Number 16: 230 Reasons Why I Love Canada

Sunday, August 10, 2025

230 Reasons Why I Love Canada

On July 1st, Canada celebrated its 158th birthday. As a tribute to the country I love, I have made a list of 230 special people, places and thigs associated with Canada. I want to make it clear that my list is highly subjective. It is impossible to please everyone. My choices were limited to 230, so I expect to be criticized for what I have left out. Of course, readers will have issues with some of my selections, especially some of the people I have chosen. However, the Canadians on this list are not perfect. Some have feet of clay. I did not choose them because of their perfection. I did not choose them because I approve of everything they did or said. I chose them because of their talents, their contributions to humanity and to arts and sciences, sports and entertainment. They are nation builders. In many ways, they define this country. They are quintessentially Canadian.

1, The vastness and natural beauty of this country. Canada's motto: A mari usque ad mare " From sea to sea."

2. The foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Alberta

3. Lighthouses

4. Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

5, Hockey and all the great Canadian hockey players

6. Indigenous peoples of Canada

7. Maple trees, maple syrup and the maple syrup festival in Elmira, Ontario

Elmira Maple Syrup Festival, Elmira Ontario

8. Octoberfest in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario

9. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario and the Shaw Festival

10. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

11. Frederick Banting and Charles Best, the discovery of insulin

Frederick Banting

Charles Best

12, Terry Fox, athlete, humanitarian, cancer research advocate

13. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

14. The Chateau Frontenac and historic Old Qucbec (Vieux Québec), UNESCO World Heritage Site in Quebec City

15. The St. Lawrence River and the St. Lawrence Seaway, laker at the seaway at Montreal

16. The red soil of Prince Edward Island and P.E.I. potatoes

17. Atlantic Canada seafood

18. Lucy Maud Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables and Green Gables Heritage Place, L.M. Montgomery's National Historic Site in Prince Edward Island National Park, Cavendish

19. Stratford Festival, Stratford Ontario

20, The CN Tower, Toronto Ontario

21. The St. Lawrence Market, Toronto, Ontario

22. The Distillery District, Toronto, Ontario

23. Parks, national and provincial, especially Gross Morne National Park, Newfoundland, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Gross Morne National Park, Newfoundland

Jasper National Park, Alberta

Wildlife in Jasper National Park

24. Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and the TIFF Lighthouse

25. Ed and Anne Mirvish and the Mirvish theatre district, Toronto, Ontario

Toronto's Entertainment Dictrict (King St. West)

Toronto's Entertainment District at night

26. Inuit art

27. Signal Hill and Cabot Tower, St. John's Newfoundland

28. L'Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland - Viking Settlement

29. Cathedral Grove, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

30. The Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario

31. Kensington Market, Toronto, Ontario

32. Mount Royal Park, Montreal, Quebec

33. Canada's democratic institutions and parliamentary system of government. Parliament Hill and the Parliament Buildings and Peace Tower in Ottawa, Ontario

34. Byward Market, Ottawa, Ontario

35. The Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Grey Cup

36. The Canadian Human Rights Museum, Winnipeg, Manitoba

37. The Red River, Winnipeg, Manitoba

38. Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

39. Fortress of Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

40. Niagara Falls, Ontario

41. The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, St. Mary's Ontario

42, Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto, Ontario

43. Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, basilica, Quebec

44. Montmorency Falls, Quebec

45. The Niagara Parkway and Queenston Heights, Ontario

Niagara Parkway

Queenston Heights

46. Pier 21, Halifax, Nova Scotia, immigration museum

47. The Tragically Hip and Gord Downie (rock band)

48. Gordon Lightfoot, singer-songwriter, musician

49. Shania Twain, singer

50. The Guess Who (rock band)

51. Bay of Fundy and Fundy National Park, New Brunswick

52. Banff and Banff National Park, Alberta, including Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, Columbia Icefield

Banff National Park

Lake Louise

Moraine Lake

Columbia Icefield

53. The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) or the Es and Princes' Gates, Toronto, Ontario

Princes' Gates - arch at entrance to CNE

54.. The prairie wheat fields of Saskatchewan

55. Fans of the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders

56. Canadian Music Hall of Fame, National Music Centre, Calgary Alberta

57. Multiculturalism and diversity, immigrants

58. Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and Bluenose II

59. Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), Toronto

60. Toronto Islands

61. Halifax waterfront, Nova Scotia

62. SkyTrain, Vancouver, British Columbia

63. The Maple Leaf flag, the official flag of Canada since February 15, 1965

64. Tommy Douglas, politician, premier of Saskatchewan, NDP leader, advocate of universal healthcare

65. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor, scientist, engineer

66. Emily Carr, artist

67. Acadians of Canada

68. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

69. The Fabulous Five - Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, Louise McKinney, Henrietta Muir Edwards and Irene Parlby

Nellie McClung

Emily Murphy

Irene Parlby

Henrietta Muir Edwards

70. Viola Desmond, Civil and women's rights activist businesswoman, challenged racial segregation at movie theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia by refusing to leave a white's only area of the cinema.

