Some of the Arab Canadians
Who Made a Difference in Canada
RAWI HAGE [Writer, Visual artist, and a Curator]
• Born
in 1946, Lebanon.
• Raised as Christian Maronite.
• He first started as a Photographer then switched to writing novels.
•
His first novel “De Niro’s Game” was nominated
in October, 2006 to the short list for the Scotia Bank Giller prize
for
literary fiction.
• Other awards include the;
Governor General's Award: Fiction - Shortlisted (2006)
Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction - Winner (2006)
McAuslan First Book Prize - Winner (2006)
Rogers Writer's Trust Fiction Prize - Shortlisted (2007)
Commonwealth Writer's Prize (Canada and the Caribbean): Best First
Book - Shortlisted (2007)
LAWRENCE (LARRY) SHABEN [Minister of Housing and a Politician]
• Born in Canada in March 20, 1935 from a Lebanese descent.
• Canadian politician.
• He was the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Lesser
Slave Lake from 1975-1989 representing the Alberta Progressive
Conservatives.
• Shaben was the first Arab and the first Muslim MLA elected in Alberta
and the first Muslim Cabinet Minister in Canada.
• He served Minister of Housing and Minister of Utilities and Telephones
and as a Minister of Economic Development and Trade.
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JOSEPH ATALLAH GHIZ [Premier of Prince Edward Island]
• Born in Charlottetown on January 27, 1945 to Atallah Joseph
Ghiz, a Syrian-Lebanese corner store owner and Marguerite McKarris.
•
Was the Premier of Prince Edward Island from 1986 to 1993, an educator
of law and a justice of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island.
•
He is the father of Robert Ghiz, the current Premier of Prince Edward
Island.
•
Was a graduate of Dalhousie and Harvard law schools and was a Charlottetown
lawyer before entering into politics.
•
Following his decision to leave politics, Ghiz served as dean of his
alma mater, the Dalhousie Law School until 1995, when he was appointed
to the PEI Supreme Court. Ghiz died of cancer in 1996.
•
Several weeks before his death, he was driven by construction personnel
across the largest completed section of the Confederation Bridge which
had yet to be connected to the North American mainland.
HONOURABLE SENATOR MAHMOUD (MAC) HARB
• Born in Lebanon in 1953.
•
Immigrated to Canada in 1973.
•
Mac Harb graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of
Science and an M.A. in Engineering. A former engineer for Northern
Telecom and professor at Algonquin College in Ottawa.
•
Mr. Harb's political career started at the municipal level in Ottawa
in 1985 as an alderman, and then as Deputy Mayor from 1987 to 1988.
•
In 1988, Mr. Harb was elected to the House of Commons as a Member of
Parliament for Ottawa Centre. Former Opposition Critic for Public Works,
Urban Affairs and Housing. Mr. Harb sat on such committees as the Standing
Committee on Multiculturalism and Citizenship, House Affairs, Public
Accounts, and the Members Services Board. He also co-chaired the Liberal
Task Force on Infrastructure in 1990.
•
Mr. Harb was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International
Trade from December 1993 until 1995.
•
In September 2003, Harb was appointed to the Canadian Senate on Chrétien's
recommendation.
JAMES PETERS (JAMEEL BOTROUS QAHWASH) [Professor, Author]
• Born in Toronto in 1917 from a Lebanese descent.
•
James’s father immigrated to New York early in the century,
and the custom was at that time to re-name the immigrants with
easy to
pronounce name. Hence, the father was renamed and the family
name (Qahwash) was omitted. Jameel was known in Canada as Jim.
• He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force for 5 years in Canada and
Europe. After which he returned and finished his higher education
at the University of Toronto and in the Sorbonne in Paris.
• He taught languages till 1982 in Ryerson Polytechnic Institute, Toronto.
• Meanwhile he was a public speaker and broadcaster. Even though he lectured
about a series of topics, his main area was the Middle East trying
to explain the Arab point of view to the Canadian public.
• Co-founder and served as the President of the Canadian Arab Friendship
Society, the oldest Canadian Arab Association in existence.
• Co-author with Habeeb Salloum of many books about the Arabic language
and its effect on the English language (e.g. the book Arabic
Contributions to the English Language), and about the Arabic food.
DR. YOUSSEF A. MROUEH [Mathematician, Scientist, Researcher]
• Born in Nabatieh, Lebanon in 1937.
•
Came to Canada in 1969.
•
Educated in Lebanon, Britain, Germany, U.S.A. and Canada. He holds
a D.Sc. in radiation physics from Jackson University.
•
He originated a new mathematical theorem in Topology in 1954.
•
Modified the Fitzgerald-Lorenz for special Relativity in 1965.
•
Investigated the behaviours of matter in superhumanly speeds in 1972.
•
He is in charge of research in radiation control, industrial radiography
and ultrasonic.
•
Arab Canadian researcher and author of several studies and reports
of science, religion and philosophy.
HABEEB SALLOUM [Writer]
• Born in the village of Karoun, Lebanon
in 1924.
• Immigrated to Canada with his parents less than a year later.
• Lived his youth in Saskatchewan, western Canada.
• After serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1943-45, he moved
to Toronto. He worked for Revenue Canada from 1949 to 1985 while, at
the same time, pursuing his literary and scholastic interests. After
retirement, he became a full-time freelancer.
