It is #IndigenousHistoryMonth and this is the story of actor, singer & humanitarian Tom Jackson!

Tom Jackson was born on the One Arrow Reserve near Batoche, Saskatchewan on Oct. 27, 1948.
After moving to Winnipeg when he was 14, he dropped out of school a year later.

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For the next few years, he lived on the streets but began to gravitate towards folk & country music in the Winnipeg coffee houses.
By the 1980s, he was playing at festivals throughout Canada and his songwriting often explored Indigenous issues.

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He soon began acting and in 1986, earned a Genie Award nomination for his role in Loyalties.
By the end of the decade, his singing & acting career had taken off.
He achieved national fame with his role as Peter Kenidi in the critically-acclaimed show North of 60.

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He continued to act throughout the 1990s and beyond with roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Spirit Rider, Cold Pursuit and more.
In his career, he has earned multiple Gemini Award nominations, won two Junos, 11 honorary degrees & the Order of Canada.

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He is also well-known for his philanthropy and his Christmas concert, Huron Carole, which raised millions of dollars & collected tons of food for food banks around Canada.
He continues to help people who live on the streets, or are below the poverty line, to this day.

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More from @CraigBaird

Aug 2
Alexander Graham Bell changed history with his creation of the first practical telephone.
He spent a lot of his life in Canada in Brantford and Nova Scotia, and had a large impact on our history.
This is the story of Bell and Canada.

🧵 1/12 Black and white portrait of Alexander Graham Bell, an elderly man with white hair and beard, wearing a suit and tie.
Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland. When he was 23, his brother Melville died of tuberculosis. Bell's parents decided to move out of fear their other children would die. In August 1870, they moved to Canada and settled in Brantford.

🧵 2/12 Black and white portrait of a younger Alexander Graham Bell with dark curly hair, mustache, and beard, wearing a bow tie and suit, looking to the side.
One year later, Bell took a teaching job at a school for the deaf in Boston. This began a pattern of working in the United States and spending summers with his family in Brantford. It was at the family home his telephone idea began to take shape.

🧵 3/12 Black and white photograph of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife Mabel standing arm-in-arm in front of their Victorian-style home with ornate porch, attached greenhouse, and surrounding trees.
Read 13 tweets
Jul 31
On July 31, 1987, an F4 (possibly an F5) tornado hit the eastern parts of Edmonton and Strathcona County.
It left 27 dead, injured 300 and caused $332 million in damages.
This is the story of Black Friday.

📸 Steve Simon

🧵 1/12 The provided photo shows the iconic image of the 1987 Edmonton tornado, captured by photographer Steve Simon. It depicts a large, wedge-shaped funnel cloud descending from a dark storm sky, touching down over an industrial area known as Refinery Row in eastern Edmonton, Alberta. The tornado appears as a bright, contrasting formation against the blackened background, with buildings, utility poles, and structures visible in the foreground.
For a week prior to July 31, a low pressure system in southwestern BC was feeding warm and humid air into central Alberta. Hot weather in Alberta was triggering thunderstorms all week.
Then, on July 31, a cold front developed in Western Alberta.

📸 Peter Cutler

🧵 2/12 The photo depicts the 1987 Edmonton tornado as a large, wedge-shaped funnel cloud, brightly illuminated against a dark stormy sky, descending and touching down over an industrial area with buildings, warehouses, and cylindrical storage tanks visible below. The image has a grainy texture typical of 1980s film photography.
This cold front collided with the warm moist air, creating a recipe for severe thunderstorms.
One storm developed that began to move northeast towards Leduc, south of Edmonton.
At 2:59, the first tornado was spotted.

🧵 3/12 The photo shows a narrow, rope-like tornado funnel descending from dark, ominous clouds and touching down across a multi-lane highway, where vehicles with headlights on are visible amid reduced visibility. Trees and bushes appear in the foreground, suggesting the viewpoint is from an elevated or nearby area.
Read 13 tweets
Jul 29
On July 29, 1910 in Saskatoon, a fabled meeting of two prime ministers took place.
The prime minister of the time, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, met a young man selling newspapers named John Diefenbaker.
But...did it actually happen?
Let's investigate!

🧵 1/6 The photo shows a bronze statue in Saskatoon depicting a young John Diefenbaker as a newsboy in cap and knickers handing a newspaper to Sir Wilfrid Laurier in a suit holding a hat. It stands on a brick-paved area with a plaque at the base, amid a urban street with parked cars, buildings, trees, and flower planters.
At the time, Sir Wilfrid Laurier was in Saskatoon to lay the cornerstone of the first building at the University of Saskatchewan.
John Diefenbaker, who was 15 at the time, was apparently selling newspapers on the corner when the two crossed paths.

