor people of non-white races. Her tombstone reads: Kindness and thoughtfulness were your strength. The city of Lethbridge has named a street in her honour. Source. Legacy of Lethbridge Women, Lethbridge Historical Society, 2005; Find a Grave Canada. (2021)

Born Vancouver, British Columbia. She studied English literature at the University of British Columbia. She began her working career as a social worker and wrote poetry for release. Eventually she returned home to the family business, Duthie Books Ltd. She automated the business and increased the total number of book stores in Vancouver to 10 outlets. The company also publishes The New Reader, a quarterly journal of book reviews which has run for over 20 years

Born 1877? Alabama ? U.S.A. Lulu Mae came to the Yukon in 1899 with a traveling troupe of performers. She worked in various dance halls in the settlement of Dawson until 1904 when she married Murray S. Eads and the couple ran Flora Dora Dance Hall, later the Royal Alexandra  in Dawson until 1914. The Northwest Mounted Police kept the dance hall under their sights with clear suspicion of prostitution for which Lulu Mae was eventually arrested when her husband was away from town. In 1918 the couple headed south leaving the port of Skagway, Alaska on October 23. The ill fated ship, the Princess Sophia, sank two days later with all passengers and crew on board.

née McCrae. Born November 26, 1879, Omemee, Ontario. Died July 9, 1970, Toronto, Ontario. As a young woman Flora trained as a nurse. In 1901 she married Sir John Craig Eaton (1876-1922) and turned her energies to philanthropic works. She would dedicate herself to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, The Institute for the Blind, and children's welfare, and the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene. As a businesswoman she was a director of the T. Eaton Co. and vice-president and director of the Eaton Knitting Co. She served as vice-president of the Canadian Red Cross and Master of the Toronto Hunt Club. In 1950 she was made a Dame of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. This busy mother of four sons also found time to pen a autobiography, Memory's Wall (Toronto 1956) which was to be a legacy for her grandchildren. Lady Eaton Elementary School in Omemee is named in her honour. Lady Eaton College is Part of Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario. Her house, Eaton Hall,  became the Seneca College administrative offices and then the Management Development Centre of the College. In 1994, Royal Doulton produced a figurine in Lady Eaton's image as part of the celebration of 125 years of Eaton's Department Stores.

Born 1919?, Toronto, Ontario. Died June 10, 2013, Brampton, Ontario. Anne married Steve Felesko in 1937 and the couple settled in Kirkland Lake in northern Ontario.  Anne worked in the family business and joined the Kirkland Lake branch of the Canadian Federation of Business and Professional women in 1955 and became actively involved. When the family business was sold in 1967the family relocated to Brampton  where Anne as an Office Manager with Decar Developments from 1967 until retirement in 1985. She had transferred her membership with the Canadian Federation of Business and professional women to Brampton and here she served as treasurer, vice president and from 1970-1972 as president. Source: Obituary online (accessed 2022)

née Petnahazi. Born September 30, 1911, Igazfalva, Hungary. Died August 31,1996, Lethbridge Alberta. In 1912 Julia and her family immigrated to Milk, Alberta. In 1929 she married Joseph Fletcher (1904-1982) and the couple had three children. The couple ran the B. B. Grange and Gift Shop in Milk River where Julia would serve on council and be deputy mayor. In 1951 the family relocated to Lethbridge. She ran a boarding house and the Steak and Pancake House for 25 years. By the mid 1960's this shrewd businesswoman had operated hotels in Monarch and New Dayton and developed several rental properties. Eventually she settled In Monarch. She was a charter member of the Order of the Royal Purple and would receive a 50 year service pin from the organization. The city of Lethbridge has named a street in her honour. Source: Legacy of Lethbridge Women, Lethbridge Historical Society, 2005; Find a Grave Canada Online (accessed 2021)

Born August 26, 1704. Died November 16, 1793. Marie Anne was a woman of the merchant class. She and her husband would have 14 children but only seven would survive infancy. In this era of New France it was typical for a woman to continue in the family business after the death of a husband. When she became a widow in 1745 she took over the family business interests to assure the support of her family. She showed a strong business sense entering the pottery business when the war cause a shortage of shipments from France. She was successful in several ventures including real estate and she expanded her affairs throughout the community and even into Labrador.

Died October 3, 2002. She worked in radio in Red Deer Alberta, and Dawson Creek, British Columbia before moving and settling in Saskatchewan. In 1957 she and her husband, Bill founded C J F B - TV in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. She was more than 'just' owner and general manager and is described as a true pioneer of independent broadcasting. The station signed over to C B C only in May 0f 2002. She was also extremely committed to her community. She created the Kinsmen Telethon in Saskatchewan. Now called, Telemiracle, it is recognized nationally for the tens of millions of dollars that it has raised for individuals with disabilities.

née Ells. Born August 16, 1877, Centerville?, Nova Scotia. Died August 10, 1949, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A. While living in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Evelyn met, and in 1908, married Alfred Carl Fuller. The couple had two children together. Alfred had started his own company the Fuller Brush Company, Hartford Connecticut, U.S.A. in 1906. Evelyn worked alongside her husband as company secretary and it is reported that she outsold her salesman husband two to one. By 1919 the company had sales of over $1,000,000.00 per year. The marriage broke up and the couple were divorced in 1930. The family continued their connection with they home province of Nova Scotia.  (2021)

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née Gib. Born 1924. Died September 3, 2017, Toronto, Ontario. Shirley married John Joseph Gib. She began working at the Bank of Nova Scotia in 1941. She worked at various branches as her husband, a fellow banker, moved to different jobs. John became Assistant supervisor at the Bank of Nova Scotia. Shirley took advantage of various courses that the Bank offered and in 1961 became the first woman in Canada to be appointed to a position of Bank Manager. She worked as manager at the Young and Roselawn Branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia, in Toronto. That same year she joined the North Toronto Business and Professional Women's Club where she would serve as president and then as president of the provincial organization. She worked with Scotia Bank for 43 years. At one point she was handed a note by a confused teller which said that the male writer was desperate, had a gun, and wanted money. She simple asked to see the gun. There was no gun and she called a security guard to take custody of the would be robber. Source: Obituary September 2017 online (accessed 2021): First Bank Manager in Canada CBC Archives You Tube (accessed 2021)  

Born December 10, 1914, Hodgeville, Saskatchewan. Died September 16, 1976, Yukon. Anne moved to Winnipeg where she met her future husband, Don Graham. They married in November 1936. Eventually the couple found their way to the Yukon and settled in Tagish Lake area. Anne loved to fish and she earned her nick name from an Aboriginal guide who always saw her fishing on the Tagish Bridge. In 1966 Anne opened Tagish Anne's Coffee Bar that she ran all on her own. She would produce homemade goods weekly to the tune of 200 loaves of bread, 145 pies, sausage roles, cinnamon buns and butter tarts. She often delivered her goodies to Whitehorse some 70 miles away. At her funeral the RCMP were pallbearers and seasonal tourists who had enjoyed her goodies paid for her grave marker. Source; A Guide to Who Lies Beneath Whitehorse Cemeteries. Online (accessed 2019).

née Bardwell. Born July 17, 1924 Toronto, Ontario. Died May 17, 2016, Toronto, Ontario. Claire’s family business was sewing clothing which she did with her mother, Rose, as an accomplished seamstress. By the age of ten Claire had taught herself how to sew on her mother’s machine. After high school she took a one year drafting course at Northern Vocational School and then took courses at the Toronto School of Design. She also took courses by home study with the New York Fashion Academy in the U.S.A. She went on to study at the Galasso School of Design, Toronto. When she was 20 she married Albert Haddad and the coupe had two daughters. She worked at the father’s factory  and her name even appeared labels as designer. On the death of her father in 1954, her husband took over running the family business. Claire soon branched out with a lingerie business called Clare Haddad Ltd, in which Albert did the administration. Soon the couple were receiving invitations to show designs which were sold in establishments such as Hudson Bay Company, Eaton’s, Holt Renfrew, and Simpson’s. In the 1960’s she designed for such dignitaries as the actor Liz Taylor. In 1967 she was the first Canadian to be awarded the Coty American Fashion Critics Award. In 1968 her company was one of the 1st Canadian manufacturers to be featured in Vogue Magazine. In 1984 she signed with Kayes-Roth Canada which had established offices in New York, Los Angeles, California, and Dallas, Texas, U.S.A In 1979 she was inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada. Clare retired in 1985. Some of her works are held at the Royal Ontario Museum, the School of Fashion and Seneca College. (2022)

Born June 1966, Guelph, Ontario. Linda studied at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario earning both a BA and a Master's in Business Administration. Linda started her career as a machine operator at her father's car parts factory and eventually taking over the family business. Since 2002 she has been the CEO of Linamar Corporation auto-parts company based in Guelph, Ontario. She has seen her company grow from 9,400 jobs in 2002 to over 28,000 in 2018. there are now a total of 58 Linamar plants in 13 countries across Asia, North America and Europe. In 2014 she was the first woman named Canada's Entrepreneur of the Year and in 2018 she was named Canada's Outstanding C E O of the Year. That same year she was named to the Order of Canada. She is a member of the Canadian NAFTA Council that worked on the trade pact with Canada, U.S.A. and Mexico in 2019. She also volunteers in her community serving on the boards of the Guelph General Hospital, Western University, London, Ontario, the Women on Boards Advisory Council and the Business Council of Canada. (2019) 