71. Bonhomme and the Quebec Winter Carnival in Quebec City

72. Newfoundland comedians - Rick Mercer, Mark Critch, Mary Walsh etc.

Rick Mercer

Mary Walsh

73. Summer McIntosh, swimmer, Olympic medalist

74. Tom Longboat, long-distance runner

75. Oscar Peterson, jazz pianist

76. Anne Murray, singer

77. Joey Smallwood, brought Newfoundland into Confederation in 1949, first premier of the province, now officially known and Newfoundland and Labrador

78. Stanley Park and Lion's Gate Bridge, Vancouver, British Columbia

79. Leonard Cohen, singer, songwriter

80. Sandy Hawley, champion jockey

81. Confederation Centre of the Arts, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

82. Spinnakers' Landing, Summerside, Prince Edward Island

83. The Calgary Stampede, Calgary, Alberta

84. National Film Board of Canada and animator Norman McLaren

Norman McLaren

85. Canada Health Act

86. Christine Sinclair, soccer star

87. National Anthem - O Canada and Callixa Lavallée, composer of the music for O Canada

Callixa Lavallée

88. Ned Hanlan, rower

89. Foster Hewitt, hockey broadcaster

90. Hayley Wickenheiser, hockey

91. Thomas D'Arcy McGee, politician, journalist, Father of Confederation

92. Norval Morrisseau, Indigenous artist

93. John Peters Humphrey, author of the original draft of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

94. Gastown, area of Vancouver, British Columbia

95. The Eastern Townships, Quebec

96. Agawa Canyon, Ontario

97. Manitoulin Island, Ontario

98. Klondike National Historic Site - Whitehorse, Yukon

99. Lester B. Pearson, 14th prime minister of Canada, winner of the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize

100. The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinberg, Ontario

Franklin Carmichael

Arthur Lismer

Francis "Franz" Johnston

Lauren Harris

A.Y. Jackson

J.E.H. MacDonald

Frederick Varley

Tom Thomson

101. James Naismith and the invention of basketball

102. David Suzuki, academic, science broadcaster, environmental activist

103 Rick Hansen, "Man in Motion," Paralympic track and field athlete, activist and philanthropist for the disabled

104. Marshall McLuhan, professor, philosopher, author, media theory

105. Pierre Berton, historian, writer, journalist, broadcaster

106. E. Pauline Johnson, poet

107. Norman Bethune, surgeon who served in the Spanish Civil War

108. Marc Garneau, astronaut and politician

109. Chris Hadfield, astronaut

110. Canadaarm

111. Gordon Pinsent, actor

112. (Johnny) Wayne and (Frank) Shuster, entertainers, comedians

113. Margaret Atwood, author

114. Pierre Trudeau. 15th prime minister of Canada, patriated the Canadian constitution and established the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

115. Toronto City Hall, Nathan Phillips Square and Toronto mayor Nathan Phillips

Nathan Phillips

116. Fathers of Confederation

Sir John A. Macdonald, first prime minister of Canada, and Sir George-Étienne Cartier-Étienne Cartier, statesmen, Fathers of Confederation

Sir John A. Macdonald

117. Donald Sutherland, actor

118. Christopher Plummer, actor

119. Stephen Leacock, writer, humorist

120. Morley Callaghan, writer

121. Robson Street, Vancouver, British Columbia

122. Butter tarts

123. Mary Pickford, silent film actor

123. Marguerite Bourgeoys, religious sister in the colony ofNew France, founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal

124. Joni Mitchell, singer-songwriter

125. Celine Dion, singer

126. Bryan Adams, singer-songwriter, musician

127. Alice Munro, writer, won Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013

128. Mordecai Richler, author

129. W.P. Kinsella, novelist and short story writer

130. E.J. Pratt, poet

131, Lincoln Alexander, lawyer, politician, first Black member of Parliament in the House of Commons, Lieutenant Govenor of Ontario (1985-1991)

132. Chief Dan George

133. Maureen Forrester, opera singer

134. April Wine, rock band

135. Triumph, rock group

136. Michael Ondaatje, writer

137. Jean Drapeau, Montreal mayor

138. Science North in Sudbury, Ontario

139. David Foster, musician, composer, arranger

140. Lampshades of Avenue Cartier in Quebec City

141. Joseph E. Atkinson, newspaper editor, publisher., philanthropist. Owner of the Toronto Star.

142. Al Waxman, actor

143. Ken Taylor, diplomat, educator and businessman, known for his role in the "Canadian Caper" during the 1979 hostage crisis in Iran

