English speakers for the independence of Québec
Est Québécois qui veut l'être. - René Lévesque
Contemporary supporters
- Robin Philpot, historian, author
- Jane Jacobs, urban planner, author
- David Levine, former PQ member of the National Assembly
- David Payne, conseiller politique
- Calvin Veltman, professeur
First-rank patriots
Wolfred Nelson
Born in 1792 in Montreal, he studied medicine. In 1827, he was elected Member of Parliament, but gave up active politics in 1830, without disavowing his reformist allegiance. He became a patriot leader in the region of the Richelieu river valley, and supported the use of arms at the Assemblée des Six-Comtés in 1837. He lead the patriots of St-Denis to victory, and was arrested soon after. Exiled to the Bermudas in 1838, he came back to Montreal in 1842, and in 1844 was elected to the new Parliament of Canada. In 1854, he became mayor of Montreal. He died in June 1863.
Robert Nelson
Born in 1794 in Montreal, brother of Wolfred. He also studied medicine, and obtained great fame as a surgeon. He was elected Member of Parliament in 1827, and although he did not take part in the 1837 rebellion, he was imprisoned for it, and released thereafter. He organized the invasions of 1838 from the United States and participated to both armed conflicts. In February, as provisional President of the Republic, he distributes a declaration of independence in Lower Canada. After the failure of the second rebellion he flees to the United States again, where he practiced medicine. He died in New York in 1873.
Edmund-Bailey O'Callaghan
Born in Ireland in 1797, he studied in Paris and came to Canada in 1823. He began practicing medicine from 1827. A close friend of Papineau, he became the editor of the Montreal Vindicator in 1832, and showed to be an irreducible adversary of Lord Gosford and the status quo. In 1837, a mandate of arrest was emitted against him, and he sought refuge at St Denis, then crossed the American border with Papineau. Later, he became secretary-archivist of the State of New York, and died there in 1880.
Daniel Tracey
Born in Ireland in 1794, he studied at the Trinity College in Dublin, and later presumably at the Royal College of Surgeons. He practiced medecine and surgery in his home country. He arrived in Lower Canada in 1825 and settled in Montreal. On December 12, 1828, he founded of the bi-weekly newspaper The Irish Vindicator and and Canada General Advertiser which later became the The Vindicator and and Canada General Advertiser. In 1832, after writing that the Legislative Council was a public nuisance, he was arrested for diffamation along with Ludger Duvernay of La Minerve and was sent to prison from January 17 to February 25. He was elected in the Montréal-Ouest riding on May 22, 1832. He died in service on July 18, 1832 at the age of 38, during the cholera epidemic.
Thomas Storrow Brown
From New Brunswick, speaker, journalist. He was General at the Battle of St-Charles. He was wounded during the street fight between the Fils de la liberté and the Doric Club.