text:
Battle of Hürtgen Forest

The Battle of Hürtgen Forest (Schlacht im Hürtgenwald) was a series of battles fought from 19 September to 16 December 1944, between American and German forces on the Western Front during World War II, in the Hürtgen Forest, a 140 km2 area about 5 km east of the Belgian–German border. It was the longest battle on German ground during World War II and is the longest single battle the U.S. Army has ever fought.

The U.S. commanders' initial goal was to pin down German forces in the area to keep them from reinforcing the front lines farther north in the Battle of Aachen, where the US forces were fighting against the Siegfried Line network of fortified industrial towns and villages speckled with pillboxes, tank traps, and minefields. The Americans' initial tactical objectives were to take the village of Schmidt and clear Monschau. In a second phase the Allies wanted to advance to the Rur River as part of Operation Queen.

Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model intended to bring the Allied thrust to a standstill. While he interfered less in the day-to-day movements of units than at the Battle of Arnhem, he still kept himself fully informed on the situation, slowing the Allies' progress, inflicting heavy casualties, and taking full advantage of the fortifications the Germans called the Westwall, better known to the Allies as the Siegfried Line. The Hürtgen Forest cost the U.S. First Army at least 33,000 killed and wounded, including both combat and non-combat losses, with upper estimates at 55,000; German casualties were 28,000. The city of Aachen in the north eventually fell on 22 October at high cost to the U.S. Ninth Army, but they failed to cross the Rur river or wrest control of its dams from the Germans. The battle was so costly that it has been described as an Allied "defeat of the first magnitude," with specific credit given to Model.

The Germans fiercely defended the area because it served as a staging area for the 1944 winter offensive Wacht am Rhein (known in English-speaking countries as the Battle of the Bulge), and because the mountains commanded access to the Rur Dam at the head of the Rur Reservoir (Rurstausee). The Allies failed to capture the area after several heavy setbacks, and the Germans successfully held the region until they launched their last-ditch offensive into the Ardennes. This was launched on 16 December and ended the Hürtgen offensive. The Battle of the Bulge gained widespread press and public attention, leaving the battle of Hürtgen Forest less well remembered.

The overall cost of the Siegfried Line Campaign in American personnel was close to 140,000.

Background
By mid-September 1944, the Allied pursuit of the German army after the landings at Normandy was slowing down due to extended supply lines and increasing German resistance. The next strategic objective was to move up to the Rhine River along its entire length and prepare to cross it. Courtney Hodges′ First Army experienced hard resistance pushing through the Aachen Gap and perceived a potential threat from enemy forces using the Hürtgen Forest as a base.

The U.S. 1st Infantry Division arrived in early October, joining elements of the XIX Corps and VII Corps, which had encircled Aachen. Although the 1st Infantry Division called for the surrender of the German garrison in the city, German commander Oberst Gerhard Wilck refused to capitulate until 21 October.

The Allies also thought it was necessary to remove the threat posed by the Rur Dam. The stored water could be released by the Germans, swamping any forces operating downstream. In the view of the American commanders, Omar Bradley, Hodges, and J. Lawton Collins, the direct route to the dam was through the forest.

Some military historians are no longer convinced by these arguments. Charles B. MacDonald—a U.S. Army historian and former company commander who served in the Hürtgen battle—has described it as "...a misconceived and basically fruitless battle that should have been avoided."

Geography

The Hürtgen Forest occupies a rugged area between the Rur River and Aachen. In the autumn and early winter of 1944, the weather was cold, wet, and cloudy, and often prevented air support. Apart from the poor weather, the dense forest and rough terrain also prevented proper use of Allied air superiority, which had great difficulties in spotting any targets. The dense conifer forest is broken by few roads, tracks, and firebreaks; vehicular movement is restricted. Conditions on the ground became a muddy morass, further impeding vehicular traffic, especially heavy vehicles such as tanks.

The German defenders had prepared the area with improvised blockhouses, minefields, barbed wire, and booby-traps, hidden by the mud and snow. There were also numerous concrete bunkers in the area, mostly belonging to the deep defenses of the Siegfried Line, which were also centers of resistance. The dense forest allowed infiltration and flanking attacks, and it was sometimes difficult to establish a front line or to be confident that an area had been cleared of the enemy. The small numbers of routes and clearings in the forest had also allowed German machine gun, mortar, and artillery teams to pre-range their weapons and fire accurately.

The American advantage in numbers (as high as 5:1), armor, mobility, and air support was thus greatly reduced by weather and terrain. In the forest, relatively small numbers of determined and prepared defenders could be highly effective. To exacerbate matters, as the American divisions took casualties, inexperienced replacements had to be fed directly into combat.

The densely forested terrain also limited the use of tanks and provided cover for German anti-tank teams equipped with Panzerfaust shaped-charge grenade launchers. The Allies made improvised rocket launchers, using rocket tubes from aircraft and spare Jeep trailers. Later in the battle, it proved necessary to blast tank routes through the forest. Transportation was similarly limited by the lack of routes: at critical times, it proved difficult to reinforce or supply front-line units or to evacuate the dead and wounded.

The Germans were hampered by much the same difficulties, worsened because their divisions had already taken heavy losses on the retreat through France and were hastily filled up with untrained boys and old men, often unfit for normal military service. Transportation was also a problem, because of the difficult roads and the lack of trucks and fuel; most supplies had to be manhandled to the front line. Nonetheless, despite increasing numbers of replacements lacking experience, German defenders had the advantage in that their commanders and many of their soldiers had been fighting for years and had learned the necessary tactics for fighting efficiently in winter and forested areas, whereas the Americans were often well-trained but inexperienced.

Opposing armies
The Hürtgen Forest lay within the area of the U.S. First Army under Hodges. Responsibility fluctuated between the V Corps and VII Corps.

At the start, the forest was defended by the German 275th and 353rd Infantry Divisions; understrength but well prepared—5,000 men (1,000 in reserve)—and commanded by Generalleutnant Hans Schmidt. They had little artillery and no tanks. As the battle progressed, German reinforcements were added. American expectations that these troops were weak and ready to withdraw were overly optimistic.

U.S. divisions and formations

 * 1st Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Clarence R. Huebner)
 * 4th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Raymond O. Barton)
 * 8th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Donald A. Stroh)
 * 9th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Louis A. Craig)
 * 28th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Norman Cota)
 * 29th Infantry Division (Elements) (Maj. Gen. Charles H. Gerhardt)
 * 78th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Edwin P. Parker Jr.)
 * 82nd Airborne Division (Maj. Gen. James M. Gavin)
 * 83rd Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Robert C. Macon)
 * 99th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Walter E. Lauer)
 * 104th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Terry de la Mesa Allen Sr.)
 * 3rd Armored Division (Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose)
 * 5th Armored Division (Maj. Gen. Lunsford E. Oliver)
 * 2nd Ranger Battalion
 * 5th Ranger Battalion
 * 366th Fighter Group

German divisions

 * 85th Infantry Division
 * 275th Infantry Division
 * 344th Infantry Division
 * 347th Infantry Division
 * 353rd Infantry Division
 * 3rd Parachute Division
 * 3rd Panzergrenadier Division
 * 116th Panzer Division
 * 12th Volksgrenadier Division
 * 47th Volksgrenadier Division
 * 246th Volksgrenadier Division
 * 272nd Volksgrenadier Division
 * 326th Volksgrenadier Division

First phase
The 9th Infantry Division's ultimate objective were the Rur River crossings at Düren. On September 16, 1944, an attack by the 47th Infantry Regiment captured Schevenhütte, on the northern fringes of the forest, with few casualties. The division had surprised the Germans, but lacked the strength to push on as two of their regiments were committed to the south. Attacks on and around the Höfen-Alzen ridge by the 39th and 60th Infantry Regiments were met with heavy resistance and pushed back. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 39th captured Lammersdorf, but could not dislodge enemies entrenched in the woods behind the village; the 3rd Battalion suffered heavy losses attacking Hill 554, near Lammersdorf. In these early engagements, the 9th Infantry Division was unable to eject the Germans from the periphery of the forest, and decided to push through it to the northeast and capture Hürtgen and Kleinhau. The engagement began on September 19, 1944. Repeated probes entered the forest toward their objective, but were beaten back by the terrain and Germans dug into prepared positions. On October 5, the 39th and 60th Infantry Regiments attacked towards the town of Schmidt while the 47th held a defensive position. The Monschau-Düren road was quickly cut, but both regiments were slowed by defenses and suffered significant casualties: The 60th's 2nd Battalion was reduced to a third after the first day. The 39th was halted at the Weisser Weh Creek; there were problems with narrow paths, air bursts in trees, and fire breaks which were blocked or enfiladed. Evacuation and supply was difficult or impossible. By 16 October, 3000 yd had been gained at the cost of 4,500 casualties. The U.S. 28th Infantry Division—a Pennsylvania National Guard unit—arrived the same day to relieve the battered 9th. Cota established his division command post in the village of Rott on 25 October and began coordination with the V Corps staff for future operations as his units began to occupy the 9th's positions north of Lammersdorf.

