CANADA FILES

#501 Michael Buble
One of Canada’s most beloved singers, Michael Buble is also a global phenomenon having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. He is credited with reviving our appreciation for the Great American Songbook and has won 5 Grammies and 15 Juno awards.

#502 Hayley Wickenheiser
Four-time Olympic gold medalist, the first female assistant manager in the NHL, and now an Emergency Room physician, Hayley Wickenheiser is a trail-blazer who knows a thing or two about performing under pressure. She has paved the way for female hockey players around the world.

#503 Rosalie Abella
Former Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella was the first Jewish woman on the highest court in Canada. She created the term “employment equity” and has spent her career as an esteemed jurist fighting for equality for women, Indigenous people, those with disabilities, and gay rights.

#504 Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker is a cognitive psychologist and best-selling author of more than a dozen books on why we behave the way we do. A much revered professor at Harvard, he has an uncanny ability to deconstruct human behaviour from multiple angles – from language to logic, to our beliefs and morality.

#505 Rick Hansen
Known as the Man in Motion, Rick Hansen took a tragic accident as a teenager and transformed his disability into a lifelong mission, advocating for accessibility. His world tour in 1985 spanned more than 34 countries and 40,000 kilometres and raised more than $26 million for spinal cord research.

#506 Dr. Tak Mak
Dr. Mak is one of the most cited Canadian scientists in the world. His discovery of the T-cell receptor was called the Holy Grail of Immunology and has revolutionized cancer research. Still at work in his lab at age 77, and motivated by the loss of his own wife to breast cancer, he is an active expert in the field of cancer metabolism.

#507 Katharine Hayhoe
Prof. Katharine Hayhoe is a respected climate scientist, having advised both Canadian and American governments on the affects of climate change on everything from agriculture to water resources, public health and infrastructure. She is chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy and an Evangelical Christian, melding her scientific expertise with her faith in restoring the planet.

#508 Angela Hewitt
One of the most beloved concert pianists in the world – and a famed interpreter of Bach – Angela Hewitt has performed with major orchestras throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. She first played for an audience at age 4 and has maintained a packed schedule ever since. The New York Times wrote “Ms. Hewitt is one of those rare musicians who seem to get something into their heads and hearts and find it at their fingertips instantaneously.”

#509 Premier Wab Kinew
Wab Kinew is the first premier of First Nations descent in Canada. An author, musician and journalist, he is also the son of an Anishinaabe chief and wrote movingly about their relationship in his book The Reason You Walk. He holds a Masters degree in Indigenous governance, and was an honorary witness of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

#510 Wes Hall
From a child in Jamaica to a titan of business, Wes Hall’s life is truly a rags to riches story. He has gone from the mailroom to boardroom in style, running one of Canada’s key advisory firms and helping other entrepreneurs reach their own goals as one of the Dragons on the reality series Dragon’s Den. He is also the founder of the BlackNorth Initiative.

#511 Samantha Nutt
A physician and humanitarian, Samantha Nutt founded War Child Canada after witnessing the horrors of war and its effects on the most vulnerable. She has been on the front lines in Afghanistan, Darfur and Ethiopia among others, and is author of Damned Nations, a powerful meditation on war and her own experience helping its victims. Time Magazine called her one of Canada’s five leading activists.

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