Grade by Grade
A–B. Health and Safety; Technological Development, Impacts, and Careers · Technology Fundamentals, Safety and Connections

Canadian Innovators: Women, Diverse Communities and First Nations, Métis and Inuit Contributions

B1.3About 70 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can identify contributions to technology made by Canadians, including women, members of diverse communities, and First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.
  • I can explain the need each innovation met and its impact.
  • I can research an innovator using reliable sources and check facts.

Words to know

innovator
A person or team who develops a new or improved product, process or service.
National Research Council (NRC)
Canada's federal research and development organization.
discrimination
Unfair treatment of a person or group because of who they are, such as race or gender.
reliable source
An information source that is accurate, checked and trustworthy.
primary source
Original evidence from the time, such as a patent, a letter or a photograph.
Massey Lectures
A yearly series of public lectures in Canada, broadcast on CBC radio.

Hook: made in Canada

If you have ever had a vaccine, ridden a snowmobile, used standard time zones, or watched astronauts work with a robotic arm, you have used ideas developed by people in Canada. Canada's innovators include famous names and many people whose stories are less well known, including women, members of Black, Asian and other diverse communities, and First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.

In this lesson you will investigate Canadian contributions to technology and learn how to research an innovator properly.

Some Canadian innovations on a timeline1840186018801900192019401960198020001846kerosene1872lubricator1879time zones1922insulin1937snowmobile1950pacemaker1981Canadarm
A few Canadian innovations from 1846 to 1981. Dots are placed by year. The table below names the people behind each one.
InnovationWhoNeed it met
Kerosene (lamp fuel refined from coal and later oil), 1846Abraham Gesner, Nova Scotiacleaner, cheaper light than whale oil or candles
Automatic lubricator for steam engines, patented 1872Elijah McCoy, born in Colchester, Ontariooiled engines while they ran, so trains did not have to stop
Standard time zones, proposed 1879Sandford Fleming, railway engineerone clear time system for railway schedules across a huge country
Insulin as a treatment for diabetes, 1921–22Frederick Banting, Charles Best, James Collip and J. J. R. Macleod, University of Torontoa treatment for type 1 diabetes, which was then fatal
B7 snowmobile, 1937 (the smaller Ski-Doo followed in 1959)Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Valcourt, Quebectravel over deep snow in rural Quebec in winter
External heart pacemaker, 1950Wilfred Bigelow, John Callaghan and engineer John Hopps (National Research Council)controlling the heartbeat during heart surgery
Electric wheelchair, 1950sGeorge Klein, National Research Councilindependence for veterans and others with quadriplegia
Canadarm, first flown 1981Spar Aerospace and the National Research Council with Canadian engineersmoving cargo and astronauts in space
Notice that most innovations came from teams, and many came from public organizations like universities and the National Research Council (NRC).

Women and diverse innovators

Some innovators had to overcome barriers to do their work:

  • Elsie MacGill became the first woman in Canada to earn an electrical engineering degree, at the University of Toronto in 1927, and became an aircraft designer. During the Second World War she led the engineering work at Canadian Car and Foundry in Fort William (now part of Thunder Bay, Ontario), which produced Hawker Hurricane aircraft. She later worked for women's rights.
  • Elijah McCoy was born in 1844 in Colchester, Ontario, to parents who had escaped slavery in the United States. He trained as a mechanical engineer in Scotland, but because of racial discrimination he was first hired in Michigan only to shovel coal and oil engines on a railway. That experience led to his automatic lubricator, and he went on to earn dozens of patents.
  • Ursula Franklin, a physicist and materials scientist at the University of Toronto, studied ancient metals and ceramics and the effects of nuclear testing. In her book The Real World of Technology (from her 1989 Massey Lectures) she explained that technology is not just gadgets but practice: the way things are done, and that it shapes how people work and live.
  • Julie Payette, an engineer, flew as a Canadian Space Agency astronaut in 1999 and 2009. On her first mission she operated the Canadarm and was the first Canadian to board the International Space Station.
Elsie MacGill (1905–1980)first woman in Canada to earn anelectrical engineering degree (1927);aircraft designer; led Hurricaneproduction in Fort William, OntarioElijah McCoy (1844–1929)born in Colchester, Ontario, to parentswho had escaped slavery; invented anautomatic lubricator for steamengines; dozens of patentsUrsula Franklin (1921–2016)University of Toronto physicist andmaterials scientist; author ofThe Real World of Technology,on how technology shapes societyJulie Payette (born 1963)engineer and Canadian Space Agencyastronaut; on her 1999 flight sheoperated the Canadarm and was the firstCanadian to board the space station
Four Canadian innovators. Their work spans engineering, aviation, materials science and space.

First Nations, Métis and Inuit contributions

First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples have developed technologies for thousands of years that are still used around the world, such as the canoe, the kayak (from the Inuktitut word qajaq), snowshoes, the toboggan and the Métis Red River cart. You will look closely at these approaches in the next lesson.