When Cota received the operations order for the attack he was perplexed and none too happy. It was far too directive and detailed and left little for him, his staff and his regimental commanders to do except execute it. It was basically the same plan that had been given to the 9th Infantry Division and that plan had failed. Hodges dictated that the 28th was to capture Vossenack and the treeline facing the village of Huertgen. Gerow directed that an entire regiment would assault Huertgen to the north; a second regiment would attack and capture Schmidt in the center and a third regiment attack south towards Rafflesbrand. The 28th Division was reinforced with the attached 707th Tank Battalion, tracked M29 Weasel transport and air support. Of its three regiments, one was deployed to protect the northern flank, another to attack Germeter, and the third to capture Schmidt, the main objective. The area had terrible terrain with the Kall Trail running along a deep river ravine. The terrain was not suited to tanks, despite the need for armor to support the infantry.

"It was during the final days of preparation before the attack that Cota made three crucial mistakes that would have far reaching effects on his division's assault into the Huertgen. The first was that neither he nor his staff directed subordinate units to conduct patrolling into the Huertgen Forest [...]; the second mistake was tied to the first. Cota had approved the extremely narrow Kall trail to serve as the division's main supply route [...]. Aerial reconnaissance could not confirm the trails condition due to the dense forest covering it but ground patrols would have provided much valuable information, both about the enemy and the trail. The third mistake was his decision not to use armor to support his infantry. Believing that the forest would not allow access and the required road network to support tanks, he kept all but two of his tank companies and all of his tank destroyer units in the rear to augment his division artillery. Had he discussed this with the commander of 9th Infantry Division, he would have learned that tanks could operate in many areas of the forest and with some training and prior coordination they could provide valuable support to the infantry."

The attack by the 28th Division started on 2 November; the defenders were expecting it and were ready. The U.S. 109th Infantry Regiment, assigned to capture the woods north of Germeter, was impeded after 300 yd by an unexpected minefield (the "Wild Pig"), pinned down by mortar and artillery fire and harassed by local counterattacks. Just 1 mi was gained after two days, after which the 109th dug in and endured casualties. This initial attack was nearly all the ground the 109th would take during the battle. The U.S. 110th Infantry Regiment had to clear the woods next to the Kall River, capture Simonskall, and maintain a supply route for the advance on Schmidt: Again, these were very difficult tasks due to weather, prepared defenses, determined defenders, and terrain. The weather prevented tactical air support until 5 November.

The U.S. 112th Infantry Regiment, attacking from Germeter, took Vossenack and the neighboring ridge by the afternoon. The 112th was then halted by strong defenses and difficult terrain. The 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 112th moved across the Kall Valley and captured Kommerscheidt and Schmidt, respectively, on 3 November. The German supply route to Monschau was cut, but American supply, reinforcement, and evacuation were very limited as the Kall Trail had poor terrain and was infiltrated by the Germans. At dawn on November 4, a strong German counter-attack by tanks of the 116th Panzer Division and a chance encirclement by troops from the 89th Infantry Division rapidly expelled the 3rd Battalion from Schmidt, and they were unable to counter-attack. The battalion disintegrated after constant shelling and a fierce attack by the 116th Panzer Division and some men inadvertently fled east, to be captured by the Germans. The rest of the battalion retreated to Kommerscheidt to join the 112th's 1st Battalion. Realizing the gravity of the situation, eight M4 Shermans of Company A, 707th Tank Battalion attempted to cross the Kall Valley, but only three actually made it across to support the beleaguered 112th. The 116th Panzer Division again attacked with tanks and infantry several times. The American tanks, along with infantry and air support, destroyed five German Panzer IV tanks. At Vossenack, the 112th's 2nd Battalion was nearly forced out of the town on November 6 by a fierce German counterattack, but were assisted by engineers in retaking the western part of the town. The Americans across the Kall Valley at Kommerscheidt held on until November 8, when an order to withdraw was given. The positions at Schmidt and the Kall Trail were abandoned. It wasn't until February 1945 that the 82nd Airborne Division permanently captured the Kall Trail and Schmidt.

A German regimental doctor, Hauptmann Günter Stüttgen, negotiated an unofficial ceasefire with the Americans at the Kall Bridge from 7–12 November, in order to attend to the wounded of both sides, numbering in the thousands. The lives of many American soldiers were saved by German medics.

Second phase

The second phase was part of Operation Queen, the Allied thrust to the Rur River. In this phase, the U.S. 4th Infantry Division was to clear the northern half of the forest between Schevenhütte and Hürtgen, capture Hürtgen, and advance to the Rur south of Düren. From 10 November, this would be VII Corps′ responsibility and it was part of the main VII Corps effort to reach the Rur. The 4th Division was now fully committed to the Hürtgen, although its 12th Infantry Regiment was already mauled from its action at Schmidt, leaving just two fully effective regiments to achieve the divisional objectives. U.S. VII Corps was opposed by German forces, mainly from the LXXXI Corps, consisting of three understrength divisions. In the Hürtgen, there was the 275th Infantry Division—6,500 men with 150 artillery pieces. They were well dug-in and prepared.

The abstract of a U.S. report describes what happened:

"The VII (U.S.) Corps, First Army attacked 16 November 1944, with 1st Inf Div, 4th Inf Div, 104th Inf Div, and CCR 5th AD to clear Huertgen Forest and the path of First Army to the Rur River. After heavy fighting, primarily by the 4th Infantry Division, VII Corps' attack ground to a halt. V Corps was committed on 21 November 1944. Attacking with 8th Inf Div, and CCR 5th AD, the V Corps managed to capture Huertgen after stiff fighting on 28 November 1944."

The attack started on 16 November. The two infantry regiments attacked in parallel columns: the 8th along the northern edge of the forest towards Düren, the 22nd further south in parallel. The open flanks invited infiltration. Similar tactics elsewhere in Hürtgen had "invited disaster".

Attacks by the 8th Infantry Regiment on Rother Weh Creek hit heavy resistance and were repulsed with heavy losses. The 22nd failed to take Raven's Hedge (Rabenheck), beaten back by heavy machine-gun and artillery fire along the fire-breaks. After three days, there were 300 casualties, including numerous officers and NCOs.

By 18 November, tanks were deemed essential, so engineers blasted tank routes through the forest. Communications and logistics remained a problem, so the next day the attack paused to allow re-supply and evacuation of the wounded. German reinforcements arrived from 344th and 353rd Infantry Divisions and resistance stiffened further.

Responsibility was returned to V Corps and, on 21 November, 8th Division attacked the Weisser Weh Valley, continuing toward Hürtgen. The 121st Infantry Regiment hit heavy defenses immediately. Despite armored support from the 10th Tank Battalion, daily advances were less than 600 yd. Hürtgen was taken on 29 November and the battle continued to Kleinhau, 1 mi north.

The final action in the Hürtgen Forest was at Langerwehe-Merode, on the northeastern edge of the forest. Two American companies took the village, but they were later destroyed in a German counter-attack. More than 300 soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division were killed in action on November 29 and 30, 1944.