144. Canadian universities, especially McGill University in Montreal, the University of Toronto and Laval University in Quebec City

McGill University, Montreal, Quebec

University of Toronto

Laval University, Quebec City

145. John Diefenbaker, 13th prime minister of Canada. His government secured the passage of the Canadian Bill of Rights, granted the vote to First Nation and Inuit people and opposed apartheid in South Africa. In 1962, the Diefenbaker government eliminated racial discrimination in immigration policy

146. Laura Secord, lived in Niagara region of Upper Canada, warned British forces of American attack during War of 1812

147. Norman Jewison, filmmaker

148, Lorne Greene, CBC broadcaster during World War II, known as "The Voice of Doom," actor

149. High Park, Toronto, Ontario

150. Donovan Bailey, sprinter, Olympic gold mealist

151. Wilder Penfield, neurosurgeon

152. Joseph-Armand Bombardier, inventor, businessman

153. Okanagan Valley and Okanagan Lake, British Columbia

154. Stompin; Tom Connors, singer-songwriter

155. Whale watching

156. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, seventh prime minister of Canada, first French speaking Canadian PM

157. Louis Riel, founder of Manitoba, Métis leader

158. Jean Charest, lawyer, politician, premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012

159. Farley Mowat, writer and environmentalist

160. Rita MacNeil, singer

161. Michael "Pinball" Clemons, CFL player, executive

162. Jean Chrétien, 20th prime minister of Canada

163, Magnetic Hill, Moncton, New Brunswick

164. Stephen Lewis, public speaker, politician, broadcaster, diplomat

165. The Butchart Gardens, Brentwood Bay, British Columbia

166. Mona Parsons, Canadian actor, nurse and resistance fighter in the Netherlands during World War II

167. Trans-Canada Highway

168. Sarah McLachman, singer, musician

169. William Lyon Mackenzie King, 10th prime minister of Canada

170, Rush, rock band

171. W.O. Mitchell, author

172. Ginette Reno, singer

173. Rideau Canal, Ottawa, Ontario

174. Northrop Frye, literary critic, literary theoroist

175. Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, Ontario, concert hall

76, Rideau Hall, Ottawa, Ontario, Governor General's Residence

177. Thérèse Casgrain, feminist, activist, politician

178. Robert Stanfield, politician, premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967, leader of Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1967 to 1976. As premier, he introduced hospital insurance in Nova Scotia, advocated for the rights of Black Nova Scotians greatly increased funding for education.

179. Canadian Arctic

180. Roberta Bondar, astronaut

181. Louise Arbour, lawyer, prosecutor, former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, former United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights

182. Grey Owl (Archibald Belaney), writer, conservationist

183. Barbara Frum, journalist

184. Ellen Fairclough, first woman to serve in a Canadian cabinet, John Diefenbaker government, advocated women's rights including equal pay for equal work

185. Robert W. Service ("The Poet of the Yukon")

186. Grouse Mountain, North Vancouver, British Columbia

87. The Snowbirds (military aerobatics flight demonstration team of the Royal Canadian Air Force)

188, Agnes Macphail, first woman elected to the Canadian House of Commons, social reformer

189. Expo '67, Montreal, Quebec

190. The Queen's Plate/King's Plate, Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race, first run in 1860. It is the oldest continuously run race in North America. Takes place at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto.

191. Roger Ducet, singer

192. Gabrielle Roy, author

193. Bilingualism

194. Environmental initiatives

Ozone layer

Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. International treaty agreed upon September 16, 1987 to phase out substances responsible for ozone depletion. Entered into force January 1, 1989. Revisions and adjustments agreed to in 1990 (London), 1992 (Copehagen), 1995 9Vienna, 1999 (Montreal), 1999 (Beijing), 2007 (Montreal), 2016 (Kigali), 2018 (Quito). As a result, the ozone hole over Antarctica is slowly recovering.

The first climate change conference held in Toronto on June 27-30,1988 and chaired by Stephen Lewis. It was called the Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere: Implications for Global Security..

195. Roméo Dallaire, poltician and military officer, commander of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Uganda

196. Margaret Laurence, author

197. Nunavut, Inuit self-government, flag

The flag of Nunavut was officially adopted on April 1, 1999. The colors blue and gold symbolize the riches of the land, sea and sky. Red is a reference to Canada. The Inuksuk symbolizes stone monuments which guide people on the land, and also marks sacred and other special places. The star is the Niqirtsuituq (North Star), and the traditional guide for navigation. The North Star is also symbolic of the leadership of the elders in the community. The Flag of Nunavut was designed by Andrew Karpik from Pangnirtung.