Born 1862?, U.S.A.? Died 1938, British Columbia. Christina arrived in Victoria, British Columbia from California in 1912. She purchased a brothel on Broughton Street which welcomed clientele from the Union Club and Drianrd Hotel. By 1913 she has engaged well known local architect Thomas Hooper to build her a new brothel on Cook street. Each of the three bedrooms in the house had their own entrances and their own bathroom. Christina owned the house until it was sold in 1920 and she moved to one of her other brothels on Broughton Street. By 1919 Christina sold all her holdings in Victoria in 1919 and moved to Mendocino County to be closer to her brother and his family. Christina's story is told in the book Sensational Victoria by Eve Lazarus in 2012. (2022)

née Morrison. Born May 11, 1929, Ottawa, Ontario. Died October 28, 2022, Ottawa, Ontario. Grete graduated in journalism from Carleton University, Ottawa, in 1954. She joined her fathers business, Morrison Lamonthe, a bakery business in 1967. She married Reginald Britten Hale. She was responsible for the 20-foot cake at Canada's 100th birthday celebration on Parliament, that was cut by Queen Elizabeth ll.  She became President of Morrison Lamonthe in 1978 and served to 1989 and served as board chair until 2005. She served on dozens of corporate and community boards and was president of the Beechwood Cemetery and Foundation. She was a founder of Friends of the National Library of Canada and Honorary life Member of the boards of CANHAVE Children's Centre and the Community Foundation of Ottawa. She was inducted into the Order of Canada and served as the first woman Honorary Colonel of the Governor General's Foot Guard from 2011 to 2013. Source: Obituary, Ottawa Citizen, (accessed 2022); personal knowledge

Born January 30, 1929, Buchanan, Saskatchewan. Died January 7, 2005, Edmonton, Alberta. Lois moved to Edmonton in her early teens. It was here that she would meet her husband, Ted, and in 1952 they purchased their farm. By 1960 they had diversified into a vegetable and mixed garden business and by 1979 the incorporated as Hole's Greenhouses and Gardens Ltd. Their business would grow into one of the largest retail greenhouse operations in western Canada. An advocate of education she was a member of the Governing Council of Athabasca University. She also worked on the Farm Credit Corporation, was honourary chair for the 27th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice, and for the Children's Millennium Fund. She also served as a board member of the Canadian Heritage Garden Foundation, the Child and Adolescent Services Association, and the Quality of Life Commission. In 1999 Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed her as Alberta's 15th Lieutenant Governor. She is the second woman to hold this position. In her spare time, Mrs. Hole managed to publish several books on gardening as well as being a regular contributor to several newspapers across Canada. This in-between being an  in demand and popular lecturer throughout North America. She was also appointed to the Order of Canada. A statue of Lois called Legacy of Love and Learning was installed at St. Albert Public Library in Alberta.  A statue of Lois sitting on a bench, is located at the Edmonton Public Library. The Lois Hole Memorial Garden is found on the grounds of the Alberta Legislature. (2024)

née Ridout. Born January 23, 1885, Toronto, Ontario. Died March 8, 1974, Toronto, Ontario. Dora graduated from Havergal College, Toronto in 1905. She married Dr. Frederick C. Hood on December 2, 1918.  In 1927, as a young widow with two children, Dora  supported herself by opening a small reading room in her house and purchasing a small mail-order book business from a friend. She was one of the first book dealers in Toronto to specialize in 'out-of–print' Canadian books. In 1951 she was a founding member of the Canadian Retail Booksellers Association. The Dora Hood Book Room received royal warrant from Buckingham Palace to acquire Canadiana! She developed precise and profitable catalogue of Canadian books. After retiring from the Book Room in 1954,  she became an author herself producing two books including Davidson Black, a Biography. Dora was an active member of the Ontario Historical Society, the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum and the Canadian Hearing Society. The business she started had several owners until closing in 1982.

Production Executive for Children's Media

Born Vancouver, British Columbia. Lenora obtained her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario. She began work with Nelvana Lid. as a cinematographer but soon choose production as her preferred career. She worded on productions for entertainment of children and in 1989 she won a Grammy for work on the storied elephant Babar. This was followed with recognition for work on the animated series Beatlejuice by winning  Daytime Emmy. By the mid 1990’s she was in charge of Walt Disney Television Animation in Toronto. Her name is associated with children’s character entertainment of the era from Strawberry Shortcake, the Care Bears, My Pet Monster and the Puffalumps. In June 2006 she settled in London England to work for HIT entertainment where characters such as Thomas the Engine come to life. In 2011 Waterloo University honoured her with the Alumni Achievement Award. Lenora sits of the board of Directors for Women in Animation (WIA) is an active member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She is also a founding committee member of  Canadian Studies Program at the University of California. Leona Hume was nominated for inclusion into Famous Canadian Women by James Leier in March 2011. Sources: HIT news releases.  (accessed May 2011) The Children’s Media Conference (accessed March 29, 2011)

Born May 3, 1880, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. Died March 24, 1955, Saint John, New Brunswick. Millie married Lisle Isaacs and the couple had at least four children. She worked alongside of her husband in the family business the American Clothing House which had been established by her father in Saint John. She continued along with two of her sons after becoming a widow in 1929. Millie as also active in various women's groups including the Daughters of Israel where she served as secretary from 1904 through to 1930 when she became president. She also served as Secretary for the Local Council of Women from 1925 to 1935. The Isaacs family home, 21 Orange St., Saint John is considered a Local Historic Place. Source: New Brunswick Womens History online (accessed 2012); Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2022)

Born May 21, 1915, Died May 4, 2009, Toronto, Ontario. Gwen married Leonard 'Len' Johnston (died 1998), a member of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The couple had two children.  In 1968 they opened Toronto Third World Books and Craft. The  The bookstore became a centre for Black Community activist and a source of inspiration for young Black writers and poets. It was a place to gather and discuss all the relevant occurrences of the time and to meet like minded people. It was simply the Toronto Caribbean place to be. The store carried At the Crossroads, a Black women's art journal by one of their struggling customers. Gwen maintained the bookstore until 2000. Source: Heroes of Toronto's Black Liberation Movement NOW, May 25, 2017, online (accessed 2024); Obituary online (accessed 2024); Remebber: Gwendolyn Johnston & Washington Savage,Possession all that is sacred in contemporaty art Blog online (accessed 2024).

'Tugboat Annie'

Born 1924 Vancouver, British Columbia. Died December 31, 2004, Langley, British Columbia. In high school she was introduced to accounting and enjoyed it. Later on she would attend night classes to follow through with studies to become a Certified General Accountant. In 1945 she was hired by a company called Riv Two as a “girl Friday” and she learned quickly. Through the years she worked her way to president and CEO of the company! An inspiration to all her staff she did whatever was required to be done. When she was tug dispatcher she earned the nickname ‘Tugboat Annie’. After courses in advanced management she helped prepare the company for a successful merger doubling its size. By the time of her retirement in 1989 she was overseeing 1500 employees,  one of the largest marine companies in British Columbia. After she left the job she continued with her volunteer positions, which included being Chair of the Vancouver International Airport Authority, an aboriginal business foundation and a sexual assault recovery program.  She was the Woman of the Year in Vancouver in 1984 and was appointed to the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada.  Source: The amazing story of tugboat titan Lucille Johnstone by Paul E. Levy. (Madira Park Harbour, 2006).

née Harvey. Born December 24, 1838, Maitland Upper Canada (now Ontario). Died April 6, 1903, Gananoque, Ontario.  Eliza was educated in Montreal and in Scotland but left school to stay home and care for her family after the death of her mother. November 29, 1859 she married Clinton JOnes and the couple would have seven children. The couple at first lived in Ottawa while Clinton worked on the Canadian Parliament buildings and then moved to Brockville. Eliza began a small dairy operation acquiring cattle and selling the butter they produced. By 1873 she had purchased a Jersey cow and began to breed Jerseies. She sold her Jersey butter a premium prices and by the 1890's was shipping 7,000 pounds of butter a year using modern scientific methods. In the 1880's Eliza showed her animals at fairs and exhibitions in Ontario, Quebec, and New York State in the U.S.A. winning many awards. She was a member of the Canadian Jersey Cattle Breeders' Association and wrote for such agricultural magazines as the Farmer's Advocate, the Family Herald, and the Weekly Star out of Montreal. Her journalism led to the publication of a book, Dairying for Profit; Or the Poor Man's Cow in 1892. In 1893 she was a butter judge at the Chicago Columbian Exhibition. In the late 1890's she became semi retired and became interested in raising and selling carriage horses and racehorses. Source: D C B (accessed 2023)

Baptised February 4, 1666, Quebec, New France. Died December 28 1732, Quebec, New France. December 17, 1689 she married Vinnay-Pachot and the couple had 16 children. November 11, 1702 she married again to Captain Dauphin de la Forest. February 27, 1702 she purchases Ile d’Orléans and took the title of countess title she retained after her marriage. From 1704 through 1713 she was involved with legal proceeding in both New France and in France over her property. She abandoned her proceedings when the king ordered her to do so. Charlotte-Francoise was an enterprising businesswoman having carrying out sales, loans, borrowings, ship charters, and building contracts in her own name. Source: D C B

Born January 15, 1828, Preston, Nova Scotia. Died March 23, 1890, Halifax, Nova Scotia. In January 1852 Mary Jane became editor of the Provincial magazine. Under her guidance the magazine covered diverse topics from local history to foreign travel. Although a magazine of good quality, unfortunately, there were not enough subscribers to keep the magazine going beyond December 1853. By 1866 Mary Jane was the proprietor of the Provincial Bookstore in Halifax which she left to be married. She married William Lawson on December 31 1868 and the couple had one daughter. Later in life she became interested in and wrote the History of the Townships of Dartmouth, Preston, and Lawrencetown, Windsor in 1887. The history was published posthumously in 1893 as were a volume of her verses. Mary Jane accomplished much at a time when women simply remained home to care for house and family. (2017)

Born July 31, 1948, Toronto, Ontario.  Maureen studied at the University of Toronto (U of T) graduating in 1970. By 1973 she had earned her Bachelor of Laws degree for UofT and had been called to the Bar. In 1975 she joined the legal staff at General Motors (GM) Canada and climbed the corporate ladder to become general counsel and secretary of GM Canada in 1992 and went on to be the first woman President and General Manager of GM Canada. In 1997 she was awarded the Women’s Automotive Association International Professional Achievement Award. In 1998 she was inducted into the Order of Ontario and the following year the Order of Canada. In 2006 she earned the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case. In 2003 Forbes Magazine ranked her in the top ten of the Most Powerful Woman in International Business. She retired at the end of 2009.

