History and culture

Ms. Donna Alexander Zwicker

Donna Alexander Zwicker holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Manitoba and a Master of Arts in Western Canadian History from the University of Calgary. Ms. Zwicker has served on the Board of Directors of the Historical Society of Alberta, the Crowsnest Historical Society and Calgary’s Chinook Country Historical Society. She is a founding member of the Communities Heritage Roundtable, a grassroots forum featuring local heritage information, initiatives and issues as well as heritage networking opportunities. Ms. Zwicker has been actively involved in committee work where heritage has been successfully integrated into planning matters. As a guest speaker, panellist, and leader of a Historic Calgary Week stroll through the past or a Jane’s Walk through the neighbourhood, she has been actively involved in promoting community connectivity and heritage awareness. In 2005 she was appointed as an Alberta Centennial Ambassador and presented with the Alberta Centennial Medal.

• First appointment: December 15, 2011, to December 14, 2014
• Second appointment: June 18, 2015, to June 17, 2019

Mr. Timothy Christian

Mr. Timothy Christian is Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in History from the University of Alberta as well as a Master of Law degree from the University of Cambridge. As Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta, he created the Indigenous Law Students Program to encourage the recruitment of Indigenous law students. He has published extensively in the fields of constitutional, administrative and labour law, and has decades of experience in mediation, facilitation and negotiation at the provincial and federal levels, including as Chief Federal Negotiator, negotiating settlements between First Nations, provincial governments and the Government of Canada. In 2011, he retired from the practice of law and his work as a federal negotiator in 2011 and now devotes his time to historical research and writing.

• First appointment:May 19, 2018 to May 18, 2023

Dr. Richard Wishart

Dr. Wishart, now retired from Ducks Unlimited Canada, spent 32 years in a number of senior research and management roles in Manitoba and Ontario. Most recently this included National Director of Education and Director of the Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre. Prior to that he worked as an instructor in the wildlife and veterinary technology program at Vanier College in Montreal teaching a variety of classroom and field study courses in botany and zoology. He continues as an adjunct professor with the Department of Education at the University of Manitoba and volunteers with several provincial organizations including the Manitoba Education for Sustainable Development Working Group and the Manitoba Forestry Association. He is the author of many scientific publications, has been involved in several books as writer and editor, and has presented numerous papers to diverse audiences. Dr. Wishart received his BSc and MSc in natural resource management from McGill University, and a PhD in zoology from the University of Manitoba.

• First appointment: February 29, 2012, to February 28, 2015
• Second appointment: May 28, 2015, to May 27, 2019

Mr. Bernard Thériault

Mr. Bernard Thériault is an historian, researcher, writer and commentor. He has been retired from the New Brunswick public service since 2010, where he was the Director General for the Premier’s Cabinet. He also served as Director for Aboriginal Fisheries, Gulf Region, for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. From 1987 until 2000, Mr. Thériault served as the member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick for the Caraquet riding. During this time, he served as the Minister of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Aboriginal Affairs, as well as acting Minister of Education. He began his career as an historian, head conservator and Director of programs at the Village Historique Acadien, in Caraquet. He grew up in Caraquet and continues to live there today.

• First appointment: June 13, 2018, to June 13, 2023

Dr. Shannon Lewis-Simpson

Dr. Lewis-Simpson is Coordinator, Community Engaged Learning, Student Life, and Adjunct Professor of Archaeology at Memorial University. Her research interests are in the medieval and early modern North Atlantic, naval history, and the history of Newfoundland and Labrador. Dr. Lewis-Simpson has served as an officer in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve and Royal Naval Reserve for over 20 years, most recently as Commanding Officer of HMCS CABOT, and as Newfoundland and Labrador Liaison Officer for the Canadian Forces Liaison Council. She has over 20 years of experience serving on military, civilian, and academic working groups, committees and boards. Dr. Lewis-Simpson obtained a PhD in Medieval Studies from the University of York (England) and has published on aspects of identity in the medieval north.