Later, the secret daily report of the Supreme High Command of the German Army (Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH)) of 27 November, stated that in the old Langerwehe penetration area, the U.S. Army (enemy) won terrain.

Elements of the 8th and the 28th Infantry Divisions then advanced on Brandenberg. The 28th Division—just like the 9th before it (and the 4th Infantry Division, which would relieve the 28th)—also took heavy casualties during its stay in the Hürtgen Forest. On 14 November, the 2nd Ranger Battalion arrived to relieve elements of the 112th Infantry Regiment. On 6 December, the Rangers moved on Bergstein and subsequently took the strategic position of Hill 400 from defending troops from 980th Grenadier Regiment of the 272nd Volksgrenadier Division. Shortly thereafter, on 12 December, the towns of Gey and Strass were taken by American Forces. On the last day of the Hürtgen battle the Germans retook the hill from the 13th Regiment who had replaced the Rangers. The U.S. Army would not seize Hill 400 again until February 1945.

From 1–12 December, the 309th, 310th and 311th Infantry Regiments of the 78th Infantry Division ("Lightning") relieved elements of the 1st Infantry Division in the line in the vicinity of Entenpfuhl. On 13 December, these regiments smashed into Simmerath, Witzerath, and Bikerath, Germany, and were fighting the Battle of Kesternich against the 272nd Volksgrenadier Division when General Gerd von Rundstedt launched his counteroffensive in the Monschau area. On December 15 the 2nd battalion, 309th Infantry was annihilated when the 272nd Volksgrenadiers counterattacked and took back Kesternich. The Germans knew that from the heights at Kesternich the Americans could detect the troop buildup for the Ardennes Offensive and place artillery there to fire on advancing German troops.

Military actions at the Siegfried Line up to 15 December alone brought death, injury or captivity to more than 250,000 soldiers from both sides. The First and Ninth U.S. Army suffered 57,039 battle casualties (dead, wounded, captured, missing in action); 71,654 non-battle casualties, i.e. accidents, diseases such as pneumonia, trench foot, frostbite, and trauma. German Armed Forces are presumed to be 12,000 dead, 95,000 captured (documented), and an unknown number of wounded.

On 16 December 1944, German forces began the Ardennes Offensive, more commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge and as a result further fighting in the Hürtgen ended.

Aftermath

The Battle of Hürtgen Forest has been referred to as a stalemate that consumed large amounts of resources on both sides. The Americans suffered 33,000 casualties during the course of the battle which ranged up to 55,000 casualties, included 9,000 non-combat losses and represented a 25 percent casualty rate. The Germans had also suffered heavy losses with 28,000 casualties—many of these were non-combatants and prisoners of war.

The surprise German Ardennes offensive caught Allied forces off guard. The Germans attacked with nearly 30 divisions; including the elite 1st SS, 2nd SS, and the 12th SS Panzer Divisions, with the northernmost point of the battlefront centered on Monschau. They forced a large salient in the American lines almost 60 mi deep at its maximum extent. However, the Germans never came close to their primary objective, the capture of Antwerp. The Ardennes Offensive came to a complete halt in early January, when German forces in the northern shoulder of the bulge were blocked by a strong American defence, the destruction of bridges by American engineers, and a lack of fuel.

In early February, American forces attacked through the Hürtgen Forest for the final time. On 10 February 1945, the Rur Dam was taken by American forces and the forest itself was not cleared until the 17th when the 82nd Airborne Division reached the Roer river.

Legacy
There is a stone monument with a bronze plaque at the Hürtgen Military Cemetery, dedicated by veterans of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division to the memory of Friedrich Lengfeld (29 September 1921 – 12 November 1944), a German lieutenant. Lengfeld died on 12 November 1944, of severe wounds sustained while helping a wounded American soldier out of the "Wild Sow" ("Wilde Sau") minefield. It is the only such memorial for a German soldier placed by his erstwhile opponents in a German military cemetery.

A memorial sculpture on Kall Bridge recalls that moment of humanity amidst the horrors of war. It was officially dedicated on the 60th anniversary of the ceasefire on the Kall Bridge, November 7, 2004. It was created by Michael Pohlmann, who commented:

"I didn't want to create a monument to heroes, no theatrical representation, no pathos, but wanted to appear more unassumingly with a frugal shape, hewn in stone, dignifying the actual place of the incident. A place perhaps, at which once everything may have started rationally, then however, became more and more irrational and totally out of control until a return to sanity—or was it still emotion?—made a humanitarian encounter come true."

The plaque was created by the sculptor Tilman Schmitten, Eupen. The memorial sculpture and plaque were endowed by the Konejung Foundation: Culture

The 1944 Hürtgen Forest Museum was opened on 29 March 1983 in Kleinhau, in a stone barn to commemorate the battle.

Historical analysis
Historical discussion revolves around whether or not the American battle plan made any operational or tactical sense. One analysis is that the Allies under-estimated the strength and determination remaining in the psyche of the German soldier, believing his fighting spirit had collapsed under the stress of the Normandy breakout and the reduction of the Falaise pocket.

Trigg describes the battle as one of the "most ill-conceived and unnecessary offensives of the whole northwest Europe campaign" and said that Hodges "lacked tactical imagination" and that "it was a miracle that he retained Eisenhower's confidence".

American commanders, in particular, misunderstood the impassability of the dense Hürtgen Forest, and its effects of reducing artillery effectiveness and making air or armoured support impracticable. The better alternative—breaking through south-east out into the open valley, where their advantages in mobility and airpower could come into play, and then heading northeast towards the actual objectives—seems not to have been really considered by the higher headquarters.

In addition, American forces were concentrated in the village of Schmidt, and neither tried to conquer the strategic Rur Dams nor recognized the importance of Hill 400 until an advanced stage of the battle.

World War Two lieutenant and History professor and academician, Paul Fussell, blames the impracticality of Lieutenant General Courtney H. Hodges' command and untrained troops' demoralization for the defeat in the battle, citing the violation of Patton's observation that "Plans should be made by those who are going to execute them." Fussell, Paul. The Boys' crusade: American G.I.s in Europe: chaos and fear in World War Two. Pages 85-86. 2004. Retrieved on 22 Sept. 2023."'Officially,' the American in charge of all this was Lieutenant General Courtney H. Hodges, commander of First Army. He was running the battle from Spa, in Belgium, thirty miles away. At his best he must have been calm and impressive, but, as a military thinker, he was, says one historian, a 'most conservative tactician, forever worried about his flanks.' Having commanded a machine-gun company in the earlier world war and having experienced the Argonne, he might have been familiar with the special problem of fighting in a forest, where the troops cannot see the signals of the leader. On his visits to the line, he didn't often get farther forward than a division headquarters, and he was thus out of contact with the troops who had to obey his orders. He was innocently violating one of General Patton's wise observations: 'Plans should be made by those who are going to execute them.' Hodges had not exactly lost touch with his soldiers, but he seemed not to realize that he was commanding not professional troops but terribly scared boy draftees. Hodges brought to the battle a bundle of conventional approaches, while the battle demanded nothing but the unconventional. His corps commanders kept sending into the Hürtgen area division after division to replace those that had failed. The 28th Division was one of the first assigned to this hell. It failed, like the 9th Division it relieved. Next was the 8th Division, so badly mauled that it too had to be withdrawn, to be relieved by the 1st Division. Beaten up in turn, it yielded the job to the 4th Division. Then the 83rd Division. Then the 5th Armored. More than a quarter of all these troops became casualties, and what shell fragments, bullets, grenades, mines, and trench foot didn't take care of, diarrhea did. These varied troops were brave enough and willing enough, but their experience in the forest was so awful that it produced a whole parade of 'unmanly' behaviors: unordered flight and even rout; flagrant disobedience; bursting into tears; faking illnesses; and self-inflicted wounds. Here is radioman George Barrette's reaction to his first artillery barrage: 'Me and this buddy of mine were in the same hole with only a little brush on top, and I remember I was actually bawling. We were both praying to the Lord over and over again to please stop the barrage, shaking and shivering and crying and praying all at the same time.' One cause of troop weakness was training failure: despite Lesley McNair's efforts, apparently no one had thought very hard about tactics to be used in heavy woods and defensive measures to be taken in such a setting. Apparently no officer or noncom had ever lectured on tree bursts, and there were few other kinds in a forest. (A tree burst is a shell burst not at ground level but up in the air. At ground level, a foxhole or trench will offer some protection, for the shell fragments come horizontally. But a tree burst delivers the fragments downward, and the only protection is to hug a tree.) One of Patton's maxims was, 'Do not dig slit trenches under trees, if you can avoid it.' Yes, but where else in this thick, dark forest could you find protection from shells bursting everywhere?