Born Montreal, Quebec. A pre-school teacher by profession she and her farmer husband would settle to growing potatoes in the fertile regions of western Ontario. In 1986 she began making her own potato chips in her farmhouse kitchen in New Lowell. Her children were loved her potato chips and were a real encouragement for the long work house. Her idea was to provide a healthy snack food for children. The farm was mortgaged and the business began in 1989. The first year Miss Vicki’s Potato Chips was a million dollar business. She would be the Director of Blinding Hope Foundation that was established to relieve the suffering of orphaned, abandoned and other disadvantaged children worldwide. The business was eventually sold and plants are now located in British Columbia and Quebec. After the death of her husband Miss Vicki moved to the United States from where her dream of living on a beach in Mexico finds her on the Sea of Cortez near Puerto Penasco ,Mexico only a i/2 day drive from San Diego. She is a certified notary and a student of Spanish language and culture. She is an investment specialist encouraging opportunities by the beach in Mexico. Suggest source: I know that Name: The People Behind Canada’s Best-known Brand Names  by Mark Kearney and Randy Ray (London: Hounslow, 2002)

Born July 5, 1951, Toronto, Ontario. Maria earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta in 1973 and went on to graduate studies at the University of Toronto before returning to the University of Alberta to earn her PhD in 1977. May 12, 1980 she married Nicholas J. Pippenger and the couple had two children. The following year she earned the IBM Outstanding Innovation Award. Since 1996 she has explored the potential for computer and video games to teach mathematical concepts to be girl friendly using such games as Phoenix Quest. In 1997 she was honour by the Vancouver YWCA as the Woman of Distinction for the year in Science and Technology. In 2001 she was named as a “Wired Woman Pioneer”. In her academic world she became in 2003 Dean of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University in the U.S.A. returning to British Columbia to become Dean of Science at the University of British Columbia. Sources: Herstory; the Canadian Women’s Calendar 2000 (Silver anniversary edition) . Coteau Books, 1999 page 18: Canadian Who’s Who 2006

née Libin. Born February 20, 1926, Calgary Alberta. Muriel graduated from the University of Toronto and the Royal Academy of Music. In 1945 she married David M. Kovitz and the couple had three children. She served as Director of Readers Digest Association of Canada, the Institute of Donations and Public Affairs Research, the Alberta Investments Ltd., Centennial Packers of Canada, Ltd., and Murko Investments Ltd. In 1970 she was a member of the Senate at the University of Calgary and in 1972 she was a member of the Board of Governors for the university. From 1974-1978 she was the 1st woman to serve as Chancellor of the university. The University of Calgary annually presents the Muriel Kovitz Award to the graduate with the highest grade point average. In 1975 she was the 1st female Director of Imperial Oil where she also served as Chair of the Imperial Oil Foundation in 1994. In 1977 she became a Member of the Order of Canada and received the Alberta Achievement Award. In 1979 she was appointed a commissioner of the Federal Government Task Force on Canadian Unity. She has also held numerous volunteer positions including being on the Executive Board of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, being on the Calgary Recreation Board, being a Member of the Calgary Housing Authority and being a Director with the Boys and Girls Club. (2019) 

née Marcot. Born February 1780,. Died April 4, 1846. Born to a fur trader father and the daughter of an Ottawa Chief she was raised to learn the life of a fur trader. On October 11, 1804 she married Joseph LaFramboise but the marriage only lasted a couple of years when in 1806 she became a widow. She became on of the leading fur traders of the Upper Lakes Region. She would retire in 1822 as a wealthy woman devoting herself to education of young people and to her Church. At one time she even was hostess to the famed traveler and author, Alex deTocqueville.  Source: Online Dictionary of Canadian Biography (accessed June 2008) .

Born April 23, 1936, Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. Died January 5, 2022, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Monique graduated in 1953 from the Ecole normale (teacher's college) des Soeurs Saint-Joseph de Saint-Hyacinthe and taught locally for  seven years. In 1960 she married Claude Bernard and the couple had three children. The couple established in Mont-Saint-Hilaire an far egg business. Monique took over in 1965 the marked gardening activity and sold products directly to consumers and campaigned actively promoting local business. She served as Founder and president of the Association of Women Collaborators and Business Partners. She would become the first woman elected president of the grassroots Union des producteurs agricoles d Rouville and was the first woman on the board of directors of the regional federation of the U P A in Saint-Hyacinthe. She became a representative of women farmers on the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of women. She was also a founder of the Women and Development Committee of the Association Québecoise des organismes de coopération interantionale. She was named Farmer of the Year by the Fédération des agircultrices du Québec. She has been inducted into the Quebec Agricultural Hall of Fame and holds the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre national du Québec. Source: Obituary. online (accessed 2024)

née Ho. Born 1905, China. Died 1983, Lethbridge, Alberta. Florence was one of four wives of Way Leong (1879-1967). Florence was his only wife who accompanied him to Canada. The couple settled in Lethbridge Alberta in 1928. They brought up 13 children in Chinatown.  Florence would become known as See How Pu (boss lady) at their On Tong Tong (Good Health store) as after her husband's death she took over the business. She enjoyed playing Mah Jong and also played the moon harp, violin and Chinese banjo. She was also known for her catering of Chinese food for special events especially Chinese New Year.  For five years she operated the New China Chop Suey Restaurant and when she sold it she worked part-time at the Shangrila Restaurant. The city of Lethbridge has named a street in her honour. Source: Legacy of Lethbridge Women, Lethbridge Historical Society, 2005: find a grave (accessed 2024)

Died February  2, 1837, North Vancouver. After her husband James, a logging contractor, left she took to making her own living by opening the first general store at Hastings Grove  in 1911. Above the store she ran a 20 room boarding house and a dining room that could seat 60 people. When the rooms were full additional 'guests' were accommodated in a large tent. Her place was the social center of the area. She hosted special events at which she played the violin as part of the evening entertainment. Two cousins, Marion and Emma, and son William assisted with the entertainment. She opened a second store in an area she named Lochdale in 1913. She applied for, and was able to add, a post office to this store in March 1, 1914. She was also a poet with her best-known work, Would Life Be Worth Living published in the newspaper.  Source: The Vancouver Hall of Fame online

Born July 7, 1874, Pepperell, Massauchetts, U.S.A. Died 1957?, San Francisco, U.S.A.  In February 1896 Mary / Mae married Fred Ellis and the couple ended up following the Klondike Gold Rush to Dawson City in the far Canadian northwest. It is recorded that she lost everything escaping a fire in January 1900 at the Monte Carlo. While there are no entertainment flyers boasting her name and talents she had a legendary reputation with Klondike dance halls .It was d the gold rush she became known as Diamond Tooth Gertie, well-known for the sparkling diamond placed between her two front teet  November 7, 1901 she married a well respected community lawyer, William Clifford Tabour (1863-1917) and became respectful enough to attend evening soirees at the home of Martha Black (1866-1957), wife of the commissioner of the Yukon. In 1926 she converted and became a Christian Scientist. In May 1920 en East Oakland County, California, U.S.A. She Married Stephen C. Hart of San Francisco. The marriage lasted until his death in 1955. In 1971 Yukon Tourist Association opened Canada's first and oldest gambling hall naming it 'Diamond Tooth Gertie's'. (2021)

Baptized November 11, 1770, Knaresborough, England. Died January 20, 1850. She married Robert Macaulay February 13, 1791 and the couple settled in Crown Point, in the American colony of New York. With the American Revolution this loyalist Family moved Upper Canada (now Ontario). By 1800 Ann was a widow with three sons. She became a successful overseer of her estate. She was a strong supporter of the Anglican Church and worked for relief of victims of disasters. At the age of 76, after the death of one of her daughters-in-law, she assumed responsibility for her four grandchildren. She was a strong community activist and businesswoman who primarily cared for her family. Source: D C B

