David Thompson was a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer, known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". Over Thompson's career, he traveled 90,000 kilometres (56,000 mi) across North America, mapping 4.9 million square kilometres of North America along the way. For this historic feat, Thompson has been described as the "greatest practical land geographer that the world has produced".
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great wealth at stake, tensions between the companies increased to the point where several minor armed skirmishes broke out, and the two companies were forced by the British government to merge.
Peter Pond was a soldier with a Connecticut Regiment during the French and Indian War, a fur trader, a founding member of the North West Company and the Beaver Club, an explorer and a cartographer. Though he was born and died in Milford, Connecticut, most of his life was spent in northwestern North America.
South Glengarry is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada on the Saint Lawrence River in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. South Glengarry borders Quebec.
Alexander McGillivray, also known as Hoboi-Hili-Miko, was a Muscogee (Creek) leader. The son of a Muscogee mother and a Scottish father, he had skills no other Creek of his day had: he was not only literate but educated, and he knew the "white" world and merchandise trading well. These gave him prestige, especially with European-Americans, who were glad to finally find a Creek leader they could talk to and deal with. He used his role as link between the two worlds to his advantage, not always fairly, and became the richest Creek of his time.
Simon McTavish, of Montreal was a Scottish-born fur trader and the chief founding partner of the North West Company. He was a member of the Beaver Club and was known as the Marquis for his pre-eminent position in the fur trade and his refined style of living.
Thomas McKay was a Canadian businessman who was one of the founders of the city of Ottawa, Ontario.
Athabasca Pass is a high mountain pass in the Canadian Rockies on the border between Alberta and British Columbia. In fur trade days it connected Jasper House on the Athabasca River with Boat Encampment on the Columbia River.
John McDonell was a soldier, judge, and political figure in Upper Canada.
John McLeod was a Scottish-born explorer of Canada, in his capacity as a fur trader with the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company. He is remembered primarily for his explorations of several major rivers of the southwestern Northwest Territories, southern Yukon Territory, and northern British Columbia.
Duncan McGillivray, born in Inverness-shire, Scotland, was an explorer and fur trader who accompanied David Thompson on explorations of Rupert's Land and the Canadian Rockies. In 1800, they reached what is now Banff National Park. By 1801, McGillivray was suffering from rheumatism, and returned to Montreal.
John McDougall was a businessman and political figure in Canada East.
Angus Shaw was a fur trader and political figure in Lower Canada.
Lt.-Colonel The Hon. William McGillivray, of Chateau St. Antoine, Montreal, was a Scottish-born fur trader who succeeded his uncle as the last chief partner of the North West Company. He was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada and afterwards was appointed to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada. In 1795, he was inducted as a member into the Beaver Club. During the War of 1812 he was given the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Corps of Canadian Voyageurs. He owned substantial estates in Scotland, Lower and Upper Canada. His home in Montreal was one of the early estates of the Golden Square Mile. McGillivray Ridge in British Columbia is named for him.
Simon McGillivray, FRS, played an intricate role in merging the family owned North West Company with the rival Hudson's Bay Company. From 1835, he co-owned the Morning Chronicle and the London Advertiser. He was Provincial Grand Master of Upper Canada (1822–1840); Fellow of the Royal Society at London; a member of the Beaver Club at Montreal and a member of the Canada Club at London.
Pedlar is a term used in Canadian history to refer to English-speaking independent fur traders from Montreal who competed with the Hudson's Bay Company in western Canada from about 1770 to 1803. After 1779 they were mostly absorbed by the North West Company. The name was first used by the Hudson's Bay Company to refer to French coureurs des bois, who travelled inland to trade with the Indians in their villages and camps. This was in contrast to the HBC policy of building posts on Hudson Bay, to where the Indians would bring furs to trade with them.
John MacDonald of Garth was a colourful character involved in the Canadian fur trade. He was an enthusiastic duellist and a shrewd businessman who became a partner in the North West Company and a member of the Beaver Club at Montreal, Lower Canada. In an account of his exploits, he was described as having "indomitable courage... brave, reckless and domineering, with a decided tendency to seek redress with his own hands," characteristics that made him well-suited to his profession. Built in 1816, his home, Inverarden House, near Cornwall, Upper Canada, was later designated a National Historic Site of Canada. According to the 1997 book Lords of the North, by James McDonell and Robert Campbell, the Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton, Alberta was named for him.
The Pemmican War was a series of armed confrontations during the North American fur trade between the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the North West Company (NWC) in the years following the establishment of the Red River Colony in 1812 by Lord Selkirk. It ended in 1821 when the NWC merged with the HBC.
Lt.-Colonel The Hon. Roderick Mackenzie of Terrebonne was a prominent Canadian fur trader, landowner and politician. He was a partner in the North West Company and a member of the Beaver Club at Montreal. He was a lifelong friend and the private confidant of his first cousin, Sir Alexander Mackenzie. He was an intellectual who established a library at Fort Chipewyan and both wrote and published works on the fur trade. In 1801 he made his home at Terrebonne, Quebec, purchasing the Seigneury in 1814, although he was forced by a court action to relinquish his title to the property in 1824. He continued to live there until his death. He held many public appointments, most notably as a member of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada.
Lac Île-à-la-Crosse is a Y-shaped lake in North-Central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the Churchill River. At the centre of the Y is the town of Île-à-la-Crosse, the second oldest town in Saskatchewan. The Churchill exits the north-east arm and flows east to Hudson Bay through a series of lakes. The Churchill enters at the north-west arm called Aubichon Arm or Deep River. Upstream it leads north-west to Athabasca Country passing Churchill Lake, Peter Pond Lake, Lac La Loche and on to the Methye Portage leading to Lake Athabasca.