• First appointment: June 18, 2017, to June 17, 2022

Ms. Lisa Prosper

Ms. Lisa Prosper is a cultural heritage consultant who specializes in the commemoration and conservation of Indigenous and cultural landscape heritage as well as the development of heritage policy. She holds degrees in Art History and Heritage Conservation. From 2012 to 2015 she was the Director of the Willowbank Centre in Queenston, Ontario. In 2017, she served as a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee for the updating of Canada's tentative list for World Heritage nominations. Ms. Prosper is currently a board member of ICOMOS Canada and a member of ICOMOS' International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes. She regularly presents at national and international forums on heritage theory and practice.

• First appointment: March 26, 2018, to March 25, 2023

Dr. Nicole Neatby

Dr. Neatby is an Associate Professor of History at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax where she teaches courses in public history, Canadian history and culture, and the histories of Canadian women. In 2006-2012, she was appointed to Canada Post’s Stamp Advisory Committee. She also has been an active member of the Canadian Historical Association and was a member of the Museum of History’s General Advisory Committee. Dr. Neatby has a PhD in History from the Université de Montréal and has a significant portfolio of scholarly publications, conferences papers, engagement in public outreach and volunteering in the community.

• First appointment: June 18, 2017, to June 17, 2022

Dr. Sylvie Leblanc

Dr. LeBlanc received a B.Sc. (Anthropology) from the University of Montreal, an M.A. (Anthropology) from the Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Ph.D. from University of Alberta. She undertook post-doctoral research at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University. She is the Territorial Chief Archaeologist, Department of Culture and Heritage for the Government of Nunavut and an Adjunct Research Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University. Dr. LeBlanc has 20 years of research experience with a current focus on Maritime provinces and Arctic Archaeology. She has several scholarly publications and produced a series of documentaries on the Ikpiktturjuaq area and Inuksuit.

• First appointment: June 18, 2017, to June 17, 2022

Dr. Richard M. Alway

Chairman and Ontario Representative

An Officer of the Order of Canada, and member of the Order of Ontario,Dr. Alway holds two graduate degrees in Modern History from the University of Toronto. He is presently the Praeses of the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, and was previously the President and Vice-chancellor of the University of St. Michael's College in Toronto.Dr. Alway has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Museums of Canada and Chair of its National Programmes Committee, Chairman of the National Gallery of Canada, as Acting Director of the National Gallery of Canada, Chairman of the National Museum of Natural Sciences, and a member of the Board of the National Postal Museum. Former Chairman and CEO of the Ontario Heritage Foundation, he is currently Chairman of the C.D. Howe Memorial Foundation (Montreal) and a member of the Quebecor Ontario Advisory Board.

• First appointment: September 10, 1996, to September 9, 2001
• Second appointment: September 11, 2001, to September 10, 2006
• Third appointment: March 5, 2007, to March 4, 2012
• Fourth appointment: May 03, 2012, to May 02, 2017
• Fifth appointment: May 11, 2017, to January 10, 2018
• Sixth appointment: January 11, 2018 to January 11, 2023

Mr. Harry Holman

Mr. Holman has been working, for the past few years, as an independent heritage researcher providing research and writing services in the heritage sector. Mr. Holman is a graduate of the University of Alberta and received a Law degree from Queen’s University, and spent 24 years with the Government of Prince Edward Island as Provincial Archivist and Director of Libraries and later the Director of Culture, Heritage and Libraries. He has published a significant number of publications (both popular and scholarly) related to PEI heritage, archival resources, legal, material, public and social history. Mr. Holman was a board member of the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation for more than twenty years.

• First appointment: June 18, 2017, to June 17, 2022

Dr. Yolande Cohen

Dr. Yolande Cohen has been a Full Professor at the History Department of the Université du Québec à Montréal for almost 40 years. She is an internationally-known historian specializing in social history. Dr. Cohen has authored ten books and published over 80 articles in academic journals. Dr. Cohen is a member and past president of the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of the Royal Society of Canada. She is a recipient of the Order of Québec and is a Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France. She has been involved in many community organizations, civic society groups, and municipal organizations in Montréal, where she also ran for mayor in the 1990s. Dr. Cohen obtained a Doctorat de 3e cycle at l’École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris and the Université Paris VIII.