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Died July 20, 1951, Caledonia, Ontario. Jessie studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She continued her post graduate education in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. She would establish the MacGregor Concert Bureau in her home town of Caledonia, Ontario.  The business would become well known throughout Ontario during the 1920's through the decades to the 1940's. By 1938 she was well known for her long list of entertainers she had booked that included vocalists, ventriloquists, dramatic readers, violinists, elocutionists, pianists, drummers, as well as Trios, quartets and quintets. She provided entertainment for fall fairs. garden parties, and church concerts. associations, and organizations sports clubs etc. She often directed the productions and played accompaniment on the piano herself. Source: The MacGregor Concert Bureau. Caledonia - Along the Grand River. Well Loved and Remembered online (accessed 2024)

née Huggard. Born April 23, 1903, Dee Bank, Ontario. Died August 26, 1993, Toronto, Ontario. Viola worked as a maid and a telephone operator in order to pay for school. In 1923 she married George Macmillan. She worked part time as a stenographer and in the good weather she and George were prospecting for gold in northern Ontario. She would strike it rich in Hislop Township near Timmins, Ontario. She was now  a prospector and a mine manager. During World War ll she became the first woman president of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada. She would hold this position for twenty years. During her time as president the association grew from a membership of 100 to 4,000. By the Mid 1960’s the mines were slowing in production, some to a point of closing. Cobalt, with it's sliver, Kirkland Lake, and Timmins, with their gold, were experiencing what might be called “tired mine” syndrome. However Aerial surveying pinpointed huge deposits of copper, zinc, and other base metals and groups like Texas Gulf lead the new rush of mining. Texas Gulf is in 2013 known as Kidd Creek Mine and is still an active mine site. The mid 1960’s mining rush also brought trouble for Viola as she held back a report on one of her mine sites and let the excitement and the rumour mill create an increase in cost for her mining shares. Once released the report proved to be negative and Viola was arrested and charged with wash trading. In 1967, the Queen Bee, as she was called was acquitted of fraud charges after serving only six weeks of her nine month prison sentence. Viols returned to tramping in the bush prospecting and promoting mining continuing well into her eighties. In 1991 she was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame and in 1993 she received the Order of Canada. The Viola R. MacMillan Award is given for company or mine development. Source: Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Online (accessed January 2013;  Great Northern Characters by Michael Barnes (General Store Publishing House, 1995.

Judy earned her her undergraduate degree in Consumer Information in 1972 from the University of Guelph, Ontario. During her time at the University of Guelph she hosted a two hour weekly radio program. After graduating she began working with the CBC as a reporter. At this time CBC did not hire women announcers but she persisted and she became one of the 1st female announcers on CBC Radio. She would host CBC Radio's World Report for 30 years brining world news each morning to Canadians. In 1990 she produced the 1st public reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and then expended the readings to an annual even across Canada. These events raise funds to benefit local food banks, shelters and hospitals across the country. The Governor General recognized this service with the Meritorious Service Medal. In 2003 her achievements were recognized from the University of Guelph's Mac-F A C S Alumni Association with the Centenary Award. She was made a Senior Fellow of Renison College, University of Waterloo and received the Harvest's Golden Fork Award. In 2012 Judy co-founded Soundparortraits which are recordings of people's lives in an audio scrapbook as a celebration of an individual's life story creating lasting memories for people to share with family and friends. In 2017 she was honoured at the University of Guelph Alumni Association Awards of Excellence Gala. (2019)

Born 1884, Rivière du Lop, Quebec. Died December 16, 1953, Toronto, Ontario. Sarah was left a widow in Mexico, with four young children. Returning to Canada, Sarah began a costume business in 1900 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She began mainly as a supplier of ball gowns. By 1906 she formally established S. Mallabar Costume and Hair Goods. By the 1920’s she headed a viable costume business. In 1923, her son Henry, expanded the business to Toronto, Ontario, where he dropped one of the letter l in the name to form Malabar Limited. He wanted to avoid confusion with the Winnipeg business. By the 1950’s it was one of the leading costume houses in Canada. There was expansion to Ottawa with an Opera division and with the coming of the internet the company opened an online entity in 2003. Sources: The Beaver Dec. 1994-Jan 1995; Malabar Ltd. Web site (accessed January 2015)

Book Dealer

née Taylor. Born October 3, 1928, Toronto, Ontario. Died February 14, 2014, Montreal, Quebec. Judy grew up in a wealthy family in Toronto. She attended McGill University, Montreal, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in 1950. This may have been where she met her husband of 50 years, John Newton Mappin (died 2008). The two had an insatiable love of books. In later life, John turned in the family jewelry business to deal with historical publications while she preferred current Canadian literature. The couple had five children. In the mid 1970’s she became a third partner in the Double Hook Book Store in Montreal. When her partners left the business she took it on by herself. She sold currently published Canadian books in the heart of Montreal where English language works were often difficult to find. She welcomed and supported Canadian authors. In 1999 she served on the jury for the Giller Prize for Canadian Fiction. In 2000 and again in 2002 she founded scholarship programmers at McGill University. In 2005 Judy decided to retire and close the Book Store. That same year she was honoured with the President’s Award of Distinction from the Association of Canadian Publishers for her 31 years of support of Canadian literature. In 2008 she became a member of the Order of Canada.

Marie was born in Guinea where she was captured and enslaved in 1736. At approximately 19 years of age she arrived in Louisbourg on Ile Royale (now Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia) as property of one Jean Chrysostome Loppinot. In 1738 she gave birth to his child.  In 1755 she was freed and married Jen-Baptist Laurent, a Mi'kmaq Christian.  Marie went on to become a successful businesswoman opening a tavern that had a great reputation for food and brandy.  (2022)

née Inouye. Born November 21, 1923, Mission, British Columbia. Died October 4, 2019, Toronto, Ontario. In 1942 Margaret and her family were forced from their home with the mass movement to remove Japanese-Canadians from the west coast. The family settled in Winnipeg,  Manitoba. The couple had two children. In 1944 the couple was living in Hamilton, Ontario and Margaret worked as housekeeper at McMaster University while she finished high school. She went on to attend McMaster and earn a degree in economics. After she graduated she married Ed Lyons and the couple went to live in London, England where she worked as a typist for the British Broadcasting Corporation (B B C) in 1952. Within two years Margaret was a produced for the B B C's Asian current affairs service a positions she maintained until 196o when she returned to Canada and settled in Toronto. She worked as a public affairs producer for C B C Radio. She was promoted to vice president of network radio in 1983, as the first woman to be a vice president at the C B C. She became affectionately known as the 'dragon lady'. In the 179's she was part of the revitalizing of the C B C hoping to cr4eate a more informal and entertaining atmosphere. The C B C introduced Quirks and Quarks, As It Happens and Morningside  in this revitalization. In 1986 she was back in England as Director of European Operations for the C B C. In 1991 she returned home to Toronto. The McMaster University Media Center is named to honour Margaret. She became a Member of the Order of Canada for her achievements in broadcasting. Margaret served on the Senate of McMaster University for six years and was a well known volunteer  with local historical preservation societies and Japanese cultural organizations. Margaret chose a medically assisted death in Toronto. Source: Notable Canadian of Asian heritage. online (accessed 2023)

Born September 3, 1974, Manitouwadge, Ontario. As a youth Amanda had a thyroid condition that resulted in looking like a bean pole and then her condition switched and resulted in excessive weight gain. To combat her health issues she become motivated not only to keep fit herself but to help others to keep fit and healthy. She turned to establishing a web site to answer all the questions she was receiving. With a few years she founded Fytness Fanatk magazine that runs with no commercial advertising and uses real people and real stories. Her career as an editor of the magazine run concurrent with her career as a successful model. She lives with her husband and three sons in Waterloo, Ontario. 

Born 1953, Simcoe Ontario. Kim attended the University of Western Ontario (now Western University), London, Ontario, for her Bachelor of Arts and earned a Gold Medal for her studies. She then attended Alehouse College in Toronto, earning her Bachelor of Education and started her high school teaching career. By 1981 she had made the career switch that would open a whole new world for her. She worked in book publishing with McGraw Hill- Ryerson, Carswell, and Methuen Publishers. Married in 1982, she would become a working mother of two children and switched to Little Brown Publishers. When an American firm took over Little Brown in 1998 she looked for a way to continue working where her passion was. McArthur and Company Publishers was born. She is a strong supporter of Canadian writers and the Company publishes a an impressive list of best-selling and award-winning authors of fiction and non-fiction and wears the lave of one of the top three Canadian owned publishers of Canadian fiction in the country. She was awarded the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the year for start up 2001-2 and has been listed on the Chatelaine top 100 women Business Owners for several years. She served on the Book and Periodical Council for Canada in 1999 through 2002. She also chaired the first Book Lovers Ball in February 2006 for the Toronto Public Library Foundation. She has been recognized with the Consumers Choice Award for Business Woman of the Year in 2005. In November 2007 , the Woman’s Executive Network recognized her as one of the top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. Source: University of Western Ontario Alumni Gazette Spring 2008;  Canadian Who’s Who

