Famous Canadians
Created: 4 Nov. 2006 | Updated: 22 Feb. 2007
Here are a few things about Canada that you may not know and a few Canadians you may have heard of. The list is not meant to be all inclusive. There are many more famous Canucks. I'll add to the list periodically, including scientists and physicians.
Miscellaneous tidbits about Canada
Canada is the 2nd largest country in the world (after the Russian Federation).
Canada's population is almost 33 million, or roughly 1/10 that of the USA.
Quebec, the largest province, is more than twice the size of Texas.
Canadians have universal health care and one of the highest standards of living in the world.
For almost a decade up to 2001, Canada was ranked number one in the UN's Quality of Life survey (5th in 2005)
Canada is the USA's largest trading partner.
Canada's oil reserves (including Alberta's oil sands) are second only to Saudi Arabia.
Canada is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse countries in the world.
Canada receives more immigrants per capita than any other country (1.8 times as many as USA)
In 2004, the UN ranked Canada's largest city Toronto second, behind Miami, in its "List of World Cities with the Largest Percentage of Foreign-born Population". Toronto also ranked ahead of Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York City, Singapore, and Sydney.
A Canadian invented UN peacekeeping: Lester B. Pearson came up with a novel solution - "peacekeepers" - for the Suez Crisis in 1956 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for it.
Since then Canada has been at the forefront of peacekeeping operations around the globe serving in Cyprus, the Middle East, Haiti, Bosnia, Cambodia, El Salvador, Somalia, Rwanda, and Angola to name a few.
Canada's military served in WWII from 1939-45, two years longer that the USA, which entered the war on 7 Dec. 1941. Canada's military participated in the first Gulf War after Iraq invaded Kuwait and is active in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, serving in Kandahar province, one of the most deadly. All told Canada has lost more than 100,000 members of its armed services in conflicts in the last century.
Canadian actors, comedians,
directors, TV personalities
Pam Anderson Lorne Greene Rick Moranis Donald Sutherland
- Frederick Banting (co-discoverer of insulin with fellow Canadian Charles Best)
- Joseph-Armand Bombardier (ski-doo snowmobile)
- James Gosling (java programming)
- Sanford Fleming (standard time)
- John Hopps (artificial pacemaker)
- Mike Lazaridis (blackberry)
- Spar Aerospace/National Research Council (Canadarm - more...)
- ....and many more
Bryan Adams Anne Murray
Peter Jennings (ABC)
Arthur Kent (NBC)
Robert MacNeil (PBS)
Keith Morrison (NBC)
John Roberts (CNN)
Also see Canada's Olympians.... | Canada's Athletes of the Century
Hockey
Wayne Gretzky (Legends of Hockey)
Gordie Howe (Legends of hockey)
Mark Messier (MM night at Madison Square Gardens)
Maurice Richard (Legends of Hockey)
Figure skating
Rowing
Skiing
Speed skating (Olympic gold medalists)
Other sports
Owen Hargreaves (soccer)
Steve Nash (NBA)
Margaret Atwood John McCrae Peter Robinson