Attribution

 * This article incorporates public domain material from Lieutenant Colonel (ret) Thomas G. Bradbeer. Major General Cota and the Battle of the Huertgen Forest: A Failure of Battle Command?

title: Battle of Hürtgen Forest


text:
Lists of Canadians

This is a list of Canadians, people who are identified with Canada through residential, legal, historical, or cultural means, grouped by their area of notability.

Architects

 * Hans Blumenfeld OC (1892–1988) – architect and city planner
 * Joan Burt (1930–2021) – architect
 * Douglas Cardinal OC RAIC (born 1934) – architect of Canadian Museum of Civilization
 * Mary Clark (born 1936) – architect and transportation planner
 * Ernest Cormier OC RAIC (1885–1980) – architect of Supreme Court of Canada building
 * A. J. Diamond OC RAIC (born 1934) – architect of Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
 * Margaret Synge Dryer (1921–1963) – architect
 * Arthur Erickson CC RAIC (1924–2008) – architect of Simon Fraser University, Robson Square, and the Embassy of Canada in Washington
 * David Ewart ISO (1841–1921) – Chief Dominion Architect (1896 to 1914), architect of Dominion Archives Building, Royal Canadian Mint, Victoria Memorial Museum, Connaught Building in Ottawa
 * Étienne Gaboury RAIC OAA (1930–2022) – architect of the Embassy of Canada in Mexico and the Royal Canadian Mint building in Winnipeg
 * Frank Gehry CC LLD (hc) PhD (hc) DEng (hc) DArch (hc) DA (hc) AIA (born 1929) – architect of Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Experience Music Project, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Art Gallery of Ontario
 * Dan Hanganu OQ DArch (hc) RAIC OAQ (1939–2017) – architect of Pointe-à-Callière Museum and Montreal Archival Centre
 * Gregory Henriquez FRAIC OAA AIA (born 1963) RAIC – architect of the Woodward's Building, TELUS Garden, and redevelopment of Honest Ed's location
 * Stephen Irwin RAIC RIBA OAA (1939–2019) – architect of Purdy's Wharf
 * Bruce Kuwabara FRAIC OAA AIA (born 1949) RAIC – architect of the Gardiner Museum, and Kitchener City Hall
 * E. J. Lennox RAIC OAA (1854–1933) – architect of Old City Hall in Toronto, and Casa Loma
 * John M. Lyle FRIBA OAA (1872–1945) RAIC – architect of the New York Public Library, the Royal Alexandra Theatre, and Toronto's Union Station
 * Raymond Moriyama CC OOnt (1929–2023) – architect of the Ontario Science Centre, Ottawa City Hall, and Canadian War Museum
 * Samuel Oghale Oboh FAIA, FRAIC, Architect, AAA (born 1971) – 2015 President of the RAIC – architect of the International Law Enforcement Academy Botswana and the Botswana Police College; Lead Architect of the Alberta Legislature Centre Redevelopment Master Plan
 * John Ostell (1813–1892) – architect of the McGill University Arts Building, and the Montreal Custom House
 * Francis Rattenbury RAIC AIBC (1867–1935) – architect of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings, and the Empress Hotel
 * Moshe Safdie CC LLD (hc) FRAIC FAIA (born 1938) – architect of Habitat 67, the National Gallery of Canada, and Vancouver Library Square
 * Fariborz Sahba (born 1948) Master's degree from Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran – architect of Lotus Temple, and Terraces (Baháʼí)
 * Henry Sears (1929–2003) – Massey medal-winning architect, urban and gallery planner
 * Brigitte Shim (born 1958) – Order of Canada for architecture, and Integral House
 * Bing Thom CM FRAIC AIBC (1940–2016) – architect of Central City Centre
 * Ronald Thom FRAIC AIBC (1923–1986) – architect of Massey College, the Shaw Theatre, and Trent University

Animators

 * Ryan Larkin (1943–2007) – nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film, Walking, 1969

Photographers

 * Ivaan Kotulsky (1944–2008)

Cartoonists

 * Michael de Adder (born 1967) – editorial cartoonist and caricaturist
 * Danny Antonucci (born 1957) – creator of Ed Edd n Eddy
 * Kate Beaton (born 1983) – creator of Hark! A Vagrant
 * Chester Brown (born 1960) – creator of Yummy Fur, Underwater and Louis Riel
 * John Byrne (born 1950) – influenced superhero characters like The Fantastic Four and Superman
 * Andy Donato (born 1937) – editorial cartoonist for the Toronto Sun
 * Hal Foster (1892–1982) – artist for Tarzan comic strip, creator of Prince Valiant
 * J.D. Frazer (born 1965) (moniker: Illiad) – creator of the webcomic User Friendly
 * Gregory Gallant (born 1962) (moniker: Seth) – creator of Palookaville
 * Lynn Johnston CM OM (born 1947) – creator of For Better or For Worse
 * John Kricfalusi (born 1955) (moniker: John K.) – creator of Ren and Stimpy
 * Graeme MacKay (born 1968) – editorial cartoonist
 * Sean Martin (1950–2020) – creator of the print and webcomic "Doc and Raider"
 * Todd McFarlane (born 1961) – creator of Spawn
 * Win Mortimer (1919–1998) – illustrator for DC Comics' Superman and Batman
 * Terry Mosher OC DLitt (hc) (born 1942) (moniker: Aislin) – Montreal Gazette newspaper
 * Len Norris (1919–1997) – long-time editorial columnist for the Vancouver Sun
 * Ryan North (born 1980) – creator of the webcomic Dinosaur Comics
 * Scott Ramsoomair (born 1981) – creator of the webcomic VG Cats
 * Joe Shuster (1914–1992) – co-creator of Superman
 * Dave Sim (born 1956) – creator of Cerebus the Aardvark
 * Fiona Staples (born 1984) – co-creator of Saga
 * Paul Szep (born 1941) – editorial cartoonist for the Boston Globe 1967–2001
 * Ben Wicks CM (1926–2000) – illustrator, comic strip cartoonist, and humanitarian

Astronauts

 * Roberta Bondar OC OOnt ScD (hc) FRCP(C) FRSC (born 1945) – first Canadian woman in space
 * Marc Garneau CC CD ScD (hc) (born 1949) – first Canadian man in space
 * Chris Hadfield OOnt MSC LLD (hc) DEng (hc) (born 1959) – first Canadian to walk in space, first Canadian to command the International Space Station
 * Steven MacLean ScD (hc) (born 1954)
 * Julie Payette CQ FMC (born 1963)
 * David Saint-Jacques (born 1970), B.Eng., Ph.D., M.D.
 * Robert Thirsk (born 1953) – holds Canadian record for longest time spent in space (204 days)
 * Bjarni Tryggvason ScD (hc) (born 1945)