Born March 1816. Died October 7, 1887, Aylmer, Quebec. In 1837 Mary married Robert Conroy (1811-1868) and the couple had ten children. The family settled in Aylmer, Quebec, and built the British Hotel. They went on investing in developing transportation services. In 1857 Mary purchased Deschenes Rapids farm which would become a successful dairy farm. As a widow in 1868 she took over the family sawmill business and built a second sawmill with rail tracks running through it which eventually boasted of 200 workers. When she retired her sons built a hydroelectric generating station on the Deschenes Rapids. Source: Notable Women of Gatineau.Valley... online (accessed 2022); Find a Grave Canada (accessed 2022)

née Powers.  Born 1902. Died 1987, Cantley, Quebec. Like many women of her generation Alice became a teacher. In 1924 she went to Cantley to teacher. A year later she had married Maynard McGlashan (1903-1985). Husband and wife settled in Wilson's Corners to run the general store which also contained the local post office and the family home. When her husband and two year old soon were ill during the winter of 1938 the patients were tended by family in Ottawa. During a January snow storm the family home/store caught fire and could not be saved. Alice and her eight year old son, Murray, survived stayed at a friends boarding house. Within a few days of the fire Alice had set up a temporary store and post office in the living room of the boarding house. Soon a small store was rebuilt on the sight of the original burnt out store. Source: Notable Women of the Gatineau Valley and Outaouais online (Accessed 2022); Find a grave Canada (accessed 2022)

Born September 29, 1943, Edmonton, Alberta. Barbara and her family relocated to Ottawa in 1948 to accommodate her military father’s work. She married her high school sweetheart, Glenn McInnis on September 28, 1963. The couple has two daughters. She graduated Carleton University, Ottawa, with a degree in philosophy in 1970.  She served as president of the board of the Ottawa School of Art and volunteered with the United Way. In 1987 Barbara began working for the newly founded Community Foundation of Ottawa as a volunteer and later as a paid staff member. By 1991 she served as president and Chief Executive Officer. Barbara was awarded the Order of Canada in 2008 for her contributions as a leader and catalyst for the development of community-based philanthropy in her city, across Canada, and around the world. She served as president of the Ottawa Estate Planning Council and of the Ottawa School of Art, Board member of the United Way and as Governor of Carleton University.

Born January 17, 1921, Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. Died November 11, 2017. Soon after Doreen was born the family relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1942 Doreen married Bill Wood, a military pilot, and the couple had one son. The marriage dissolved at the end of World War ll (1939-1945). Doreen, after a time as a single mother, met Richard 'Dick' Sanders, mayor of St. Thomas, Ontario and the couple married and soon had a son. Looking for something to 'get out of the house' Doreen looked to the close by University of Western Ontario (now Western University) in London where Doreen graduated with a degree in journalism. She began her career writing for the Vancouver Daily Province and the The Financial Post, Toronto. She was the first woman elected president for the Business Press Editors Association and the first woman on the board of the Canadian Business Press Association. Doreen also worked with the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, over the years on projects relating to the School's publications. She authored Learning to Lead, the first edition of the history of the Ivey School of business in 1995. She also scripted the introduction to the 2013 update of the book. From 1963 through 1988 Doreen was publisher and editor of the The Business Quarterly, Canada's leading management publication. In the beginning, in 1963, she used only her initial instead of Doreen on the masthead of the journals as there were few if any women in the field. She also edited the Ivey School's newsletter Women in Management. Doreen taught at Western and Radcliffe College at Harvard University. In 1987 she was inducted into the Order of Canada. Doreen retired to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2001 and co-founded a not-for-profit organization Women in the Lead which aimed at having more qualified women on corporate boards. In 2006 she received the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case. Ivey School of Business named the MBA Women in Management Club in her honour. Source: Cam Buckan Ivey School of Business November 17, 2017

Born February 25, 1864, Ontario. Died February 21, 1945, Lethbridge, Alberta . In 1885 Jessie ventured to the Canadian northwest to help her aunt run a millinery store in Medicine Hat, Alberta. The two women had a falling out and Jessie decided to return home to Ontario. After her aunt's death, Jessie, assisted by her sister Alexandre McLeay Porter, returned to Alberta to take over the business and expanded it to Lethbridge. Three of Jessie's sisters Maud, Ima, and Jean also worked at the Lethbridge store, which by 1911, was located in a new expanded second story building. She was able to make strides in a business which, at the time, was male dominated. The city of Lethbridge has named a street in Jessie McLeay's honour.  Source Legacy of Lethbridge Women, Lethbridge Historical Society, 2005; Find a Grave Canada (accessed 2021)

née De Vere. Born March 8, 1945, South Harrow, England. May 17, 2006, Toronto, Ontario. In her late teens Elaine lived with family friends in Oshawa, Ontario. She worked at General Motors until 1965 when she married Julius Minacs. The couple had one child. Once their daughter had started school Elaine started a business, originally a temporary staffing company, out of their home. Within a period of 25 years the company employed some 5,000 people with offices in 20 locations in Canada, the United States, and Europe. In 1999 the company began to be publicly traded (TSX: MXW) with 2005 revenue of almost 300 million. In 1993 she was the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year for Quality. In 2001 Elaine was the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and received the Diamond Award from the Canadian Professional Sales Association Hall of Fame. In 2002 Elaine was the General Motors Supplier of the year and the Y W C A of Greater Toronto's Women of Distinction for Entrepreneurship. She served on the Board of Directors for the Kid's Help Phone. Source: Obituary Globe and Mail, May 20, 2006. (2023)

née Boulding. Born June 22, 1939, Vancouver, British Columbia. Lois graduated from the University of British Columbia. She married Doug Mitchell and the couple would raise a family of four children. She worked as a teacher in British Columbia before the couple settled in Calgary, Alberta. She is the founder of and a senior partner at Rainmaker Global Business Development, a marketing and consulting firm and the president of Amherst Consultants. She has served on boards of U B S Bank Canada, Mitacs and Canadian World Youth, the Canadian Women's Hockey Association, Calgary Chamber of Commerce, the International Institute for Olympic, Paralympic and Sport Pedagogy, the Special Olympic Foundation, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hockey Canada Foundation and was founding member of Crime Stoppers Calgary. She is also a co-founder of Global Business Forum. In 1998 she was the YMCA Woman of Distinction. She established the Hayley Wickenheiser Thunderbird Ice Hockey Endowment in 2007 to support the University of British Columbia Women’s Ice Hockey team. In 2008 she was named Calgary's Citizen of the Year. In 2012 she and her husband formed The Doug and Lois Mitchell Outstanding Calgary Artist Award. That same year she became a Member of the Order of Canada and was presented with the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal. May 20, 2015 she was appointed as the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta and was installed in the office in June. (2019)

Born 1873? Died 1967. In 1893 when Belinda was 20 she operated a restaurant near the entrance to the Chicago Columbia Exhibition. Having made a good profit from her business the adventuresome Belinda sailed from San Francisco in California, U.S.A. to Alaska bringing with her women's good such as fine clothing. In 1897 in Dawson City, during the Klondike Gold Rush, she sold hot water bottles to other prospectors en route. She also purchased goods from those who decided not to continue to Dawson. She would go on to build road houses and cabins and invested profits in Yukon's largest gold mine. Eventually she opened the luxury Fair View Hotel. In 1901 in Dawson City she married the supposed Count Charles Eugene Carbonnearu. By 1906 the couple were divorced and within tow years Belinda was living in Washington State, U.S.A. (2021)

née McDonald. Born May 14, 1917, Didsbury, Alberta. Died June 16, 2016, Red Deer, Alberta. Mildrid married Lyle Munro (died 1984) and the couple had three children. In 1960 they started a family business, Pine Lake Sand and Gravel. The business served central Alberta. After the death of her husband Lyle Mildrid took over the family business with her son.  The death, in 1991, of he son caused a legal shut down of the business to settle the estate. At the age of 74 she restructured the company and  operated it on her own. She was still working at 91 in 2008 When she was named Woman of the year with a lifetime achievement Award.  She was a long time member of the local Women's Institute (W I), and the Red Deer East 4-H Club. She sponsored the Delburne Rodeo and volunteered at the Pine Lake Hub Community Centre. Source: A History of Women of Excellence, Red Deer, Alberta online (accessed 2022)

Died May 24, 1968, Petrolia, Ontario. Katherine was a milliner (maker or seller of hats). She not only imported the latest hast from Toronto, New Your, and Paris but she also made her own creations. She opened her first shop in Petrolia, Ontario 1918 and a second shop in Sarnia from March 1919 to 1946. After her death in 1968 an inventory of some 500 hats were found in storage. The hats were purchases by a local artifact collector George L. Smith. The collection was eventually sold the Canadian Museum (now Canadian History Museum). Source: Interesting Lambton Businesses: The Newton Hat Shop. Lambton County Archives online (accessed 2022)

Born Dundas, Ontario. Died March 6, 2010, Ancaster, Ontario. She began her career working in Eaton’s Department Stores. She was marketing manager of the Eaton Centre along the way and as Manager of the Jackson Square store in Hamilton, Ontario, she became the first woman on the board of T. Eaton Co. Ltd. In the 1970”s she married John Leonard McLaine and the couple had one son. Leaving the Eaton Hamilton Store she moved to Palm Beach in the Late 1970’s where she orchestrated construction of the Esplanade Shopping Centre. Moving back to Toronto, she became vice president of Burton-Marsteller. She was also assistant general manager responsible for the opening of the Rideau Centre shopping complex in downtown Ottawa. She organized an impressive list of dignitaries to the opening in Ottawa including Prime Minister Trudeau and  the Premier  of Ontario. Her work efforts garnered her the top Shopping Center Management Award in North America and awards from the International Council of Shopping Centers. In 2005 she went back to school in the Masters’ Program at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute so that she could give back to her community to help improve mental health delivery to Canadians. In 2009 Therapy through the Arts, a registered charity to promote work in schools was born with Ann as a founding director. Source: Obituary Toronto Star March 2010. Online. (accessed June 2011). Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario.

née Culverwell. Born February 7, 1818, West Monkton, England Died March 24, 1885, Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A. Susannah and her husband, John, immigrated to Canada from England in the 1860’s. She first brewed her brown October ale in her back yard in Nova Scotia in 1867. By the 1870’s Susannah found herself a single parent with six children to care for. She renamed her small brewing business to S. Oland and Sons to hide the fact that a woman was in charge of the company. She proceeded to build the company into the dominant brewer of beer in the Maritimes. She used her own personal recipe for her beer, a recipe which is still the base for the beer produced in the company that is the owner of the Oland beer label today. Moose Head Beer is enjoyed across Canada.

