Important Canadian People
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Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell, teacher of the deaf, inventor, scientist: Alexander Graham Bell is generally considered second only to Thomas Edison among 19th and 20th century inventors and, through their inventions, originators of social change. A scientific approach, an awareness of the electric telegraph, and the invention of a successful microphone led to the invention of the telephone.
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Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan, filmmaker: Atom Egoyan is part of the generation of writer-directors who emerged in the 1980s. Born to Armenian parents, he moved with his family at a very young age to Victoria, BC, an experience in cultural displacement he has often cited as a profound influence on his life and work. Recurring themes in Egoyan’s work such as alienation, voyeurism and the futile pursuit of emotional fulfilment can be seen as the director’s attempt to express the condition of cultural dislocation. His filmography includes Exotica (1994), The Sweet Hereafter (1997) and, Where the Truth Lies (2005).
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Catriona Ann Le May Doan
Catriona Ann Le May Doan is a Canadian speed skater and a double Olympic champion in the 500 m. Catriona Le May Doan was the fastest woman on ice. After carrying the Canadian flag into the 2002 Olympic Winter Games opening ceremonies (her fourth Olympics), Catriona defended her Olympic title with a gold medal performance in the 500 metre event, becoming the only Canadian individual to defend a gold medal at any Olympic Games. She held the World Record in the 500m for 10 years and still currently holds the Olympic Record. During her career Catriona broke 13 World Records.
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Chantal Petitclerc
Montréal’s Chantal Petitclerc won 5 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics in the 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500 metre wheelchair racing events, setting world records in all but the 100 and 200 m races. Petitclerc also is a five-time Paralympian, having participated at Beijing, Athens, Sydney, Atlanta and Barcelona in wheelchair racing, winning a total of 21 Paralympic medals.
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Donovan Bailey
Donovan Bailey, sprinter: Donovan Bailey was a teenager when he came to Canada in 1981. He held the world record for the 100 metre race following his gold medal performance in the 1996 Olympic Games. He was the first Canadian to legally break the 10-second barrier in the 100 m.
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Emily Carr
Emily Carr, painter, writer: Along with Tom Thomson, the GROUP OF SEVEN, and David Milne, Emily Carr was one of the preeminent, and perhaps most original, Canadian painters of the first half of the twentieth century. [Video]
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Jean Paul Riopelle
Jean Paul Riopelle, painter, sculptor and engraver: He trained under two completely different masters: the academic painter Henri Bisson, who considered even the Impressionists a bit too extreme, and Paul-Émile Borduas, who was totally immersed in the avant-garde and surrealist movements. Riopelle joined the AUTOMATISTES school, exhibited with them in Montréal in 1946 and 1947, and in 1948 signed the REFUS GLOBAL (worldwide refusal) manifesto.
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John Alexander Hopps
John Alexander “Jack” Hopps, was one of the pioneers of the artificial pacemaker and is known as the “father of biomedical engineering in Canada”.
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Joseph-Armand Bombardier
Joseph-Armand Bombardier is the inventor of the snowmobile, a light-weight winter vehicle.
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Kenojuak Ashevak
Kenojuak Ashevak, artist: She remains perhaps the best-known Inuk artist because of her famous print The Enchanted Owl, which was featured on a Canada Post stamp. Her drawings, primarily of birds, were characterized by a strong sense of composition, colour, design and draughtsmanship.
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Laura Secord
Laura Secord, née Ingersoll, Loyalist, mythologized historic figure: During the War of 1812, Laura Secord walked 30 km from Queenston to Beaver Dams, near Thorold, to warn James Fitzgibbon that the Americans were planning to attack his outpost. The story of her trek has become legendary, and Secord herself mythologized in Canadian history.
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Mark Tewksbury
Mark Tewksbury, swimmer: He is best known for winning the gold medal in the 100 metres backstroke at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He also hosted the first season of How It’s Made, a Canadian documentary series, in 2001. Tewksbury was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division) in 1993 for being a “motivational speaker and a gifted athlete.”
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Norman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison, film director, producer, author: Norman Jewison has an international reputation as a filmmaker of talent and integrity. His filmography record includes In the Heat of the Night (1967), Jesus Christ Superstar (1973 ) and, Moonstruck (1987).
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Paul Garnet Henderson
Paul Garnet Henderson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. In 1972, hescored the winning goal for Canada in the Canada-Soviet Summit Series. This goal is often referred to as “the goal heard around the world” and is still remembered today as an important event in both sports and cultural history
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Reginald Fessenden
Reginald Aubrey Fessenden, radio inventor: He contributed to the invention of radio, sending the first wireless voice message in the world.
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Sir Frederick Grant Banting
Sir Frederick Grant Banting, co-discoverer of Insulin, a hormone to treat diabetes that has saved 16 million lives worldwide.
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Sir John Alexander Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, lawyer, businessman, politician, first prime minister of Canada: John Alexander Macdonald was the dominant creative mind which produced the BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT and the union of provinces which became Canada. As the first prime minister of Canada, he oversaw the expansion of the Dominion from sea to sea. His government dominated politics for a half century and set policy goals for future generations of political leaders.
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Terry Fox
Terrance Stanley Fox (Terry), “Marathon of Hope” runner: Terry Fox was a good athlete who lost a leg to cancer. While recovering, he developed the idea for a “Marathon of Hope” – a run across Canada to raise money and generate publicity for cancer research. For his efforts, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada and a BC mountain was named after him. Thousands annually participate in a fund-raising run named after him
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Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky, hockey player: Gretzky was a hockey prodigy. He played for the Edmonton Oilers from 1979 to 1988.