• First appointment: November 22, 2017, to November 21, 2022

Dr. Bill Waiser

Dr. William (Bill) Waiser is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the University of Saskatchewan, as well as a full-time writer, consultant, and public speaker. He spent more than three decades with the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan. Prior to this, he was an historian with the Parks Canada Agency, specializing in the history of the Yukon. Dr. Waiser has extensive experience participating and leading heritage boards and committees at the local, provincial, and national levels, including Canada’s History Society (publisher of Canada’s History, formerly The Beaver magazine). He has published extensively on Canadian history and is best known for Saskatchewan: A New History, which was personally presented to Queen Elizabeth II, as well as A World We Have Lost: Saskatchewan before 1905, winner of the 2016 Governor General’s literary award for non-fiction. He is a frequent contributor to radio, television, and print media. Dr. Waiser was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2017.

• First appointment: January 30, 2019 to January 30, 2024

Dr. Brent Slobodin

Dr. Brent Slobodin is a consultant who provides a wide variety of services including historical research and writing, as well as the development of education, training and economic opportunities in Yukon. In this role, he works with government, businesses, non-profit organizations, and local communities including a number of Indigenous communities. Prior to this, he gained fifteen years of experience in the Northern public education sector focusing on education policy, labour market development and immigration; most recently he was the Assistant Deputy Minister of Advanced Education for the Yukon Government from 2002-2015. He also taught Yukon and First Nations history at Yukon College for many years. Dr. Slobodin has been a member of a number of heritage advisory and volunteer boards including the Heritage Canada Foundation (now the National Trust) and the Yukon Historical Museums Association, where he has served as President. He obtained a PhD in Canadian History from Queen’s University.

• First appointment: November 22, 2017, to November 21, 2022

Representative of Library and Archives Canada

Dr. Guy Berthiaume

Dr. Guy Berthiaume assumed the position of Librarian and Archivist of Canada on June 23, 2014. Prior to joining Library and Archives Canada, he was the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec between 2009 and 2014, following a 30 year career in academia. Dr. Berthiaume holds a Doctorate in History.

In addition to serving as a professor of Ancient History at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), he held administrative positions focusing on research and university development. Previous roles include Vice-President, Development and Public Affairs, Université de Montréal, and Vice-President, Research and Creation, UQAM.

Dr. Dean Oliver

Dr. Oliver joined the Canadian Museum of History’s staff in 2013, after nearly fourteen years at the Canadian War Museum, the last ten as Director of Research and Exhibitions. His most recent book (with J. L. Granatstein), The Oxford Companion to Canadian Military History, won the annual Charles P. Stacey Award for the best book published on Canadian military history.

Dean Oliver holds a PhD in History from York University and has taught History, Political Science and International Security. A long-time contributor to the Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs and founding editor of the Studies in Canadian Military History monograph series, he is a well-known writer, lecturer and media commentator.

Secretary and Vice-President, Indigenous Affairs and Cultural Heritage Directorate

Ms. Joëlle Montminy

Ms. Montminy has been with the federal public service for over 20 years. Before joining Parks Canada in 2017, she was Assistant Deputy Minister, Resolution and Individual Affairs, at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). Ms. Montminy has extensive experience on Indigenous issues having held numerous positions over the years at INAC in the area of policy, negotiations, litigation management and operations. She also served as Executive Director for the Canada 150 Federal Secretariat at Canadian Heritage where she was responsible for the planning of commemoration activities for the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Prior to that, she was Director of Policy for Intergovernmental Affairs in the Privy Council Office.

Ms. Montminy holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from University Laval and a Master of Laws from the University of British Columbia.