Born Sudbury, Ontario. Louise worked as manager of Public Affairs for Gulp Canada before she returned to her roots in northern Ontario. In 1996 she became Director General of FEDNOR a federal government granting body in northern Ontario. One of her FEDNOR programs includes U P A R A which has helped close to 600 women start ad expand local businesses across northern Ontario. She worked to raise 9,000,000 dollars for the Laurentian Hospital Foundation. In 2007 she was declared Woman of the Decade by the Influential Women of Northern Ontario. In 2010 she accepted the position as Chief Executive Officer for the North East [Ontario] Local Health Integration Network. Source: Woman of the Decade Award : Louise Paquette. International Women of Northern Ontario. 2007.

née Dunn. Born April 14, 1841, Dublin, Ireland. Died October 28, 1890, Vancouver, British Columbia. By 1860 she was in England where she met Samuel Parker (d 1873) and where their first two daughters were born. The family immigrated to British Columbia and ran a store in Douglas where another daughter and son were born. Moving to Barkerville during the Cariboo gold rush in June 1867 they opened the Broadway House with a grand ball. The coupe became involved in the Cariboo Dramatic Association where they sang and performed in dramatic presentations. After the fire of 1868 destroyed their hotel the Association gave a benefit for Mrs. Parker. A new large 10 bedroom boarding house was built. In 1872 the saloon and boarding house was auctioned off and the couple followed the gold rush opening the Stanley Hotel on Lightening Creek. Widowed early 1873, Catherine married John Austin on August 3, 1873 and the couple soon had a daughter. By 1875 Catherine was Madame to four ladies of entertainment known as ‘Hurdies’. The family relocated one more to Richfield to run the Austin Hotel and by 1891 they took over the Barkerville Hotel. Later that decade they  moved to Vancouver. In 2009 the Barkerville Theatre Royal presented Firestorm, a play featuring a pregnant Catherine Austin during the fire of 1868.

Born June 11, 1936, England. Died January 4, 2021, Ottawa, Ontario. She attended L'Ecole Hoteliere, Switzerland. An adventurer she sailed off to Canada to find work. What she found in Canada was a home. She would have a successful career serving in executive positions with Grace Hospital, CP Hotels (in Canada and in Mexico) and in later years she worked at Government House in Ottawa and La citadel in Quebec. She was on numerous Municipal. Provincial, and Federal Trade Advisory committees and she held positions with man associations, and as a Director of the Ontario Hostelry Institute she helped to fond George Brown College Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts in Toronto. Married, Anne had one daughter. Source: Obituary Online (accessed 2023)

née Smart. Born 1895/6. Died 1970, Ramea, Newfoundland and Labrador.. Marie married George John Penny (1899-1949) who would inherit the family fishing business. In the summer of 1949 George was elected as one of the first three senators in the Canadian Senate. Sadly he died within a few months of his appointment.  Marie operated John Penny and Sons, Ramea, one of the largest frozen fish companies in Newfoundland in the 20th century. Marie took over and operated the business, which included tow fishing companies, three fishing plants and multiple retail stores, from 1949 until her death. Marie was known by locals as "Queen of the Coast'  or Queen of the Fishing Fleet'. She oversaw the company's transition from salted fish to fresh fish products by utilizing the new freezing-plant technology. In 1967 she became the first woman to become president of the Fisheries Council Of Canada. She was invited by the Governor General of Canada to meet the Queen during the Royal Visit. After her death the couple's daughter Margaret took over the company until it was sold into Fishery Products International in 1982. Source: Jean Bannerman, Leading Ladies Canada (Belleville, ON: Mika Publishing Co.)

née Ketchum. Born 1903. Died May 1998. Isabelle enjoyed being at work with her father, Zebulon after school. On the death of her father when she was just 18 she took over the presidency of the family business, Ketchum Manufacturing Company. The company had been started by her father in 1913 as a metal stamping business and moved on to livestock identification tags marketed around the world. Isabelle remained President for over 60 years. During both World War l and World War ll she adapted and retooled to help with the war efforts. The war company made bullet gun triggers and detonator covers for the army, while continuing to make identification tags for soldiers and army dogs. Isabelle’s two nephews, Brian and Peter Gilman continued the company in the 1980’s before Isabelle sold to Claude and Gail Lalonde in 1993. Isabelle was a dedicated member of the Zonta Club of Ottawa. Source: Valerie Knowles, Capitol Lives; not on Find a grave

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Born October 2, 1872, Saint-Georges de Beauce, Quebec. Died 1964, Saint-Benoit-Labre, Quebec. At 21 she opened a general store in Saint-Benoit-Labre. She married Alexis Lafamme (died 1960)and changed the business from the name of her father to her husband's name. Society was just not ready to acknowledge women in business at this time. She closed the store in 1902 and her husband opened a saw and flour mill. She would have would have 14 children of who ten would reach adulthood. In 1945 her left leg had to be amputated as the result of an accident.  Marie is considered the first woman general merchant in Quebec. Source: Mémoire des femmes Pierre Morin, société historique Sartigan online . (accessed 2023)

Born June 30, 1858, Maryland, U.S.A. Luella was a born a slave. She moved to Washington D C after the American Civil War (1861-1865) to be free. Slaves were not freed in Maryland until 1865. She married Grandison Price, a messenger for the U.S. Government and a veteran of the U.S. Army, June 16, 1875. The couple relocated to Toronto, Ontario, where she worked originally as a barber and she was a dressmaker. She would set up a boarding house and by 1893 she ran had her own restaurant. In 1905 the couple built their own home. In 1910 she was one of the early members of the Eureka Club of Toronto, a club for Black women to gather and do good works in their community. Source: October 16 - Eureka: Remembering some special Women Leslieville Historical Society October 16, 2021 online (accessed 2024)

Fashion Designer & Entrepreneur

née Yancey. Born September 12, 1906, Cardston, Alberta. Died November 18, 1978, Provo, Utah, U.S.A. On November 30, 1935 Rose Marie married Jack Crossman Reid. The couple had three children. This mother and homemaker was asked by her husband in the 1930’s to make him a new swim suit that was not itchy like the regular woolen suits of the day. Rose Marie cut an outfit from an old water resistant coat and provided a lace for a snug fit. Everyone wanted one! Mr. Reid soon approached a local department store and the reluctant Rose Marie began a lifetime entrepreneurial journey. Her swimwear designing business opened in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1936 under the name Reid’s Holiday Togs. Her marriage turned abusive and she divorced Jack in April 1946 and relocated her family to California. September 20, 1946 Rose Marie launched her American business and lived in her factory until she was able to purchase a home in 1949. She entered the fashion world of women’s bathing suits changing women’s swim gear on an international scale. She was the 1st designer to incorporate foundation garments into her swimsuits. Hollywood embraced her designs and it is said the Marilyn Monroe credited Reid’s designs for her success as a pin up girl. In 1958, she was awarded the Sporting Look of the Year Award by Sports Illustrated  and in 1955 she was named one of the Ten Women of the Year by the Los Angeles Times. While she didn't win, she was also nominated for Designer of the Year in 1956 by Sports Illustrated. Rose Marie kept personally in touch with the designing of her swim suit lines until the business was taken over in 1968. By then the bikini was taking on the ladies swimsuit fashion and the small two piece suits were not of her liking. Rose Marie was the 1st woman in the U.S.A. to log 500,000 flight miles while visiting her sales offices across the country and overseas.  Her legacy of changing the fashions for several decades still remains and her name line still continues to sell among modest bathers. Rose Marie also helped with many fundraising efforts for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including fundraising for the construction of church buildings and the Los Angeles California Temple in 1954. She was also a very generous benefactor to Brigham Young University and served on the National Advisory Council. Source: Julie Gedeon, Succeeding in swimwear, The Beaver August/September 2007pg. 13;  Carole Reid Bar, Rose Marie Reid: an Extraordinary Life Story ( American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 1995; online  (accessed May 21, 2008)

Born 1881? Romania. Died February 19, 1950, Montreal, Quebec. Sarah immigrated to the U. S. A. and then in 1907 settled in Canada. Sarah married businessman Herman Reitman (1870-1941). In 1911 the couple opened a small store, the American Ladies Tailoring and Dressmaking in Montreal, Quebec. Later they moved from made to measure ladies garments and dealt in dry goods. In 1926 she was co-founder, with her husband opened a glove and hosiery store  which would eventually become Reitmans (Canada0 Limited, a publicly owned family controlled business chain of women's clothing stores across Canada. The modern company operates three different brands, Reitmans, Pennington's, and R W & Co.

