Glenn Gould Pianist Glenn Gould was born in Toronto in 1932. He was known for his Bach recordings, which made him an international name in music, and for his many live performances around the world. Gould studied with his mother for the first 10 years of his life before taking classes at the Royal Conservatory…
Big Bear Big Bear was a First Nations Canadian extraordinaire. His life was marked by his steadfast support for the interests of his people and his pursuit of justice from the Government of Canada without resorting to violence. Born sometime around 1825 on Jackfish Lake, Saskatchewan, noted Cree leader and spokesman for his people Big…
Emily Carr Mad, bad, and dangerous to know is how Victorian society dismissed Emily Carr. She once referred to herself as a little old lady on the edge of nowhere. But she was a great traveller. She saw more of Canada and parts of Europe than the majority of people of her time and class,…
Lucy Maud Montgomery One of Canada’s most cherished – and most exported – literary characters is PEI’s famed Anne of Green Gables, created by author Lucy Maud Montgomery in the early 1900’s. Montgomery’s many stories of lively red-headed orphan Anne Shirley, in addition to her other short stories, poems and novels, earned her international fame…
Pierre Elliott Trudeau Arguably Canada’s most popular Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau was born in Montreal in 1919. After studying at the Jean-de-Brébeuf Jesuit College, the University of Montreal, Harvard and the London School of Economics, he quickly found work in politics and rose the ranks to become the nation’s 15th Prime Minister, elected in…
Nellie McClung Canadian women’s right to vote can be attributed to Nellie McClung, who not only spearheaded the 1910’s suffrage campaign but ushered in the first wave of feminism, daring to speak out on the social injustices and atrocious working conditions faced by the prairie’s factory-working women. Her gift was not in her dedication, however,…
John Ralston Saul on Louis-Hyppolite LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin One a fatherless French Canadian habitant, the other a Toronto blue blood: John Ralston Saul leads us through the exciting story of how these two unlikely allies unite to bring us the democratic and non-violent Canada we know today.
A clip from Nino Ricci on Pierre Elliott Trudeau Who is the real Pierre Elliott Trudeau? Join Nino Ricci as he weaves together the life of a man bred to lead a separatist Quebec but who ultimately becomes the greatest voice for a united and egalitarian Canada.
A clip from the literary biography of Mordecai Richler The literary biography of Canada’s most loved satirical writer, this episode takes you to the Montreal of Mordecai Richler’s childhood, and reveals the truth behind this man of fiction, who universalizes the Canadian Jewish experience for all.
Extraordinary Canadians 