Businesspeople and entrepreneurs

 * Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Baron Beaverbrook PC (1879–1964) – publishing baron, entrepreneur
 * Francesco Aquilini (born 1969) – Chairman of the Aquilini Investment Group and owner of the Vancouver Canucks
 * David Asper (born 1958) – chairman, Canwest Global Communications
 * Izzy Asper OC QC OM (1932–2003) – chairman, Canwest Global Communications
 * Jeannine Bailliu – economist, policy advisor at the Bank of Canada
 * Conrad Black – Lord Black of Crossharbour KCSG LLD (hc) (born 1944) – entrepreneur, publisher
 * Willard Boyle (1924–2011) – invented charge-coupled device
 * Edgar Bronfman, Sr. (1929–2013) – head of Seagram's and long-time president of the World Jewish Congress
 * Samuel Bronfman CC (1889–1971) – founder of Seagram's
 * Robert Campeau (1923–2017) – real-estate mogul
 * Jack Kent Cooke (1912–1997) – owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings, Washington Redskins and the Chrysler Building
 * James Alexander Cowan (1901–1978) – public relations consultant and founder of Stratford Shakespeare Festival
 * Samuel Cunard Bt (1787–1865) – founder of Cunard Line
 * William Davidson (1740–1790) – lumberman, shipbuilder, merchant
 * Christine M. Day (born 1962) – former CEO of the Canadian clothing company Lululemon Athletica
 * Michael DeGroote OC (born 1932) – businessman and philanthropist
 * Paul Desmarais PC CC (1927–2013) – Chairman, Power Corporation of Canada
 * Craig Dobbin OC (1935–2006) – founder, chairman and CEO of CHC Helicopter Corporation
 * Denzil Doyle (born 1932/1933) – founding president of Digital Equipment Corporation's Canadian subsidiary
 * James Hamet Dunn Bt (1874–1956) – financier, steel magnate
 * Timothy Eaton (1834–1907) – founder of Eaton's department stores
 * Bernie Ebbers (1941–2020) – former CEO of WorldCom
 * Sam Feldman (born 1949) - music executive
 * Alfred Fuller (1885–1973) – Fuller Brush Company
 * Arcadi Gaydamak (born 1952) – owner of Beitar Jerusalem
 * Percy Girouard KSMG (1867–1932) – railway builder, governor
 * Angèle Grenier – maple syrup producer known for her legal battles with the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers
 * Charles Guillimin (1676–1739) – shipbuilder, merchant and moneylender
 * Zabeen Hirji (born 1960) – speaker, writer, former Chief Human Resources Officer, Royal Bank of Canada
 * Janet Holder – business executive, head of Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines
 * Robin Ingle – CEO and Chairman of the Ingle Group of Companies
 * K. C. Irving OC ONB (1899–1992) – industrialist
 * Suresh Joachim (born 1968) – co-founder of WBBAS, No Poverty No Disease No War, World Peace Marathon and Suresh Joachim International Group of Companies
 * F. Ross Johnson (1931–2016) – former CEO of RJR Nabisco
 * Ron Joyce CM (1930–2019) – original partner with Horton in Tim Hortons, primary builder of the chain
 * Moez Kassam (born 1980) – hedge fund manager, founder of Anson Group
 * Izaak Walton Killam (1885–1955) – major financier
 * James L. Kraft (1874–1953) – entrepreneur and inventor, founder of L. Kraft & Bros. Company, which later became Kraft Foods Inc
 * Guy Laliberté OC CQ (born 1959) – founder and owner of the Cirque du Soleil
 * Bernard Lamarre (1931–2016) – Chairman & C.E.O., Lavalin Group, 1972–1991; senior advisor, SNC-Lavalin Inc., 1991–2016
 * Cindy Lee – founder of T & T Supermarket
 * Michael Lee-Chin LLD (hc) (born 1951) – CEO of AIC Diversified Canada Split Corp. and the National Commercial Bank of Jamaica
 * Li Ka-shing (born 1928) – Chairman of the Board of Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa
 * Victor Li (born 1964) – deputy chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited
 * William Secondo Lombardo (1930–2009) – owner of Lombardo Construction and CEO of Peerless-Cascade Plastics
 * Pete Luckett (born 1953) – owner of Pete's Frootique and host of The Food Hunter
 * William Christopher Macdonald (1831–1917) – tobacco manufacturer, education philanthropist
 * Terry Matthews OC FREng (born 1943) – entrepreneur, chairman of Mitel and Wesley Clover
 * Louis B. Mayer (1885–1957) – co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios
 * Harrison McCain CC ONB (1927–2004) – New Brunswick potato magnate
 * Colonel Samuel McLaughlin CC CD ED (1871–1972) – Buick automobile manufacturer
 * Simon McTavish (1750–1804) – fur trader
 * Hartland Molson OC GOQ OBE (1907–2002) – Senator, President of Molson Breweries
 * John Molson (1763–1836) – founder of Molson Breweries
 * Peter Munk OC (1927–2018) – founder of Barrick Gold
 * Jim Pattison CM OBC (born 1928) – chairman, president, CEO, and owner of the Jim Pattison Group
 * Pierre Péladeau CM OQ (1925–1997) – founder of Quebecor Inc.
 * Pierre Karl Péladeau (born 1961) – President, CEO of Quebecor Inc., Québecor Média Inc. and Sun Media Corporation
 * Marie Penny (died 1970) – owner and operator of one of the largest 20th-century frozen fish companies in Newfoundland
 * John Draper Perrin (1890–1967) – entrepreneur, financier, mining executive
 * Richard Porritt OC (1901–1985) – mining industry executive
 * Jean Pouliot (1923–2004) – founder of CFCF et Télévision Quatre Saisons
 * John Redpath (1796–1869) – canal builder, sugar refinery founder
 * Paul Reichmann (1930–2013) – developer of Canary Wharf
 * Edward Samuel Rogers OC (1933–2008) – president and CEO of Rogers Communications
 * John Roth (born 1942) – former CEO of Nortel Networks
 * Lino Saputo (born 1937) – founder of Saputo
 * Isadore Sharp OC (born 1931) – founder of the Four Seasons Hotel chain
 * E. D. Smith (1858–1943) – founder of E. D. Smith & Sons Ltd
 * Levy Solomons (1730–1792) – merchant and fur trader
 * John F. Stairs (1848–1904) – entrepreneur, statesman
 * Frank Stronach CM (born 1932) – entrepreneur, founder of Magna International
 * E. P. Taylor (1901–1989) – entrepreneur, thoroughbred horse breeder
 * Nat Taylor (1906–2004) – originator of Cineplex Entertainment
 * Kenneth Thomson, Baron Thomson of Fleet (1923–2006)
 * Roy Thomson, Baron Thomson of Fleet GBE (1894–1976) – entrepreneur, publisher
 * William Cornelius Van Horne KCMG (1843–1915) – constructed the Canadian Pacific Railway
 * Jack L. Warner (1892–1978) – founder of Warner Bros. Studios
 * Galen Weston OC OOnt (1940–2021) – owner of Loblaws, Holt Renfrew, and Selfridges
 * Chip Wilson (born 1956) – founder of Lululemon Athletica
 * Walter Wolf (born 1939) – oil drilling equipment supplier and Formula 1 team owner
 * Bob Young (born 1953/1954) – self-publishing website, owner of CFL Hamilton Tiger Cats

