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Sexual Diversity Activism at the University of Toronto
Having first met off campus, the University of Toronto Homophile Association (UTHA) convened again on November 4, 1969, at University College to advocate equality and freedom for gay men and lesbians. This was the first group of its kind at a Canadian university. Early on, UTHA attracted supporters far beyond the University of Toronto community, influencing the formation of like-minded groups on university campuses and in communities across Ontario and the country. UTHA was closely... -
Simcoe County Court House and Gaol
In 1837, the Simcoe District was established and authority was given for erecting a district court-house and gaol at Barrie. The gaol was begun in 1840, the courthouse a year later, and both were completed in 1842. An important county judicial and administrative centre, the courthouse was enlarged in 1877 and demolished in 1976. The gaol, designed by Thomas Young of Toronto and constructed of Lake Couchiching limestone by Charles Thompson, a builder and steamboat... -
Sir Byron Edmund Walker, C.V.O., LL.D., D.C.L. 1848-1924
Born in Haldimand County, Walker joined the new Canadian Bank of Commerce at an early age, transforming it into one of Canada's leading financial institutions. He helped to author the Bank Act, cornerstone of Canada's national banking system. By 1907, he was president of the Bank of Commerce, a position he held until 1924. Walker was also a generous patron of the arts, helping to found and nurture many of Canada's cultural and educational institutions... -
Sir George W. Ross 1841-1914
Born on a nearby farm, Ontario's fifth prime minister was for many years a teacher and a school inspector in Middlesex County. He was elected to the federal parliament in 1872 as Liberal member for Middlesex West. In 1883, he entered the Ontario government as minister of education under Oliver Mowat. When A.S. Hardy retired in 1899, G.W. Ross became prime minister of Ontario and provincial treasurer. His government, 1899-1905, promoted distribution of hydro-electric power... -
Sir James Pliny Whitney 1843-1914
Born in Williamsburg and educated at the Cornwall Grammar School, Whitney was called to the Bar in 1876. He was elected to the legislative assembly as Conservative member for Dundas in 1888. A noted orator, he was leader of the opposition 1896-1905. In the latter year, the Liberal government headed by the Hon. G.W. Ross was defeated and Whitney became the sixth prime minister of Ontario. He held that post 1905-14, and his administration was... -
Sir William Campbell 1758-1834
Campbell was born near Caithness, Scotland. He fought with the British forces during the American Revolution and was taken prisoner at Yorktown in 1781. Three years later, he was practising law in Nova Scotia where, in 1799, he was elected to the House of Assembly. In 1811, Campbell moved to Upper Canada where he had accepted a judgeship on the Court of King's Bench. He was made chief justice of the province and speaker of... -
Sir William Mulock 1843-1944
William Mulock was born in Bond Head where his father practised medicine. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1863 and was called to the Bar in 1867. A strong proponent of university federation, Mulock served his Alma Mater successively as Senator and Vice-Chancellor 1873-1900 and became Chancellor in 1924. First elected to the House of Commons in 1882, he was Postmaster General in the Laurier cabinet 1896-1905. There, he introduced Imperial penny postage, the trans-Pacific cable and far-reaching labour legislation. Knighted in 1902, Sir William was Chief Justice of Ontario 1923-36. -
St. Lawrence Hall 1850
Erected in 1850, this structure provided a grand public hall in the St. Lawrence marketplace, then the centre of Toronto, for concerts, balls, meetings and other civic events. Seating a thousand, it was proudly regarded as one of the city's finest buildings. Here, Jenny Lind sang, the Anti-Slavery Society met, and George Brown addressed ardent Reform gatherings before Confederation. When the centre of the city shifted north and west in the 1870s, St. Lawrence Hall's great era ended. -
Women's Law Association of Ontario
Founded in 1919, the Women's Law Association of Ontario (WLAO) was the first organization to work actively to create a place for women at Osgoode Hall. With membership open to law students, lawyers and judges, the non-profit organization advances issues relevant to women in law through networking, educational and social events. Strengthened by the women's rights movement, the WLAO's first 100 years marked Canada's first female lawyer being called to the bar, the first female... -
Allenford Pow-wow 1855, The
In July 1855, at nearby "Floodwood Crossing" (now Allenford), representatives of the Ojibwa Indians conferred with government officials at a meeting later called the "Allenford Pow-wow". The conference resolved a boundary dispute which had arisen over the terms of the Saugeen treaty of 1854. The Ojibwa interpretation of this treaty held "Copway's Road", an Indian pathway from Saugeen Village to Lake Huron, to be the boundary of the land ceded by them on the north... -
Heathfield
The house which stood near this site was constructed prior to 1841, and purchased in 1865 by Prof. James Williamson of Queen's University. His wife, Margaret, was a sister of Sir John A. Macdonald, who became the first prime minister of the Dominion of Canada. Prof. Williamson leased the building to the Conservative leader, but retained a portion for his own use. Macdonald installed his unmarried sister, Louisa, in the house, and it served as... -
Hillcroft 1853
Built in 1853 by a mayor of Kingston, Francis Hill, this house, during the 1860s and 1870s, was the residence of Alexander Campbell (1822-1892). A member of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada and delegate to the Quebec Conference which led to Confederation, he was a life-long political associate of the Dominion's first Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald. Campbell held several cabinet posts after Confederation, was knighted in 1879 and, from 1887 to 1892, was Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. -
Honourable Arthur Sturgis Hardy 1837-1901, The
Ontario's fourth prime minister was born in Mount Pleasant, called to the Bar in 1865, and practiced law in Brantford for many years. In 1873 he was elected to the Ontario legislature and sat as Liberal member for South Brant until 1899. Appointed provincial secretary and registrar in 1877, he became commissioner of crown lands in 1889. Following the resignation of Sir Oliver Mowat in 1896, Arthur Hardy assumed the portfolios of prime minister and... -