Born June 29, 1957. Janice graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. She describes herself as a self employed financial consultant. She won numerous scholarships and awards for her university studies. She won the Commerce Cup from her peers and in 1980 she won the provincial gold medal and the national silver medal from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. She was principal of Rennie & Associates, which porvided investment and related advice to small and mid-sized companies.  She was Senior vice president, Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness for Epcor Utilities Inc. from 2004-2005.  She is also giving of her time and talents to her community having worked with the Y M C A and the United Way campaigns. She is married and mother of two children. 

née de Sainte Pére. Born February 25, 1657, Montreal New France now Quebec) Died 1777/1748, Quebec, New France. It is thought that as member of the colonial establishment Agathe probably attended Marguerite Bourgeoys’ school. After her mother’s death in 1672 the teen Agathe took over the role of parent to her ten brothers and sisters. On November 28, 1685 she married Pierre Legardeur de Repentigny (1657-1736). The couple had eight children who were raised along with Agathe’s brothers and sisters. She proved to be an astute business woman who signed contracts and made profits in the fur trade. She also bought and sold land, and loaned money. She soon settled the outstanding debts of her husband and his brother. Her interests would turn to the experimental textile business she there was a shortage of linen and wool in the colony of New France. She also initiated the local production of maple syrup. She worked with nettles and bark fibbers, cottonweed and even the woolly hair of buffalo. She worked with captured British weavers who taught their craft to the local workers until they were exchanged as prisoners. She sent samples of her textiles along with maple sugar candy to the King of France. In return for her royal gift she was given an annual Royal Gratuity. She generally maintained a low profile.  In 1736 she was at the Hospital General of Quebec to be close to two of her daughters who were nuns. Source: D C B

née Vézina. Born October 4, 1906, Montreal, Quebec. Died June 2, 2003, Sudbury, Ontario. In 1931 she took a job as secretary at a hardware store operated by the Ricard family in Sudbury, Ontario.  She married Baxter Ricard (1905-1993) and the couple took over the hardware store. They expanded into communications and broadcasting with the launch of C H N O Radio in 1947. The broadcast business expanded to include C F B R, Northern Cable, C J M X - FM and M C T V television system in 1980. The couple also were shareholders in the Toronto area cable and broadcasting company, C U C Broadcasting.  Alma would serve on Sudbury's municipal urban planning committee and on the board of directors of the Sudbury General Hospital. After the death of her husband Alma founded the Foundation Baxter & Alma Ricard.  The foundation would benefit Cambrian College, Laurentian University and the Sudbury General Hospital. Alma also donated one million dollars to St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto for a study on health impacts of inner city poverty creating the Baxter & Alma Ricard Chair in Inner City Health in 1998.  That same year she gave $23 million  for a fellowship fund for French Canadian students in graduate studies at university. In 1999 she endowed a research chair in neurosurgery at the University of Toronto. In 1999 she was inducted into the order of La Pléiade. In 2000 she was named as an Officer of the Order of Canada.

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née Sprague. Born April 26, 1890, Ameliasburgh, Ontario.  Died January 8, 1973, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Muriel was a teacher and administrator and was always an active volunteer. In 1939 she became the fifth president of James Richardson & Sons Ltd. when she became the widow of James A. Richardson.  She was also the mother of their four children. She would be a leader in real estate, pipeline construction and additional enterprises for 27 years before retiring in 1966. She is considered the first woman to lead a major Canadian corporation  She was known for her concern for her employees and introduced such benefits as a pension plan, and group life insurance for her staff. She set up the 25-year service award program in 1953. In 1957 for the company's 100th anniversary she established the Richardson Century Fund to provide books to schools, universities and libraries across the country which eventually expanded to providing financial support to registered Canadian charities. In 1961 she was recipient of the Manitoba Golden Boy Award and the folloing year she earned the City of Winnipeg Community Service Award. In 1970 she received the Centennial Medal of Honour from the Manitoba Historical Society.  In 2000 it became the Richardson Foundation. She also also supported the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Winnipeg Children's Hospital and Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario serving on many of the boards of these groups. She was the first woman board member of the Winnipeg Foundation from 1944-1962 and later served as the firs woman chair from 1955-1962. In 1981 Muriel was the first woman inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. In 2013 she was posthumously inducted into the Manitoba Business Hall of Fame. In 2021 she was declared a Manitoba Trailblazer. Source: Muriel Sprague Richardson, Nellie McClung Foundation, online (accessed 2024: Canadian Business Hall of Fame, online (accessed 2024); Memorable Manitobans online (accessed 2024)

Born 1857, Toronto, Ontario. Died 1953, Toronto, Ontario. Rosetta's mother and grandmother were slaves who escaped from the U.S.A using the famous underground railroad. In 1891 Rosetta and her husband, Samuel Cromwell Richardson,  owned and operated the first soul food restaurant in Toronto on York Street near Richmond. Later she became the first Black person to operate a lunch counter at the Canadian National Exhibition (C N E). Rosetta was an active member of her British Methodist Episcopal Church working with the Missionary Society.  Source: Our Lives and the Black Women's Collective Salutes Women in Our History online (accessed 2022); not on find a grave 2024

Born October 4, 1876?, Kansas, U.S.A. Died February 21, 1957, Oregon, U.S.A. In 1900 she dressed as a man and joined a male only scow to reach the gold fields of the Klondike Gold Rush. Not wishing to take on the harsh life of a prospector she turned instead to a profession to earn gold from the miners themselves. She turned to the stage performing in what were at the time considered 'skimpy' costumes and danced and roller skated to entertain and keep miners inebriated. She would become know as 'Klondike Kate' and 'Queen of the Klondike.' In Dawson City she would meet and marry Alexander Pontages who later was successful as a motion picture mogul. In December 1954 she appeared on the Television Show, You Bet Your Life with Groucho Marx when she said she was 74 years old. (2021)

Baptised February 4, 1666, Quebec, New France. Died December 28 1732, Quebec, New France. December 17, 1689 she married Vinnay-Pachot and the couple had 16 children. November 11, 1702 she married again to Captain Dauphin de la Forest. February 27, 1702 she purchases Ile d’Orléans and took the title of countess title she retained after her marriage. From 1704 through 1713 she was involved with legal proceeding in both New France and in France over her property. She abandoned her proceedings when the king ordered her to do so. Charlotte-Francoise was an enterprising businesswoman having carrying out sales, loans, borrowings, ship charters, and building contracts in her own name.

Born August 25,1961, Montreal, Quebec. Marie graduated from Collège Brébeuf with a diploma in arts and communications in 1981 and then graduated with a diploma in fashion design from Collège LaSalle, Montreal in 1987. Her enjoyment of designing clothes has lead her to establishing her own company Marie Saint Pierre Design Inc. in 1987. That year she became the 1st Canadian to stage a show at Collections In 1989 Saint-Pierre became the first Québec designer to participate at the Fashion Coterie of New York. Three years later she presented her collection in Singapore breaking into the international fashion scene.  Within a few years her work won recognition and awards from the industry including Vidal-Sasson-sponsored Buyer’s Designer of the Year in 1995 when she became the 1st Canadian to stage a show at Collections Créateurs in Paris, France and was awarded Designer of the Year by Elle Québec. The next year she introduced her line in the the United States.  She has been subject of numerous newspaper and TV interviews and has been cited as “Canada’s most promising designer”  by the Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto. Watch the labels of clothing you buy…it might just be from… She has created a wedding line and branched out to include jewellery, bags, scarves, seasonal accessories, home accessories and a fragrance line. . She has created Sous Zero in 2004 which is a fund to provide woman and children in need with winter clothing. In 2006, Saint Pierre launched her Behind the Scenes Fashion Collection, a limited edition line of Bratz dolls made for children. She has been induced as a Chevalier in the National Order of Quebec. (2019)

Born April 12, 1955. She studied for her Masters of Business at the University of Montreal. Communications and broadcasting were the area of her career choice She has worked for Telemedia Communications, Société Radio Canada and Tele-metropole. In February 1995 she became Executive Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer for T Q S (Télévision Quatre-Saisons) in Quebec and retuned to Radio Canada as Director Genera of Programs in 1999. She was also President of the Quebec Association of Television and Film Producers. A person in demand by her profession!! In 2004 she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.

née Saunders. Born 1844, England. Died June 17, 1897, Victoria, British Columbia. Jane was one of 70 women who sailed from England on the S S Tynemouth as a 'ship bride' to marry and settle in British Columbia. She arrived on September 17, 1862. The Columbia Emigration Society, working with the Anglican Church, had arranged for single women from England to travel to British Columbia to become brides of gold rush miners. She soon found service with a family. It was her she met a young baker delivering his bread and bake goods each day. Samuel Nesbitt ( 1829-1881) married Jane in April 16,1863. The young couple worked the bakery business together and prospered. When she became a widow she worked the family bakery into a business empire to care for her seven children. (2021) not on Find a grave (2024)

Died 1974, Dawson City, Yukon. Ruby arrived in the great northwest in 1935 hailing from France. She ran a boarding house in Dawson called Ruby's Place for 30 years until federal law on prohibition forced her to close. She was the last known woman to fun a brothel in Dawson City. Her building still stands today.