Criminals and suspects

 * Marie-Joseph Angélique (1710–1734) – executed for setting the city of Montreal on fire
 * Johnson Aziga (born 1956) – first person to be charged with first-degree murder in Canada for spreading HIV
 * Paul Bernardo (born 1964) – serial killer, serial rapist
 * John Hamilton (1899–1934) – bank robbery, killer
 * Richard Blass (1945–1975) – multiple murderer
 * Edwin Alonzo Boyd (1914–2002) – bank robber
 * Alfonso Caruana (born 1946) – mobster
 * Paul Joseph Cini (born 1941) – Canada's first skyjacker, sentenced to life imprisonment
 * Jacques Cossette-Trudel (1947–2023) – FLQ terrorist
 * Louise Cossette-Trudel (born 1947) – FLQ terrorist
 * Vincenzo Cotroni (1911–1984) – mobster
 * Frank Cotroni (1931–2004) – mobster
 * John Martin Crawford (1962–2020) – serial killer
 * Raynald Desjardins (born 1953) – mobster
 * Evelyn Dick (born 1920) – convicted of infanticide; convicted and acquitted of having murdered her husband
 * Terry Driver (1965–2021) – murderer
 * Larry Fisher (1949–2015) – convicted of the murder for which David Milgaard (see "Wrongfully convicted", below) was originally convicted and subsequently exonerated
 * Charles Guité (born c. 1943) – fraud
 * Karla Homolka (born 1970) – serial killer
 * Bindy Johal (1971–1998) – Vancouver gangster
 * Jacques Lanctôt (born 1945) – FLQ terrorist
 * Yves Langlois (born 1947) – FLQ terrorist
 * Robert Latimer (born 1953) – convicted of second-degree murder
 * Allan Legere (born 1948) – serial killer
 * Blake Leibel (born 1981) – murderer
 * Marc Lépine (1964–1989) – mass murderer
 * Denis Lortie (born 1959) – murderer
 * Luka Rocco Magnotta (born 1982) – murderer
 * Grace Marks (c. 1828–after c. 1873) – convicted of murder in 1843
 * Bruce McArthur (born 1951) – serial killer
 * Allan McLean (1855–1881) – son of Fort Kamloops Chief Trader and leader and eldest of the group known as the Wild McLean Boys, who went on a killing spree with his brothers and accomplice Alex Hare in the British Columbia Interior in 1876
 * Paddy Mitchell (1942–2007) – bank robber, leader of The Stopwatch Gang
 * Kenneth Murdock (born 1963) – hitman
 * Clifford Olson (1940–2011) – serial child murderer
 * Johnny Papalia (1924–1997) – mobster
 * Rocco Perri (1887–c. 1944) – gangster, bootlegger
 * Robert Pickton (1949–2024) – serial murderer
 * Monica Proietti (1940–1967) – bank robber
 * Kenneth Ratte – career criminal
 * Louis Riel (1844–1885) – executed for treason
 * Lucien Rivard (c. 1915–2002) – narcotics smuggler
 * Nicolo Rizzuto (1924–2010) – mobster
 * Vito Rizzuto (1946–2013) – mobster
 * Paul Rose (1943–2013) – FLQ terrorist
 * Frank "Dunie" Ryan (1942–1984) – gangster
 * Pietro Scarcella (born 1950) – mobster
 * Jeffrey Shuman (born 1962) – bank robber
 * Francis Simard (1946–2015) – FLQ terrorist
 * Slumach (died 1891) – Katzie man convicted and hung for the murder of Louis Bee, a Kanaka (Hawaiian) half-breed
 * Cathy Smith (1947–2020) – convicted of manslaughter in death of John Belushi
 * Stanley James Tippett – kidnapper and rapist
 * Colin Thatcher (born 1938) – murderer
 * Mark Twitchell (born 1979) – murderer
 * Paolo Violi (1931–1978) – mobster
 * Paul Volpe (1927–1983) – mobster
 * Elizabeth Wettlaufer (born 1955) – serial killer
 * Russell Williams (born 1963) – former RCAF military pilot and wing commander; convicted murderer, rank and decorations revoked upon conviction
 * Gabriel Wortman (1968–2020) – mass murderer
 * Rocco Zito (1928–2016) – mobster

Wrongfully convicted or lynched

 * Robert Baltovich (born 1965) – wrongfully convicted of murder
 * Donald Marshall, Jr. (1953–2009) – wrongfully convicted of murder
 * David Milgaard (1952–2022) – wrongfully convicted of murder
 * Guy Paul Morin (born 1961) – wrongfully convicted of murder
 * Louie Sam (c. 1870–1884) – wrongfully accused of murder and hanged by lynch mob in Whatcom County, Washington
 * Steven Truscott (born 1945) – wrongfully convicted of murder

Educators

 * J. Willis Ambrose (1911–1974) – Professor at the Queen's University at Kingston
 * Richard Lee Armstrong FRSC (1937–1991) – University of British Columbia professor, geochemist
 * Martha Black – art historian, curator and author
 * Marguerite Bourgeoys (1620–1700) – founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal
 * Stephen E. Calvert FRSC (born 1935) – University of British Columbia emeritus professor, geologist, oceanographer
 * Petr Cerny (1934–2018) ScD (hc) FRSC – University of Manitoba professor, mineralogist and crystallographer
 * Henry C. Gunning ScD (hc) FRSC (1901–1991) – University of British Columbia professor, geologist
 * Aleksis Dreimanis (1914–2011) – University of Western Ontario emeritus professor, quaternary geologist
 * James E. Gill (1901–1980) – McGill University professor, geologist
 * James Edwin Hawley (1897–1965) – Professor at Queen's, geologist (Hawleyite)
 * Frank Hawthorne OC FRSC (born 1946) – University of Manitoba professor, mineralogist and crystallographer
 * Adelaide Hoodless (1858–1910) – education and women's activist
 * Michael Ignatieff (born 1947) – University of Toronto, Harvard University, University of Oxford and University of Cambridge professor, political science
 * Sue Johanson CM (born 1930) – sex educator
 * Michael John Keen (1935–1991) – Dalhousie University professor, marine geoscientist
 * Sean Kelly (born 1940) – Pratt Institute, NYC, Humanities & Media Studies, writer
 * J. Ross Mackay OC FRSC (1915–2014) – University of British Columbia professor, geologist
 * Eric W. Mountjoy FRSC (1931–2010) – McGill University professor, geologist
 * Gerard V. Middleton FRSC (1931–2021) – McMaster University professor, geologist
 * Anthony J. Naldrett FRSC (1933–2020) – University of Toronto emeritus professor, geologist
 * Santa J. Ono FCAHS (born c. 1962) – University of British Columbia 15th President & Vice-Chancellor, professor, medical scientist
 * William Richard Peltier ScD (hc) FRSC (born c. 1942) – University of Toronto professor, physicist
 * Jordan Peterson (born 1962) – Canadian clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Toronto
 * Paula Rochon – Chair in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Toronto in 2022
 * Egerton Ryerson (1803–1882) – public education advocate
 * Dora Sakayan (born 1931) – full professor, Department of German Studies, McGill University; Armenology, Contrastive Linguistics, Language Acquisition, Translation, Genocide Studies
 * Colin Simpson (born c. 1965) – George Brown College, best-selling author
 * Charles R. Stelck OC ScD (hc) FRSC (1917–2016) – University of Alberta professor, petroleum geologist, paleontologist, stratigrapher
 * David Strangway OC ScD (hc) FRSC (1934–2016) – geophysicist and university administrator
 * Thomas Symons CC OOnt (1929–2021) – founding president of Trent University, Professor of Canadian Studies
 * Claude Vivier (1948–1983) – organ pedagogue and professor at Collège Montmorency
 * Roger G. Walker FRSC – McMaster University emeritus professor
 * William Winegard PC OC (1924–2019) – educator, engineer, scientist and former Member of Parliament

Environmentalists
See Canadian environmentalists.