• Mr. Salloum has traveled extensively to most parts of the world and
has written comprehensively about the countries through which he traveled
and about their cuisines. His special interests are: Canadian and international
tourism, the cuisines of the Mediterranean countries and Latin-speaking
worlds, the fauna of the Arabian Peninsula, the impact of Arab/Muslim
Spain on the development of subsequent world history, and Arabic contributions
to the English and Spanish vocabularies.
• Among his most important recently published works are:
Arabic Contributions to the English Vocabulary.
From the Lands of Figs and Olives Over 300 Delicious and Unusual Recipes
from the Middle East and North Africa.
Journeys Back to Arab Spain.
Classic Vegetarian Cooking From the Middle East and North Africa.
PAUL ANKA [Singer, Song writer, Actor, Composer]
• Born 30 July 1941, in Ottawa, Ontario is a Canadian singer,
songwriter, and actor of Lebanese origin.
•
He became a U.S citizen in 1990.
•
Anka's parents, who owned a restaurant, were of Lebanese Christian
descent. He started singing with the St Elijah Syrian Orthodox Church
choir.
•
Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s
with hits songs like [Diana], [Lonely Boy], and [Put Your Head on My
Shoulder]. He went on to write such well known music as the theme for
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Tom Jones' biggest hit [She's
A Lady], and the English lyrics for Frank Sinatra's signature song
[My Way] Early life
•
His talent went beyond singing, writing Buddy Holly's giant hit [It
Doesn't Matter Anymore], the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny
Carson.
•
In the 1960s Anka would begin acting in motion pictures as well as
writing songs for them, most notably the theme for the hit movie [The
Longest Day]. From his movie work, he wrote and recorded one of his
greatest hit, [Lonely Boy]. He then went on to become one of the first
pop singers to perform at the Las Vegas casinos.
•
Anka returns to Canada several times a year, regularly playing to the
crowds at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
•
Anka awarded a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto.
•
Paul Anka was elected to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1980. He
has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
•
The Government of France honored him with the title [Chevalier in the
Order of Arts and Letters].
•
He was married to Anne De Zogheb, the daughter of Lebanese diplomat
Count Charles de Zogheb, from February 16, 1963 to September 28, 2000,
Of English, Lebanese, French, Dutch and Greek descent, she was a fashion
model. The couple married the following year in Paris. De Zogheb quit
modelling after their second child, Amanda Anka was born. They have
five daughters: Amelia, Anthea, Alicia, Amanda (wife of actor Jason
Bateman) and Alexandra.
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HONOURABLE ROGER E. SALHANY
[Superior Court of Justice, Judge,
Umpire]
• Roger’s family came to Canada from Lebanon in 1912.
They arrived in Quebec.
• He obtained his B.A. at McGill in 1958 and LLB Osgood Hall in 1961,
then his diploma in Comparative Legal Studies at Cambridge in 1962.
• He practiced general litigation in Toronto and Owen Sound, then appointed
Queen counsel in 1978.
• He served at the Superior Court of Justice in 1991, Administrative
Judge in 1992, at and the Umpire Employment Insurance Appeals Board
in 1999.
• He was a lecturer at the University of Windsor (1971-1993), the Bar
admission course, Federation of Law Societies, Ontario Provincial
Police, Canadian Judicial Council, Conference of Ontario Boards and Agencies,
and the National Judicial Institute.
• He served a Governor at Sir Wilfred Laurier University (1994-1997)
• He authorized several publications such as:
The Canadian Criminal Procedure (6th edition)
The Police Manual of Arrest, Seizure and Interrogation
The Origin of Rights (1986)
Cross Examination – The Art of the Advocate (3rd edition 2006)
The Practice Guide to Evidence in Criminal Cases (6th edition 2002)
The Criminal Trial Handbook (1992)
Preparation and Presentations of a Civil Action (June 2000)
Author and Editor – Studies in Canadian Criminal Evidence (1972)
Also
some of the Arabic poets in Canada:
Melhem Al-Hawi - Lebanese/Canadian. Most impressive
poem “The
Shadow of the Stranger”
Elias Thomas - Lebanese/Canadian. Most famous poem “Generations
Echo”.
Najeeb Kteny Al-Maaloof - Lebanese/Canadian. Most famous poem “Ask
the Sun about us”.
Ramez Abu Samra - Lebanese/Canadian.
Michael Darweesh - Lebanese/Canadian.
Fr. Habib Kwaiter - Syrian/Canadian.
Dr. Ibrahim Melhim Al-Ghareeb – Lebanese/Canadian.
Dr. Fadhel Fedha - Syrian/Canadian.
Muhammad Ali Farhat - Lebanese/Canadian.
And some
of the Arabic Artists in Canada:
Adel Al-Naser - Iraqi/Canadian. Studied Art in Italy.
Hanna Alpha - Born in Egypt of Lebanese parents, studied in Egypt,
Lebanon and Montreal.
Nihal Mazloum - Egyptian/Canadian.
Bernice Lutfie Sorge - Syrian/Canadian.
Ali Kichou - Algerian/Canadian.
Camille Zakharia - Lebanese/Canadian.
Nicolas Zeitouni - Egyptian/Canadian.
Abdelhamid Hanafi - Tunisian/Canadian.
Marc Eliany - Moroccan/Canadian.
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