Famous Canadians

Making a list of "Famous Canadians" is obviously difficult, since there are so many potential names one could choose. There are a lot of different lists floating around out there, and each one will invariably reflect the various interests and agendas of their authors. When I was in school I can remember we had a lot of projects that involved making lists of important Canadian citizens we admired. Being able to identify famous Canadians is something a lot of teachers are keen to teach students at a young age, as it's considered an important component of Canadian patriotism.

For the sake of this page I decided to just profile a few names from the list of 100 "Greatest Canadians" chosen by CBC viewers in a 2004 poll (for the complete top 100, and more info on the contest see my chart). My personal opinions on some members of the list aside, I think the CBC's top 100 provides a good insight into the figures that average Canadians have learned to respect over the years.

PS- a lot of "famous Canadian" lists inevitably feature lots of politicians. Since politicians have gotten enough play in this guide as it is, I won't bother discussing any more of them here. If you are interested in learning about famous Canadian political figures though I'd suggest you visit the Prime Ministers page and the Canadian politicians page.

Terry Fox (1958-1981)

Terry Fox is perhaps the most universally loved Canadian. He's not controversial at all, and is always named as one of the greatest Canadian heroes of all time.

Terry was a young university student from British Columbia who had lost his right leg to Cancer. In order to raise money for Cancer research, in 1980 he pledged to run a one-man marathon across Canada. He started in Newfoundland and hobbled all the way to Ontario, followed by huge crowds of supporters and news crews along the way. Unfortunately, Fox's ambitious journey only lasted a few months, and by the time he got to Ontario his Cancer spread to his lungs, killing him.

Today thousands of Canadian schools and community groups all across Canada hold special "Terry Fox Days" in the fall in which people from all walks of life are encouraged to participate in a commemorative marathon to help raise money for Cancer research, and thus honor Terry's legacy. The only criticism you ever hear regarding Terry Fox is that his image is over exploited, or that he's becoming a trite cliché.

Dr. Frederick Banting (1891-1941)
Dr. Banting was a Nobel-prize winning scientist from Ontario who invented insulin. He is thus credited with saving literally millions of lives, and extending the quality of many millions more. Near the end of his career he also worked on developing biological weapons for the British Army to help in World War II, but people tend to downplay that part of his career.

Banting is one of those guys who is famous for inventing something, but is not well known as an actual person. "Insulin guy" pretty much covers it.

Dr. David Suzuki (1936-)

David Suzuki is a Japanese-Canadian scientist who hosts a show called The Nature of Things on CBC. The show has been on since the 60's, and every week it tackles a different contemporary topic dealing with nature or science in some way. It's sort of like 60 Minutes meets National Geographic.

Suzuki is known for well-known for his work as an environmentalist and left-wing political activist. He writes a weekly newspaper column and can often be seen seen petitioning the government and participating in anti-war rallies and things like that. He is also the head of a non-profit organization called the David Suzuki Foundation. It helps raise awareness of nature or something.

Don Cherry (1934-)
Cherry is in many ways the polar opposite of Suzuki. They only thing they have in common is that they're both on the CBC. Don Chery is an ex-hockey player who now hosts Hockey Night In Canada, the nation's leading hockey commentary TV show. He's been doing it for about 20 years now.

As I mentioned on the entertainment page, Cherry's TV persona is very flamboyant and aggressive. He always wears really loud suits and yells a lot. Here is my impression of Hockey Night in Canada:

CO-HOST: So Don, what do you think of the Leafs' chances this season?
CHERRY: I THINK THEY SUCK! THE TEAM STINKS! THEIR COACH IS A BUM! BUNCHA LOUSY TORONTO WIMPS IF YOU ASK ME! GO HOME TO MOMMA, CRYBABIES! (breaks chair on co-host's face)
And so on.

Cherry's brash comments, along with his rather "politically incorrect" right-wing views often get him in trouble and cause controversy around the country. His views regarding the French Canadians in particular are often expressed in a rather... undiplomatic way. Many were surprised that Cherry made the top ten list of Greatest Canadians, but he does represent a certain macho sports subculture that is very much a part of Canadian society.

Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922)
Is Alexander Graham Bell even Canadian? The Scots say he's Scottish and the Americans say he's American, and so too do we Canadians claim him as our own.

Bell is considered to be the inventor of the telephone. Though he was born in Scotland and ultimately died as a citizen of the USA, he did a lot of his pioneering experiments- including the first successful telephone transmission- during a brief period when he lived in Canada.