🧵 2/6 The black-and-white photograph shows a close-up of a light-colored stone block embedded in a wall, engraved with the text: "THIS STONE WAS LAID BY SIR WILFRID LAURIER JULY - 29TH - 1910". Foliage is visible at the top left, and the stone sits above a concrete surface.
After 10 minutes of talking, Diefenbaker told Laurier:
"I can't waste any more time on you, Prime Minister. I must get about my work."
At that point, the two went their separate ways. Today, the meeting is commemorated in a statue at the spot.

🧵 3/6 The black-and-white studio portrait depicts a young man with short, wavy hair combed back, fair skin, light eyes, and a serious expression facing the camera. He wears a white high-collared shirt, narrow dark tie, and dark suit jacket with puffed shoulders. The background is plain and neutral.
Read 7 tweets
Jul 22
Sir Sandford Fleming was one of the most important Canadians of the 19th century.
Best known for his promotion of Standard Time, he had a massive impact on Canada from surveying our railroads to creating our first stamp.
Let's learn more about this amazing Canadian!

🧵1/16 Image
Fleming was born on Jan. 7, 1827. When he was 14, he apprenticed as a surveyor and four years later moved to Canada. In 1849, he qualified as a surveyor in Canada.
That same year, he founded the Royal Canadian Institute with several friends.

🧵2/16 Image
On April 25, 1849, rioters burned down the Parliament Building in Montreal. There is a story that as the building burned, Fleming, with three others, rescued a portrait of Queen Victoria from the flames. That portrait has survived to this day.

🧵3/16 Image
Read 17 tweets
Jul 20
James Doohan wasn’t just Scotty on Star Trek, he was also a Canadian who served his country and landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. He then went on to become a gifted actor, trained by fellow Canadian Lorne Greene.
This is his story.

🧵 1/12 Image
Doohan was born in Vancouver to Irish immigrants on March 3, 1920. When he was young, the family moved to Sarnia, Ontario where his father worked as a pharmacist. After graduating from high school, Doohan enlisted with the Canadian Army.

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By 1940, he was a lieutenant and began to train in Britain. With his fellow Canadians, he landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. He led his men through the battle to a defensive position. That night, he was shot six times by friendly fire while moving between command posts.

🧵 3/12 Image
Read 13 tweets
Jul 15
There was a time when everyone in Winnipeg shopped at "The Big Store".
With a staff of 8,000, it covered 21 acres.
On a busy day, 10% of Winnipegers shopped there and 50 cents of every shopping dollar was spent there.
This is the story of Eaton's Winnipeg store.

🧵 1/12 This vintage photo shows a nighttime city street, likely mid-20th century. A large brick building glows with red neon outlines and a prominent "EATONS" sign, indicating Eaton's department store. Festive lights form swirls, stars, and flowers across the facade and street, evoking holiday cheer.  To the left is a "Woolworth" store with blue signage and window displays. The wet street reflects lights, with few pedestrians and a Christmas tree visible. Background includes taller buildings with "EATONS" and "BMO" signs. The image has a warm, grainy nostalg...
By the start of the 20th century, Eaton's was one of the most important retailers in Canada. With the Eaton's catalogue, Canadians could order anything they needed to their homes from the company.
As the company grew, there was a decision to expand.

🧵 2/12 This antique cover art depicts Eaton's Spring and Summer Catalogue No. 106 from 1913. Against a deep blue background with ornate borders, it shows classical statues of women with garlands framing an aerial illustration of Toronto's industrial buildings, including factories with smokestacks. Central text in bold white letters reads "EATON'S SPRING AND SUMMER CATALOGUE," flanked by floral urns and topiary trees. Below, "THE T. EATON CO. LIMITED TORONTO CANADA" appears, with scrolls noting "No106" and "1913." The style evokes early 20th-century elegance ...
John Craig Eaton, son of Eaton's founder Timothy Eaton, wanted to build a combined store and mail order operation. While his father worried about opening a store far from Toronto, he decided to approve the decision.

🧵 3/12 This vintage black-and-white portrait depicts Timothy Eaton, founder of the Eaton's department store chain. He appears as a bald, elderly man with bushy eyebrows and a thick white beard, dressed in a formal dark suit, high-collared shirt, and tie. His serious expression gazes slightly off-camera against a plain background, capturing early 20th-century dignity.
Read 13 tweets

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