List of Canadian Heroes and Heroines

Since ice hockey has been called Canada's national religion, it is not surprising that hockey players have a prominent place in a list of Canadian heroes.

• Anne of Green Gables was heroine of a book by Lucy Maud Montgomery that became a part of Canadian mythology.
• Marilyn Bell is a long distance swimmer and the first person to swim across Lake Ontario.
• Dr. Frederick Banting isolated insulin for treatment of diabetes and was awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize for medicine.
• Billy Bishop was a World War I ace fighter pilot who downed 72 enemy aircraft.
• Roberta Bondar is Canada's first woman astronaut.
• Major-General Sir Isaac Brock fell at the head of his troops while defending Canada from an American invasion during the War of 1812.
• Johnny Canuck was the personification of Canada in early political cartoons.
• Emily Carr was a painter and author who changed the way Canadians view the forest landscapes and the First Nations people of the British Columbia coast.
• Louis Cyr has been called "the strongest man in history."
• Leonard Cohen is a poet, novelist, songwriter and singer of international renown.
• Sir Sandford Fleming played a leading role in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and proposed Universal Standard Time, dividing the world into 24 time zones.
• Terry Fox raised money for cancer research by running across the country on his one leg.
• Marc Garneau is Canada's first astronaut.
• Glooscap Sometimes a god, sometimes a giant, always a hero in the First Nations legends of the East. Also called Gluskab in Abenaki mythology
• Wayne Gretzky is considered by many to be the greatest ice hockey player of all time.
• Ned Hanlan was a world champion sculler and Canada's first international sports hero.
• Paul Henderson scored the goal in the 1972 Canada-USSR match that saved his country's honour.
• Kiviuq is a hero of many Inuit legends.
• Jeanne Mance, one of the founders of Montreal, established the first hospital in North America, the Hôtel-Dieu, in 1644.
• Nellie McClung, was a novelist, essayist and political activist, who with four other women ("The Famous Five") challenged the Canadian government and won the right to be classed "persons" in 1929.
• Jos Montferrand Lumberjack and pugilist of the Outaouais region in the 19th century, his exploits were amplified by oral history.
• Poundmaker was a visionary Cree leader known as a peacemaker and defender of his people.
• Pierre-Esprit Radisson was a coureur des bois, who with des Groseilliers, reached Hudson Bay overland in 1661 and initiated the company that was to change the northwest--the Hudson's Bay Company.
• Maurice Richard was a legendary ice hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens.
• Louis Riel was a leader of the Metis people in the North-West Rebellion.
• Stan Rogers was, in the opinion of many, the greatest Canadian folksinger of all time.
• Laura Secord saved a British force during the War of 1812 by warning it of an impending attack.
• Barbara Ann Scott was the first North American to win the World Figure Skating Championships.
• Sam Steele was a legendary RCMP officer.
• David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster and environmental activist
• Tecumseh was a Shawnee leader who was allied with the British in the War of 1812 and joined Brock to force the surrender of Detroit, in August, 1812, an early turning point in the war.
• Tom Thomson was one of the most important Canadian artists of the early 20th Century; created a distinct approach to portraying rugged Canadian landscapes characteristic of the Group of Seven.

See also: Asian-Canadian, Richest Canadians, List of people by nationality, List of Canadians

External links

• Heros of Yore and Lore: Canadian Heros in Fact and Fiction
• Celebrating Women's Achievements

Referenced By