Wayne Gretzky (1961-)

I'm sure you've heard of this guy. Gretzky is supposedly the best hockey player of all time. He got his start playing for the Edmonton Oilers in Alberta, and with him as star player his team won the Stanley Cup four times in five years. This made him a huge star in hockey-crazed Canada, and he was given the nickname "the Great One" and immortalized on tacky commemorative plates.

Then in 1988 his owner sold him to an American team, the Los Angles Kings. This was obviously very unpopular, but Gretzky remained a big Canadian hero until his retirement in 1999. Off the ice, Gretzky has now become a colossal sell-out, and he hocks everything from tires to batteries to bacon. It's getting impossible to turn on the TV these days without seeing his damn face telling me to buy something.

Billy Bishop (1894-1956)
Billy Bishop is probably Canada's most famous war hero. Because of our colonial and semi-colonial status with Britain during both World Wars, Canada has never really had a commanding general on par with Montgomery or Eisenhower. Our greatest war heroes tend to be more rank-and-file soldiers.

Bishop was a skilled fighter pilot in the Canadian branch of the Empire Air Force, and won a ton of medals and honors for shooting down a bunch of German planes in World War I. His victories were a huge morale booster for Canadians, who were never really huge fans of World War I to begin with. He was so popular in fact that after a while the government told him to stop flying, out of the fear that his death would provoke a national crisis that would be thoroughly unproductive to the war effort.

Laura Secord (1775 - 1868)
Laura Secord is a supposedly heroic figure associated with the 1812 War. As I mentioned on the history page, Canadians love to exaggerate the importance of the War of 1812, and in particular love to perpetuate a rather false belief that "Canadians" won the war against the United States. Ms. Secord is thus seen as the embodiment of this Canadian pluckiness.

Laura was a teenager who lived with her family in the British North American colonies. One day while she was out for a walk with her cow she overheard some evil Americans plotting a surprise attack on her colony. Frightened at the prospect that American forces would liberate Upper Canada from the rule of its beloved colonial tyrants, Laura ran for miles and miles with her cow to warn the British generals of the dastardly plot. Thanks to her bravery, the British were able to successfully stem the tide of American expansionism and prevent democracy from taking root in Canada for at least another half-century. What a hero!

Dr. Norman Bethune (1890-1939)
If anyone ever wanted to argue that Canada is a nation full of socialist Commie-lovers they they could easily point to the fact that Dr. Norman Bethune is considered one of our country's greatest heroes.

Bethune was a card-carrying Communist / surgeon who traveled all over the world tending to the needs of injured folks who got hurt fighting for the side of socialism in various civil wars. His most notable achievements came during his time in China, when he was working for Mao's Red Army. While he was there Bethune made a lot of scientific breakthroughs in the field of blood transfusions, and thus helped the Commies secure victory. This has made him a huge hero in China, even today. In Canada they tend to play down Bethune's political views and promote him more as a "selfless humanitarian" rather than a dupe of dictators.

The Group of Seven are probably the most famous artists in Canada. Historically Canada has not been a nation well-known for artistic achievement, so the Group of Seven are notable for being some of the few Canadian artists who were able to achieve a reasonable level of fame.

The group was composed of seven male artists who painted impressionist landscapes of Canadian scenery during the era of the Great Depression. Their work was both praised and criticized for reflecting the bleak reality of the often desolate Canadian environment. The artists eventually became quite successful, but sadly the group broke up in the 30's.

I don't know all their names. It's not really relevant, since their paintings are always just regarded as being a "Group of Seven" regardless of who actually painted it. Female impressionist painter Emily Carr (1871-1945) often tagged along with the group but was never a formal member. She's probably the second-most-famous Canadian artist, and her work is very similar to the Group of Seven's.

Margaret Atwood (1939- ) is easily Canada's most famous author. She an ardent feminist and has written all these depressing novels featuring struggling female protagonists who try to overcome the rigid confines of their oppressive patriarchal societies. Her books don't tend to be very Canada-centric, and as a result she's very popular all around the world. Her most famous novel is probably The Handmaiden's Tale, which is a story set in the future, after Christain fundamentalists have taken control of the United States and turned it into a horrifying totalitarian nightmare world. She's also done a lot of poetry. They always make Canadian kids read her stuff in highschool.

Fun Fact! If the government deems you to be a truly "great" Canadian, the Governor General will award you with a prestigious medal called "The Order of Canada." Gretzky, Suzuki, Atwood, Cherry, and Terry Fox have all won it. The others died before it was invented.