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Canadians home > odds & ends > canadians |
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Barenaked Ladies What can I say? These guys are amazing performers and some of the funniest musicians I've seen in a live performance. They are the ultimate Canadian ambassadors and their music is popular with our neighbours to the south. I think that Dean and I own every one of their CDs. |
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Robert Bateman A wildlife artist, naturalist and writer, Robert Bateman has the utmost respect for the environment. He currently lives on Saltspring Island in a home that Trisha was lucky enough to visit! I received his "Thinking Like a Mountain" book for my birthday and am enjoying his simple stories of days gone by. |
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Lynn Johnston Lynn is a cartoonist whose comic strip, "For Better of For Worse," is one of my all-time favorites. She has a down to earth style and writes a realistic cartoon where the characters grow older and face real life problems. I particularily like the strip because I'm about Michael's age and my sister is still in university, like Elizabeth. |
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Silken Laumann Silken Laumann became famous after her heroic recovery from a freak rowing accident just ten weeks before the 1992 Olympics. Laumann's recovery surprised the doctors and she inspired a generation of Canadian rowers with her bronze medal win in the single sculls. At the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games, Laumann took the silver medal in the single (just barely losing out to a huge woman from eastern Europe). She has now retired from rowing and has a career in motivational speaking. |
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Marnie McBean Marnie McBean is a kick ass rower who has won just about every medal you can think of, twice! McBean became the first rower to win a medal in every event and is third on the all-time career medal list for a female rower. Unfortunately, a back injury kept her out of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but her spirit and support of her team (plus her excellent tv rapport!) impressed her supporters. |
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Nellie McClung To be honest, I couldn't remember exactly what Nellie McClung did when I put her name on the list, so I did some research. Wow! She was a determined woman who fought for a variety of causes. Much of her work had to do with allowing women to vote (Canadian women didn't have the right to vote until 1918!). She was also instrumental in changing the definition of "person" in the British North America Act to include "woman." |
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Rick Mercer Rick Mercer is a writer/actor from Newfoundland with a hilarious satirical style. He is well-known for his work on "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" with some of his finest moments showcased in the "Talking to Americans" segments. How he can keep a straight face while the Americans wish a warm welcome to their Canadian neighbours to the SOUTH, I'll never know. |
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Lucy Maud Montgomery Lucy Maud Montgomery is the creator of the beloved Anne of Green Gables series of children's novels as well as many more books and short stories. |
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Robert Munsch Canada's best-selling children's author who wrote classics like "The Paperbag Princess," "Mud Puddle" and the tear-jerker, "Love You Forever." He drops in on schools and daycares and regales them with stories (sometimes made up on the spot!). His website has a very original and interesting biography and probably much more. |
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Julie Payette Julie Payette's achievements are unbelievable: she was the first Canadian astronaut to set foot in the International Space Station, she holds degrees in engineering and applied science, she flies jets, speaks several languages, sings in professional choirs and runs triathlons in her spare time! I had a chance to see her speak (on tv) and was amazed by her vibrant personality and fabulous attitude. Payette was given an honorary doctorate from SFU in 2000. |
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David Suzuki David Suzuki is a scientist and environmental activist who is helping Canadians to envision a world where people work in harmony with nature. He is host of CBC's "The Nature of Things" and Chair of the David Suzuki Foundation. He was bestowed with an honorary degree from SFU on June 9, 2000 (Holly's grad day!). |
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Hayley Wickenheiser Hayley Wickenheiser is one of the powerhouses on the gold medal winning Canadian women's hockey team. By playing hard and beating the US team in the final game, Hayley and her team did us proud and inspired a generation of Canadian girls to play hockey! She shoots, she scores! |
A good website about Canadians is Citizine.ca
