Meredith Black Banting was born on September 19, 1901 in Rounthwaite, Manitoba. He moved with his family to Manor, Saskatchewan as a teenager. He farmed in Richlea and operated Banting's Machine and Furniture Shop in Kindersley from 1933 to 1942.

In 1942, Banting entered the United Church Ministry. He served as a lay minister in Duval, Saskatchewan while completing high school correspondence classes. He then served as a lay minister in Raymore and Viscount while attending St. Andrew's College in Saskatoon. After his ordination in Moose Jaw in 1948, Banting served numerous parishes in Saskatchewan (Central Butte, Moose Jaw, Broadview, Whitewood, Wapella, Craik) and Alberta (Bow Island, Beaver Lodge). In 1970, Banting retired to Regina, where he was involved with the Westminster United Church's native ministries. He died in Regina on May 20, 1991.

Banting was a life member of the Masonic Lodge in Moose Jaw and the Order of Eastern Star Chapter 7 in Regina. An amateur photographer, Banting also loved music and sang in several choirs. Banting wrote, compiled and edited numerous books, mainly of poetry and reminiscences, and operated Banting Publishers, a small press publishing company, out of his home at 2306 Athol Street in Regina. Banting also produced and hosted several television and radio programs, mainly for children and senior citizens.

Banting married Florence Harper in 1934. The Bantings had one daughter: Anne.

Ralph Edward Goodale was born in 1939 in Regina, Saskatchewan and raised on a farm near Wilcox, Saskatchewan. He attended the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus and then obtained a law degree from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, where he was awarded the Gold Medal for academic achievement. Goodale was first elected in 1974 as the member of Parliament (MP) for Assiniboia, as a member of the Liberal Party. He was defeated in 1979, and moved into provincial Saskatchewan politics, serving as leader of the Saskatchewan Liberals from 1981 to 1988. He returned to federal politics in 1993, as the MP for Regina-Wascana (known simply as Wascana from 1997 to 2015), and served in the governments of Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Justin Trudeau, in several roles including as minister of finance and minister of public safety. Goodale sought re-election in the 2019 federal election, but lost his bid to Conservative Party candidate Michael Kram in a rematch of the 2015 race. Goodale has served as the Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom since April 2021.