A Canadian is essentially a citizen of the world and the Canadian spirit is a sense of connection that makes the world work. Beyond that, nobody can define what it means to be Canadian because it's always changing. The moment we think we've got it, we find we've left something out.

We can however describe what it is based on the relationships of flesh and blood people who have lived and met here. Of more than two dozen people in these sketches, less than half were born or died in Canada or would be considered long term residents.

Some lived before there was a "Canada:" when the word referred to a postage-stamp province or string of villages along a great river. All these figures became leaders in communities. Not all

were well known in their time here or afterwards. Here are some of their stories.