Notable Grants in Canada

Cuthbert James Grant Early Life, Leadership, and Legacy (1793–1854)

Cuthbert Grant — Early Life, Leadership, and Legacy

Cuthbert James Grant (1793–1854) was a prominent Métis leader and pioneer in what is now Manitoba. He was born in 1793 at Fort de la Rivière Tremblante (near present-day Saskatchewan) to Cuthbert Grant Sr., a Scottish fur trader with ties to Clan Grant of Scotland, and a Métis mother of Indigenous and French-Métis ancestry. 
Wikipedia
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Grant’s upbringing blended Scots and Métis cultures. After spending part of his childhood receiving education away from the frontier, he began working as a clerk for the North West Company in the fur trade and, later, became a key figure in Red River region affairs. In 1816 he famously led Métis forces at the Battle of Seven Oaks, an event that became pivotal in the history of the Red River settlement. 
MHS
In the years that followed the merger of fur trade companies, Grant was appointed Warden of the Plains and, later, served as Councillor, Sheriff, and Magistrate in the District of Assiniboia, helping to maintain order and represent Métis interests under Hudson’s Bay Company and colonial governance. He also established the settlement initially called Grantown, later renamed St. François-Xavier, and built one of the first water-powered mills in Western Canada. 
Government of Manitoba
 

Grant married at least three times and had a large family; records enumerate multiple children across these unions, who married into other prominent Métis and settler families, contributing to a significant and wide-ranging descendant community. 
Métis Museum

Today, Cuthbert Grant’s legacy lives on both as a foundational figure in Métis history and as an ancestral link for many living descendants. In 2012, during a visit to Winnipeg by the Chief of Clan Grant, Grant was formally recognized as a member of Clan Grant, and his descendants were acknowledged as a Canadian sept of the clan, celebrating their Scottish heritage alongside their deep rooted place in Canadian and Métis history.

United Empire Loyalists (1783):

 

of Clan Grant who remained loyal to the Crown were expropriated at the end of the American Revolutionary War. These Scottish Grants and their descendants, particularly Loyalists and early immigrants from areas like Strathspey, established strong family lines in York and Charlotte County (Old Ridge,) and Gloucester County (Bathurst area). Notable figures like William Grant and John Grant of Tullochgorum formed distinct branches that contributed to local history, genealogy, and culture, often linked to the Clan Grant heritage. Peter Grant — Royal Navy Carpenter | Naponic Wars Veteran | New Brunswick Settler Peter Grant served as carpenter in the Royal Navy during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a critical to the maintenance and survival of warships of the era. He served aboard HMS San Josef and saw service during the Napoleonic Wars, contributing his skilled trade during one of the most demanding periods in naval history. After many years of service, he retired on a naval pension and settled in New Brunswick, Canada, where he spent his later life. Peter Grant died in 1852 at the age of 80, leaving a legacy that reflects the enduring connection between Clan Grant, Royal Navy service, and early Canadian settlement. William Grant (Old Ridge): sergeant in the 71st Highland Regiment, likely a Loyalist, who settled in Charlotte County before 178 with his wife Catherine and numerous children, leaving behind diaries and a family legacy. John Grant (Bathurst): An immigrant from Scotland around 1775, he served in the Revolutionary War, settling near Bathurst (Belledune, Little Nepisiguit), receiving land grants, and raising a large family, with descendants in Northern NB and Wisconsin. Ruth Winona Grant: A prominent historian and descendant of Loyalist Grants in Southampton, she documented the family's genealogy and local history, with her books being reprinted due to interest.

William Grant of Trois-Rivières (1743–1810): Fur Trader and Early Canadian Settler

William Grant of Trois-Rivières (1743–1810): Fur Trader and Early Canadian Settler

William Grant, commonly known in historical records as William Grant “of Trois-Rivières,” was born in 1743 in Kirkmichael, Scotland, the son of John Grant and Genevieve Forbes. He came to the Province of Quebec soon after the British Conquest of 1760 and became involved in commerce, particularly the fur trade, which was one of the dominant economic forces in early British North America. 
Wikipedia

By the late 1760s Grant had established himself in Montréal and then in Trois-Rivières, where he worked as a merchant and trader for nearly two decades. His business activities included trading furs and other goods throughout the Great Lakes region, especially southwest of Michilimackinac and near Lake Superior and Lake Nipigon. During this period he partnered with several prominent traders, and in 1791 he co-founded Grant, Campion and Company—a firm that played a significant role in the development of the fur trade and held shares in the North West Company. 
Archival Collections
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In 1787, William Grant married Marguerite Fafard dit Laframboise at Trois-Rivières, and together they raised a family of children. He also engaged in general mercantile business, importing British goods for local sale, and was appointed justice of the peace for the district of Trois-Rivières in 1792. Later in life, after dissolving his fur trading partnerships, he and his family moved to Nicolet and spent several years in William Henry (now Sorel) before his death on 20 November 1810. 
The Canadian Encyclopedia

Grant’s descendants, including his sons and their families, continued to contribute to the economic and social life of Quebec and the wider region. One of his sons, Richard Grant (1794–1862), became a fur trader and chief trader with the Hudson’s Bay Company and married into Métis and trading families, underscoring the multi-cultural legacy of the Grants in North America.