Henry Norman Bethune March 4, 1890 – November 12, 1939; was a Canadian thoracic surgeon, early advocate of socialized medicine and member of the Communist Party of Canada, who came to international prominence first for his service as a frontline trauma surgeon supporting the Republican faction during the Spanish Civil War, and later for his work supporting the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese
Nellie Letitia McClung born Letitia Ellen Mooney; 20 October 1873 – 1 September 1951 was a Canadian author, social activist, suffragette, and politician. She was a part of the social and moral reform movements prevalent in Western Canada in the early 1900s. Her great causes were women’s suffrage and temperance. It was because of her hard work and advocacy, that
General Sir Arthur William Currie, 5 December 1875 – 30 November 1933 was a senior officer of the Canadian Army who fought during World War I. He had the unique distinction of starting his military career on the very bottom rung as a pre-war militia gunner before rising through the ranks to become the first Canadian commander of the Canadian Corps.
Joseph Henri Maurice “Rocket” Richard August 4, 1921 – May 27, 2000 was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens. He was the first player in NHL history to score 50 goals in one season, accomplishing the feat in 50 games in 1944–45, and the first to reach 500 career goals. Richard retired
Michael John Myers born 25 May 1963 is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer and director, known for his run as a performer on Saturday Night Live from 1989 to 1995 and for playing the title roles in the Wayne’s World, Austin Powers and Shrek film franchises. He made his directorial debut with the documentary Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (2013). He
Robert Gordon Orr born March 20, 1948 in Parry Sound, Ontario is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. Orr used his ice skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the position of defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 12 seasons, starting with 10 with the Boston Bruins followed by two
Eilleen “Shania” Twain born Eilleen Regina Edwards; August 28, 1965 is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and among the best-selling music artists of all time. Her success garnered her several honorific titles including the “Queen of Country Pop”. While Billboard named her as the leader of
Stephen Henry Lewis born November 11, 1937 is a Canadian politician, public speaker, broadcaster and diplomat. He was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democratic Party for most of the 1970s. During many of those years as leader, his father David Lewis was simultaneously the leader of the federal New Democratic Party. After politics, he became a broadcaster on both CBC Radio and Toronto’s Citytv.
Roméo Antonius Dallaire born June 25, 1946 is a Canadian humanitarian, author, and retired senator and Land Force Command (Canadian Army) lieutenant-general. Dallaire served as force commander of UNAMIR, the ill-fated United Nations peacekeeping force for Rwanda between 1993 and 1994, and attempted to stop the genocide that was being waged by Hutu extremists against the Tutsi people and Hutu moderates. Dallaire founded The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative, to
Peter John Gzowski July 13, 1934 – January 24, 2002, known colloquially as “Mr. Canada”, or “Captain Canada”, was a Canadian broadcaster, writer and reporter, most famous for his work on the CBC radio shows This Country in the Morning and then Morningside. His first biographer argued that Gzowski’s contribution to Canadian media must be considered in the context of efforts by