Fashion

 * Jeanne Beker (born 1952) – reporter
 * Sahar Biniaz (born November 17, 1985) – model
 * Dean and Dan Caten (born 1965) – designers known as Dsquared
 * Keshia Chanté (born 1988) – model and singer
 * Steven Cojocaru (born 1970) (known as Cojo) – critic and correspondent on Entertainment Tonight
 * Taryn Davidson (born 1991) – model
 * Linda Evangelista (born 1965) – model
 * Shalom Harlow (born 1973) – model and actress
 * Winnie Harlow (born 1994) – model
 * Irina Lazareanu (born 1982) – model
 * Jay Manuel (born 1972) – expert on America's Next Top Model and Canada's Next Top Model
 * Heather Marks (born 1988) – model
 * Kenneth G. Mills (1923–2004) – designer
 * Peter Nygard (born 1941) – designer
 * Lana Ogilvie (born 1968) – model
 * Coco Rocha (born 1988) – model
 * Monika Schnarre (born 1971) – model
 * Jessica Stam (born 1986) – model
 * Daria Werbowy (born 1983) – Polish-born Canadian model
 * Jason Wu (born 1982) – fashion designer, dolls artist

Humanitarians

 * Louise Arbour (born 1947) – former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda
 * J. Esmonde Barry (1923–2007) – healthcare activist and political commentator in New Brunswick
 * Norman Bethune (1890–1939) – physician and medical innovator
 * Richard Maurice Bucke FRSC (1837–1902) – psychiatrist, philosopher, early author on human development and human potentials
 * Steve Fonyo OC Rescinded 2010 (born 1966) – retraced and completed Terry Fox's cross country cancer research fundraising marathon
 * Terry Fox CC OD (1958–1981) – attempted one-legged cross country run for cancer research
 * Marc Kielburger (born 1977) – author, social entrepreneur, columnist, humanitarian and activist for children's rights; co-founder, with his brother Craig, of the We Movement
 * Grey Owl (1888–1938) (real name Archibald Stanfield Belaney) – conservationist who falsely presented himself as an Aboriginal person and worked to save the beavers of Saskatchewan and Manitoba
 * Rick Hansen CC OBC LLD (hc) DLitt (hc) (born 1957) – paraplegic athlete who completed an around-the-world marathon for spinal cord injury research
 * Stephen Lewis CC (born 1937) – AIDS activist, United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa
 * Harold A. Rogers OC OBE (1899–1994) – founder of Kin Canada
 * Jean Vanier CC GOQ (1928–2019) – activist for the mentally disabled, founder of L'Arche

Inventors

 * Scott Abbott – co-inventor of Trivial Pursuit
 * Thomas Ahearn PC(1855–1938) – invented the electric cooking range and the electric car heater
 * Anthony R. Barringer (1925–2009) – holds 70 patents for mineral exploration technology
 * Earl W. Bascom (1906–1995) – co-invented rodeo's side-delivery chute, invented reverse-opening side-delivery chute, hornless bronc saddle, one-hand bareback rigging and high-cut chaps
 * Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922) – born in Scotland, invented the telephone in Canada and developed it in the United States
 * Joseph-Armand Bombardier (1907–1964) – invented the snowmobile
 * Gerald Bull (1928–1990) – invented the G5 howitzer and the Iraqi supergun
 * Herbert Henry Dow (1866–1930) – invented a method of bromine extraction known as the Dow process
 * Mathew Evans – co-inventor of the first electric light bulb
 * Charles Fenerty (c. 1821–1892) – inventor of the wood pulp process for making paper
 * Reginald Fessenden (1866–1932) – radio inventor who made the first radio-transmitted audio transmission and the first two-way transatlantic radio transmission; also invented sonar and patented the first television system
 * Sir Sandford Fleming KCMG DSc (hc) FRSC (1827–1915) – inventor of the system of Standard Time zones
 * Wilbur R. Franks OBE (1901–1986) – invented the anti-black-out-suit (the G-suit)
 * Abraham Pineo Gesner (1797–1864) – inventor of kerosene; known as the "father of the petroleum industry"
 * James Gosling OC (born 1955) – invented Java computer language
 * Chris Haney (1950–2010) – co-inventor of Trivial Pursuit
 * Sam Jacks (1915–1975) – inventor of ringette
 * George Klein OC MBE LLD (hc) (1904–1992) – developed: electric wheelchairs, microsurgical staple gun, the ZEEP nuclear reactor, and the Canadarm
 * James L Kraft (1874–1953) – entrepreneur and inventor, founder of L. Kraft & Bros. Company, which later became Kraft Foods Inc; patented processed cheese (AKA American cheese)
 * Thomas Edvard Krogh ScD (hc) FRSC (1936–2008) – developed technique of radiometric uranium-lead dating to further the precision of geochronology
 * Hugh Le Caine (1914–1977) – invented the music synthesizer in 1945
 * Cluny MacPherson (1879–1966) – invented the first general-issue gas mask used by the British Army in World War I
 * Wilson Markle (born 1938) – invented film colorization process in 1983
 * Elijah McCoy (1844–1929) – developed automatic machinery lubricator, lawn sprinkler, the "Real McCoy"
 * James Naismith (1861–1939) – invented basketball
 * P. L. Robertson (1879–1951) – invented the Robertson screw
 * Henry Ruttan (1792–1871) – invented air-conditioned railway coach
 * Thomas F. Ryan (1872–1971) – invented five-pin bowling
 * Arthur Sicard (1876–1946) – invented the snowblower in 1925
 * Simon Sunatori (born 1959) – engineer, inventor and entrepreneur; created the MagneScribe and the Magic Spicer
 * Lewis Urry (1927–2004) – invented the long-lasting alkaline battery
 * Harry Wasylyk (1925–2013) – invented the disposable green polyethylene garbage bag in 1950
 * Thomas Willson (1860–1915) – invented arc lamps and process for creating calcium carbide
 * Henry Woodward – co-inventor of the first electric light bulb

Law

 * Alfred Scow (1927–2013) – First Nations judge
 * Catherine Latimer – lawyer and criminologist

Media

 * Samantha Bee (born 1969) – host of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
 * Stephen Brunt (born 1959) – lead sports columnist for The Globe and Mail since 1989
 * Stevie Cameron (born 1943) – journalist, author
 * Richard Gizbert (born 1960) – cable network journalist of Al Jazeera English
 * Gordon Donaldson (1926–2001) – amateur historian, journalist
 * Barbara Frum OC LLD (hc) (1937–1992) – CBC radio and television journalist
 * Jian Ghomeshi (born 1967) – former musician and radio broadcaster
 * Ken Hechtman (born 1967) – maverick journalist jailed by Afghanistan's Taliban government as a suspected United States spy in 2001
 * Kenny Hotz (born 1967) – only registered Canadian journalist to cover the Gulf War
 * Mark Irwin CSC/ASC (born 1950) – Hollywood Director of Photography
 * Peter Jennings CM (1938–2005) – ABC news anchor
 * Jason Jones (born 1967) – senior correspondent for The Daily Show
 * Pat Kiernan (born 1968) – morning anchor of NY1 since 1997
 * Michael Kesterton (1946–2018) – The Globe and Mail columnist
 * Lisa LaFlamme (born 1964) – journalist, occasional chief anchor, and senior editor for CTV National News
 * L. Ian MacDonald (born 1947) – author, columnist, broadcaster, and diplomat
 * Neil Macdonald (born 1957) – CBC reporter
 * Robert MacNeil (1931–2024) – journalist, author, longtime co-anchor of The MacNeil/Lehrer Report on PBS
 * Peter Mansbridge OC LLD (hc) (born 1948) – news anchor of CBC's The National
 * Rick Mercer OC (born 1969) – comedian, TV personality, political satirist and author
 * Mosha Michael (c. 1948–2009) – Canada's first Inuk filmmaker
 * Cory Morgan (born 1971) – blogger, Alberta independence politician and activist, and columnist
 * Margaret Lally "Ma" Murray (1888–1982) – editor and co-publisher of the Bridge River-Lillooet News
 * Peter C. Newman CC CD LLD (hc) (born 1929) – eminent journalist and writer
 * Sydney Newman OC (1917–1997) – supervisor of drama at the CBC, head of drama at the BBC, creator of the Doctor Who television series, chairman of the NFB
 * David Oancia (1929–1995) – journalist
 * Steve Paikin (born 1960) – journalist, film producer and author, best known for hosting TVOntario's Studio 2
 * Pete Parker (1895–1991) – made the first ever broadcast of a professional hockey game
 * Sandie Rinaldo (born 1950) – journalist and occasional news anchor for CTV National News
 * John Roberts (born 1956) – Fox News Channel reporter, previously a CNN reporter and host of The New Music on MuchMusic
 * Lloyd Robertson OC LLD (hc) (born 1934) – senior editor and former longtime anchor for CTV National News
 * Morley Safer (1931–2016) – investigative journalist for CBS News and 60 Minutes
 * Linus Sebastian (born 1986) – owner and founder of Linus Media Group
 * Shane Smith (born 1969) – founder of Vice
 * George Stroumboulopoulos (born 1972) – television journalist
 * Scott Taylor (born 1960) – publisher, Esprit de Corps Magazine
 * Peter Trueman OC (1934–2021) – original newsman on Global TV
 * Robyn Urback (born 1988) – journalist and political commentator
 * Jan Wong (born 1952) – journalist