Indigenous people also contribute to modern industries. For example, Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) ironworkers from communities such as Kahnawà:ke and Akwesasne have worked on bridges and skyscrapers in Canada and the United States, including in New York City, for more than a century, passing skills from generation to generation. Today, First Nations, Métis and Inuit engineers, tradespeople, scientists and entrepreneurs work in every technology area.

How to research an innovator

  1. Choose sources you can trust: The Canadian Encyclopedia, Ingenium (Canada's museums of science and innovation), Library and Archives Canada, university and National Research Council websites, and community-based sources for First Nations, Métis and Inuit histories.
  2. Check at least two sources for every key fact (dates, "first" claims).
  3. Take notes in your own words and record where each fact came from.
  4. Ask the big questions: What need did the innovation meet? What barriers did the innovator face? Who else helped? What impact did it have, good and bad?
Worked example

Let's build an innovator profile

Build a short profile of Elijah McCoy using the research questions.

  1. Sources: check facts in The Canadian Encyclopedia and a second reliable source, such as a museum or university page.
  2. Need: steam engines needed oil while they ran. Trains had to stop often so workers could oil the moving parts by hand.
  3. Innovation: an automatic lubricator that dripped oil into the engine while it was running, so trains could travel farther without stopping.
  4. Barriers: although trained as an engineer, he was first hired only as a fireman and oiler because of racial discrimination.
  5. Impact: less time lost to stops and better engine performance; his lubricator design was widely used, and he earned dozens of patents in his career.
  6. Note: stories claim his invention is the origin of the phrase "the real McCoy," but historians are not sure, so a careful profile says the link is uncertain.

A good profile states the need, innovation, barriers and impact, checks facts in two sources, and flags claims that are uncertain.

Just for fun

A Canadian, Arthur Sicard of Quebec, built and sold some of the first practical snowblowers in the 1920s. Of course a Canadian invented a machine for throwing snow somewhere else.

Hands-on activity

Canadian innovator trading card

You need: an index card or a piece of paper folded in half, a pencil, an adult-approved internet or library search.

  1. Choose an innovator or team not covered in detail above, or one from this list: George Klein, Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Abraham Gesner, the insulin team, Wilfred Bigelow and John Hopps, Arthur Sicard, or an innovator from a First Nations, Métis or Inuit community, a woman, or a member of a diverse community whose work you find.
  2. Use two reliable sources. Record the title and website of each.
  3. On the front, draw the innovation and write the innovator's name, years and community or place.
  4. On the back, write: the need, the innovation, one barrier or challenge, the impact, and one fact you confirmed in both sources.
  5. Share your card with someone at home and explain why the innovation mattered.

Your turn

1

Name the Canadian innovator who developed the B7 snowmobile.

2

Which team developed insulin as a treatment for diabetes at the University of Toronto?

3

What did Elijah McCoy invent, and what need did it meet?

4

Who was the first woman in Canada to earn an electrical engineering degree?

5

Why is it important to check a fact in two sources?

6

Name two technologies developed by First Nations, Métis or Inuit peoples that are still used today.

More practice: warm-up

1

Which Canadian proposed standard time zones?

2

In what year did the Canadarm first fly in space?

3

Which Canadian astronaut operated the Canadarm in 1999?

4

What was Abraham Gesner's innovation?

5

What does NRC stand for?

More practice: on your own

1

Why do so many innovations on the list come from teams rather than single inventors?

2

Explain how Elijah McCoy's experience of discrimination connected to his invention.

3

Choose one innovation from the timeline and describe one positive and one negative impact.

4

What did Ursula Franklin mean when she said technology is "practice"?

5

Why should a careful researcher say the link between McCoy and "the real McCoy" is uncertain?

Challenge

1

Write a short (5 to 6 sentence) profile of Elsie MacGill using the need, innovation, barriers and impact structure.

2

Insulin was a medical breakthrough. Analyse it with two of the five lenses from the last lesson.

3

Explain why including women, diverse communities and First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in the history of technology gives a more accurate picture.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which Canadian innovation came from the University of Toronto in 1921–22?

2.

Elsie MacGill is known as...

3.

Elijah McCoy's automatic lubricator helped...

4.

Joseph-Armand Bombardier is known for...

5.

Which is the best research practice?

6.

The kayak gets its name from...

For parents and teachers

This lesson builds research skills as much as historical knowledge. Help your teen choose reliable sources (The Canadian Encyclopedia, Ingenium, university and government sites) and check "first" claims in two places, because they are often wrong online.

Some stories involve barriers such as racism and sexism; discuss them honestly and respectfully. When researching First Nations, Métis and Inuit innovations, look for sources created by or with those communities, and present them as living communities whose innovation continues today.