Honourable G. Howard Ferguson 1870-1946, The
Ontario's ninth Premier was born here in Kemptville, son of Charles Ferguson, a local doctor and member of the House of Commons. Following graduation from the University of Toronto in 1891, Howard studied law under Sir William Meredith and practised in Kemptville. Elected in 1905 to the Ontario legislature as a Conservative, he became in 1914 Minister of Lands, Forests and Mines in the Hearst administration. From 1919-23 he was leader of the Opposition, Premier from 1923-30, and from 1930-35 served as Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. -
Honourable George Brown 1818-1880, The
Across the Grand River at this point lies Bow Park, once the farm of George Brown, a leading architect of Confederation, who built up an estate of some 800 acres beginning in 1866. A Scottish immigrant, Brown founded the Toronto Globe in 1844, the influential Reform journal which helped him become a powerful political figure. As leader of the "Clear Grit" Liberals and champion of Canada West, Brown entered the "Great Coalition" government of 1864... -
Honourable Gordon D. Conant 1885-1953, The
Ontario's twelfth prime minister was born in Oshawa and educated at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall. A practising lawyer, he was a leader in civic affairs and in 1916-17 served as mayor of Oshawa. During the following years he held various municipal offices, and in 1937 was elected to the provincial legislature as Liberal member for the riding of Ontario. He was appointed attorney general that year for the administration of the Hon... -
Honourable Hamnet Kirks Pinhey 1784-1857, The
A merchant and ship-owner in his native England, Pinhey came to Upper Canada in 1820. For his services as King's messenger during the Napoleonic Wars, he received a 1,000-acre land grant on the Ottawa River. Within a decade he had built up an estate which he named Horaceville after his elder son. In addition to a manor house and barns, it included mills, a store and a church. Pinhey took a leading part in township... -
Honourable Harry C. Nixon 1891-1961, The
Ontario's thirteenth prime minister was born on this farm and in l9l3 graduated from Ontario Agricultural College. A supporter of the United Farmers of Ontario, he was elected to the provincial legislature in 1919 as member for Brant North and served as provincial secretary until the defeat of the Drury administration in 1923. During the Liberal administration of Mitchell F. Hepburn (1934-42), he served as provincial secretary and minister in charge of the department of... -
Honourable James Cockburn 1819-1883, The
A Father of Confederation, James Cockburn was born in Berwick, England and came to Canada with his parents in 1832. Admitted to the bar in 1846, he formed a partnership with D.E. Boulton in Cobourg, and in 1849 established a law practice independently. Entering politics, he represented Northumberland West in the Legislative Assembly of Canada, 1861-67, and served as solicitor general, 1864-67. At the Quebec Conference of 1864, he shared in drafting the plan for... -
Honourable Herbert Alexander Bruce, M.D. 1868-1963, The
A distinguished surgeon and able public servant, Bruce was born in Blackstock and educated at the Toronto School of Medicine. In 1897, after obtaining a fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, he established a surgical practice in Toronto. Unable to secure adequate facilities for his patients, he founded The Wellesley Hospital, presiding over its official opening in 1912. Except for a period during World War I when he was active overseas, Bruce... -
Honourable John Rolph, M.D. 1793-1870, The
This property once belonged to John Rolph, a prominent physician, lawyer and legislator. Born in England, he emigrated to Upper Canada in 1812. In 1824, with Dr. Charles Duncombe, he established at St. Thomas the province's first medical school, the "Talbot Dispensatory." A reformer, Rolph represented Middlesex in the assembly, 1824-29, and Norfolk, 1836-37. Although not an active participant in the Rebellion of 1837, he was so seriously implicated that he was compelled to flee... -
Honourable John Sandfield Macdonald 1812-1872, The
St. Raphael is the birthplace of John Sandfield Macdonald, Prime Minister of the Province of Canada 1862-64, and first Premier of Ontario 1867-71. First elected to represent Glengarry in the legislature of Canada in 1841, he became one of the leaders of the Reform party and served in several ministries prior to Confederation in 1867. Always independent in his political thinking, he at first opposed the federation of the provinces. Later he co-operated with Sir John A. Macdonald, chief architect of Confederation, at whose request he formed a coalition ministry in Ontario. -
Honourable Mitchell F. Hepburn 1896-1953, The
Ontario's eleventh prime minister was born in nearby Yarmouth Township and educated at St. Thomas Collegiate. After serving in World War I, he was elected to the federal parliament in 1926 as member for Elgin West. In 1930 he was named leader of the Ontario Liberal party and resigned his federal seat in 1934 to become prime minister of Ontario. His administration established pensions for the blind and the aged, compulsory pasteurization of skim milk... -
Honourable William Aberhart 1878-1943, The
Founder of the Social Credit Party and premier of Alberta, 1935-43, Aberhart attended Seaforth Collegiate Institute, 1893-98, and later graduated from Queen's University. In 1910 he moved to Calgary where from 1915-35 he was a high school principal. An ardent fundamentalist lay preacher he founded the Calgary Prophetic Bible Conference in 1918 to promote Bible study. His weekly religious radio broadcasts beginning in 1925 won him a large audience. In 1932 he became interested in... -
Horatio Emmons Hale 1817-1896
One of North America's pioneer ethnologists and linguists, Hale practised law in Clinton 1856-1896. Born in New Hampshire, he graduated from Harvard in 1837, and accompanied the Wilkes Expedition to the Pacific, 1838-1842. His contribution to the 'Narrative' of that voyage is one of the basic sources for Polynesian ethnology. Hale discovered that the Tutelos near Brantford, fugitives from North Carolina, belonged to the Siouan family and identified the Cherokees of the Carolinas as linguistically...