Born July 12, 1912, Mesopor, Punjab, India. Died August 5, 1991, Chilliwack, British Columbia. Jagdish arrived in Canada on Nov. 19, 1929, settling in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Her husband, a Sikh priest, Giani Harnam Singh , ran a pioneer lumber business and helped found the Akali Singh Sikh Temple. After his death in 1956, she started and served as president of G. H. Singh & Sons Trucking. a gravel truck business in Chilliwack. She was also  Director of Dhillon Holdings and owner of several dairy farms and land holdings in Chilliwack and Langley area. A staunch supporter of Sikhism, she donated to charities worldwide. Source: Vancouver Hall of Fame online (accessed November 2012).

Born April 14, 1943, Santorini, Greece. Died September 28, 2013, Vancouver, British Columbia. Eleni and her first husband, Angelo Marinakis, immigrated to Canada with their two children. She married a second time to Nelson Skalbania. At one point she began investing in the Devonshire Hotel and then in Hotel Georgia in Vancouver. In 1984 she launched her own boutique, the Wedgewood Hotel and Spa. In 1996 she earned the Independent Hotelier of the Year Award. She enjoyed cycling, skiing, tennis a golf. She and her husband also enjoyed traveling. She worked with and donated funds and helped to raise additional funds for the British Columbia Cancer Foundation. Source: Obituary. The Globe and Mail, October 2, 2013. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa Ontario.

Born 1882, Kharkov, Ukraine  Died 1949. The family immigrated to Canada in 1921 but by the end of the decade the country was immersed in the Great Depression. Butcher Michael Stub (1878-1946) traded a barrel of his wife Sophie's homemade pickles with a local grocer for food for his family. The grocer wanted more!!! A family business Strub Brothers Ltd. was born. Today the family empire works out of Brantford, Ontario and still uses Sophie's recipe!!! Source; Find a grave online (accessed 2024)

Born June 13, 1956, Barbara graduated from Richard Ivey School of Business in 1978. She became the youngest partner in the accounting firm of Ernst& Young when she was 30. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario called her a trailblazer for women in business. .  This businesswoman held the Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Nesbit Burns Inc. from 1992 to 1999. It was during this time that she was the 1st woman in North America to be Governor of a Stock Exchange. In 1999 she became President of the Toronto Stock Exchange! In 2000 she was on the top 10 list of Canadian businesswomen presented by the National Post. She was named one of Fortune's 50 most powerful women in business three times. In 2010 she carried the Olympic torch in the relay leading up to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. She is married to James M. Kidd.

Geologist & Entrepreneur

Born Calgary, Alberta. Eira enjoyed geology and earned her Bachelor of Science (B Sc) at the University of Toronto (U of T) in 1990. In 1994 she was chief geologist for Aber Resources Ltd when she discovered what proved to be the highest grade cluster of diamond pipes the world has ever seen. This discovery led to the founding in the Northwest Territories of the Diavik Diamond Mine, estimated to be a 10 billion dollar mine. By the turn of the century she was Director of Strongbow Exploration Inc. Chief Executive Officer of Stornoway Diamond Corporation and until 2006 she served as Director of Aber Diamond Corporation. Her mining firm, Sternway Ventures, has diamond rights to more than 7,000,000 Arctic acres. Her dream is to find diamonds and develop a mine as the first Canadian owner and diamond operator. Sources: Ottawa Citizen January 17, 2004 p. B3; Canadian Who’s Who 2005

née Johnson / Johnston. Born 1829?, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died December 29, 1911, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Louisa married John F. Brown but shortly after became a widow. She lived with family members after the death of her husband. Along with her mother and younger brother William she owned a variety store. She also worked as a dress maker until she married a second time in 1877 to Alexander Bailey, a Baptist pastor. After the death of her mother, Louisa took over property holding and the variety store. She was an active member of the African Baptist Association and was a Sunday School teacher at her church. She played a paramount role in establishing the Pastor's Aid Society where she served as President. She was also a social activist who supported women's rights. She voted in municipal elections in 1895 and 1897. As a believer in education she contributed to a vocational school for Black youth. Widowed a second time she married George Tillman, a Baptist clergyman from Boston who was 30 years her junior. Source: D C B

née Gireaux. Born April 14, 1877, Saint Elzear, Quebec..Died December 2, 1948, Sainte-Marie-de-la-nouvelle-Beauce, Quebec. It was Rose Anna who convinced her husband, Joseph Arcade Vachon (1866-1938), to borrow money and purchase a bakery just outside of Quebec City. It was her donuts, sweet-buns, shortbreads, cakes and pies made in her own wood burning stove in her home kitchen that kept clients coming back for more. In 1932 she made a delicious chocolate cake with a cream filling and named it after two of her sons...Joe-Louis! By 1937 the business had expanded throughout their home province as well as Ontario and the Maritimes. After the death of her husband in 1938 , it was Rose-Anna who expanded the business even farther. In 1945 she stepped down from the business and turned it over to her four sons. Her home, wood stove and all, in Sainte Marie de Beauce is now a museum. Canada Post issued a commemorative Millennium postage stamp featuring Rose-Anna and her husband in 2000. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia online (accessed 2024)

Born January 8. Michelle studied fine arts at the University of Ottawa and took photography at Algonquin College, Ottawa She has become renowned for her unique portraiture and spectacular landscapes.  She has also written two books: Look beyond…the faces and stories of people with HIV/AIDS and Dare to dream…a celebration of Canadian women. The funds raised by these books have been donated to Charity. An entrepreneur she owns and operates a gallery and studio as well as a publishing and special events business called Dare to Dream. She is active on Boards and Committees for local charities. She has received the Woman of Distinction Award from the Ottawa YM/YWCA in 2000, Ottawa’s Businesswoman of the year award, 2004, and the St. Joe’s Women Stellar Quality of Life Award as well as being Algonquin College Alumnus of the Year. In 2005 the Ottawa Business Journal listed her in the Top 40 under 40 achievers. Sources: Ottawa Citizen October 18, 2005 p. D3 also Correspondences with Michelle Valberg.

She studied to become a Public Health Nurse and worked for the Victoria Order of Nurses. She took time off from her career to stay at home and raise her family and also studied business administration. She became interested and involved with the construction industry. In 1994 she joined the board of the Canadian Construction Association. In March 2004, she became the first woman to Chair the Canadian Construction Association.

née Mingo. Born 1846, Pictou, Nova Scotia. Died 1919, Saint John, New Brunswick. Georgina's family had relocated to Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. where she met and married a Saint John businessman. The couple had four children. After the death of her husband, Robert Whetsel, in 1884, Georgina took over his ice business in Lily Lake, New Brunswick. She supplied ice to households of Saint John and by 1894 she was employing 60 men, Black and white. She also stood up against racial discrimination and sexism in business by writing to the Saint John Daily Telegraph. In 1895 she was featured in the firs national newspaper published by African-American women, The Woman's Era in Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. She sold her company in the early 1900's and is believed to have been the richest Black woman in North America. The Saint John Theatre Company featured her story in a production called We Were Here. Source: Rediscovering the Roots of Black New Brunswick. online (accessed 2022); Strong brave, resilient: Reflections on Ice Lady Georgina Whetsel Online (accessed 2022); not on Find a grave 2024

née Schnurr. Born January 29, 1899, Mildmay, Ontario. Died November 22, 1976, Clifford, Ontario. On October 14, 1925 Leila married Benjamin Wightman of Wightman Communications in Clifford, Ontario. His Father, Robert Wightman, had been a frustrated farmer whom Bell Telephone could not serve. Robert set up his own company in 1908 so he and his neighbors, could have a telephone. Leila acted as lead operator and office administrator for the telephone company after her marriage to Benjamin. At the same time the couple brought up a family of four children. In 1947 Benjamin died and Leila decided to keep the company going. This made her the first woman telephone company owner. In 1953 she instituted the superior 4-diget dial service while the much larger Bell Telephone Company systems which were still cranking the old magneto telephones. The new system was the most modern of its day and heralded the arrival of 24 hour service telephone service. Leila had set the company on the path to modernization that kept the company going. She was inducted as member of the Telecommunications Hall of Fame in 2006. Sources: Telecommunications Hall of Fame  (accessed October 2011)  ; also family provided vital information.

née Cross. Born 1870. Died 1948, Cascades, Quebec. Alice and her husband, Samuel Ernest Wilson (1865-1927), ran the Peerless Hotel. It was a handsome four story brick building with 30 rooms. The hotel was a real centre for the settlement as it also included the local post office, the telephone exchange, and the general store. Alice worked the business and brought up her ten children. Somehow Alice also found time to play the organ at the Anglican and United churches. During World War l (1914-1918) she was a well known community fund raiser for the war effort. Source: Notable Women of the Gatineau Valley & the Outaouais. online (accessed 2022); Find a Grave online (accessed 2024)

Born 1964, Egypt. When Hana was Two years old her family immigrated to Canada. She earned a civil engineering degree at the University of Toronto (U of T) and a Masters of Business Administration at York University, Toronto. She worked as several jobs including being a financial analyst before she decided to follow her passion for makeup. She founded Cargo Cosmetics and first launched it through Eaton’s Department Stores in 1996. Since then she has found that advertising is best when it is done by word of mouth. She asked some of the Hollywood stars who used Cargo products to tell others. They did just that. Cargo Cosmetics was launched in Europe and Australia and is a multi-national business. She has been recognized by the New York Fashion Groups as an International Rising Star. In 2004 she was honoured in the list of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 and Brand Packaging Magazine presented her with  the Brand Innovator of the Yeas in 2006. Source: Herstory: The Canadian Women’s Calendar 2006. Saskatoon: Coteau Books, 2005. (2022)

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