Medical

 * Evan Adams (born 1966) – First Nations medical doctor, medical advisor, Deputy Provincial Health Advisor (BC), and actor
 * Maria Louisa Angwin (1849–1898) – first woman licensed to practice medicine in Nova Scotia
 * Elizabeth Bagshaw CM (1881–1982) – physician and birth control activist
 * Frederick Banting KBE MC LLD (hc) ScD (hc) FRSC (1891–1941) – Nobel laureate, co-discoverer of insulin
 * John Cameron Bell (born 1953) – pioneer of oncolytic virus therapies for cancer
 * Norman Bethune (1890–1939) – surgeon, inventor, socialist, battlefield doctor in Spain and China
 * Wilfred Bigelow OC LLD (hc) FRSC (1913–2005) – inventor of the first artificial pacemaker
 * Yvette Bonny (born 1938) – pediatrician
 * Basil Boulton (1938–2008) – pediatrician and child health advocate
 * John Callaghan OC AOE (1923–2004) – pioneer of open-heart surgery
 * John Dick FRSC (born 1954) – credited with discovery of cancer stem cell
 * Tommy Douglas PC CC SOM LLD (hc) (1904–1986) – introduced publicly funded health care in Canada; commonly known as the "father of Medicare"
 * Carl Goresky OC (1932–1996) – physician and scientist
 * David H. Hubel (1926–2013) – Nobel Prize winner in medicine for mapping the visual cortex
 * Harold E. Johns OC (1915–1998) – medical physicist, noted for his extensive contributions to the use of ionizing radiation to treat cancer
 * Doreen Kimura (1933–2013) – behavioural psychologist, world expert on sex differences in the brain
 * William Harding le Riche (1916–2010) – epidemiologist
 * Jeanne Mance (1606–1673) – established the first hospital in North America – the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal – in 1644
 * Ernest McCulloch CM OOnt FRSC FRS (1926–2011) – cellular biologist credited with the discovery of stem cell with James Till
 * Frances Gertrude McGill (1882–1959) – pioneering forensic pathologist and criminologist
 * Henry Morgentaler CM LLD (hc) (1923–2013) – abortion care provider who helped legalize abortion in Canada and strengthen the power of jury nullification
 * William Osler Bt (1849–1919) – physician, called the "father of modern medicine"; wrote Principles and Practice of Medicine
 * Daniel David Palmer (1845–1913) – founded the chiropractic profession
 * Edgar Randolph Parker (1871–1951) (known as "Painless" Parker) – flamboyant dentist
 * Wilder Penfield OM CC CMG FRS (1891–1976) – neurosurgeon, discovered electrical stimulation of the brain
 * Jack Pickup (1919–1996) – general practitioner and surgeon, also known as the "Flying Doctor of British Columbia"
 * David Sackett CC FRSC (1934–2015) – founded the first department of clinical epidemiology in Canada at McMaster University
 * Mary Elizabeth MacCallum Scott (1865–1941) – physician and missionary in Ceylon
 * Sydney Segal (1920–1997) – pediatrician and neonatologist particularly known for his work with sudden infant death syndrome
 * James Till OC OOnt FRSC FRS (born 1931) – biophysicist, credited for the discovery of stem cell with Ernest McCulloch
 * A. Ross Tilley (1904–1988) MD FRCS(C) OBE OC – plastic surgeon
 * Irene Ayako Uchida OC (1917–2013) – cytogenticist, Down Syndrome researcher

Military figures

 * General Maurice Baril OMM CD (born 1943) – military advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General, head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations, and Chief of the Defence Staff
 * Gustave Biéler DSO MBE (1904–1944) – Special Operations Executive agent, executed by the Nazis
 * Louis-Nicolas-Emmanuel de Bigault d'Aubreville – head of the nightwatch in Montreal
 * Air Commodore Leonard Birchall CM OBE DFC OOnt CD DMSc (hc) LLD (hc) (1915–2004) – war hero
 * Air Marshall Billy Bishop VC CB DSO* MC DFC ED (1894–1956) (commonly known as Billy Bishop) –World War I flying ace
 * Brigadier-General Jean Boyle CMM CD (born 1947) – fighter pilot, and businessman
 * Major General Sir Isaac Brock KB (1769–1812) – War of 1812 general
 * Captain Roy Brown DSC* RNAS (1893–1944) – World War I fighter pilot officially credited with shooting down the Red Baron
 * Colonel Lawrence Moore Cosgrave DSO* (1890–1971) – Canadian signatory to the Japanese Instrument of Surrender
 * General Harry Crerar CH CB DSO CD PC (1888–1965) – "leading field commander" in World War II
 * Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie KCB GCMG (1875–1933) – first Canadian commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force
 * Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire OC CMM GOQ MSC CD LLD (hc) ScDHum (hc) DHL (hc) (born 1946) – UN peacekeeping General, attempted to prevent the Rwandan genocide
 * Guy D'Artois DSO GM (1917–1999) – SOE agent, recipient of the Croix de Guerre
 * General John de Chastelain CH OC CMM CD LLD (hc) ScDMil (hc) FLMH (born 1937) – head of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning
 * Peter Dmytruk (1920–1943) – WWII Flight Sergeant and member of the French Resistance
 * Brigadier-General Dury, Charles PC OC QC CBE DSO (1912–1991) – soldier, businessman, and politician
 * John Weir Foote VC CD (1904–1988) – military chaplain, Ontario cabinet minister, and recipient of the Victoria Cross
 * Captain Nichola Goddard MSM (1980–2006) – first female Canadian soldier killed in combat
 * William Hall VC (1827–1904) – first Nova Scotian recipient of the Victoria Cross
 * John Kenneth Macalister (1914–1944) – SOE agent, executed by the Nazis
 * Vice-Admiral Bruce MacLean CMM, CD – Chief of the Maritime Staff 2004–2006
 * Captain Simon Mailloux (born 1983) – first Canadian soldier with an amputation to deploy on a combat mission; recipient of the Sacrifice Medal
 * Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae (1872–1918) – soldier, poet, author of In Flanders' Fields
 * Alan Arnett McLeod VC (1899–1918) – fighter pilot, youngest Canadian-born winner of the Victoria Cross
 * General Andrew McNaughton CH CB CMG DSO CD PC (1887–1966) – Co-Minister of Defence during World War II
 * Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Meighen (1905–1979) – lawyer and philanthropist
 * Lieutenant Colonel Charles Merritt VC (1908–2000) – recipient of the Victoria Cross
 * Major General Sydney Chilton Mewburn PC (1863–1956) – lawyer and politician, Minister of Militia and Defence
 * Minnie "Jerri" Mumford (1909–2002) – serving member of the Canadian Women's Army Corps (CWAC) during World War II
 * Rear Admiral Leonard W. Murray (1896–1971) – Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Northwest Atlantic during World War II
 * Henry Norwest MM & Bar (1884–1918) – sniper in World War I
 * Lieutenant-Colonel George Pearkes VC PC CC CB DSO MC CD (1888–1984) – recipient of the Victoria Cross, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
 * Francis Pegahmagabow MM** (1891–1952) – the most highly decorated aboriginal Canadian soldier of World War I
 * Frank Pickersgill (1915–1944) – SOE agent, executed by the Nazis
 * Rear Admiral Desmond Piers CM DSC CD ScDMil (hc) (1913–2005) – war hero
 * George Lawrence Price (1898–1918) – last soldier killed in World War I
 * Tommy Prince MM (1915–1977) – one of Canada's most decorated soldiers, member of the Devil's Brigade
 * James Ralston PC (1881–1948) – Co-Minister of Defence during World War II
 * Thomas Ricketts VC (1901–1967) – recipient of the Victoria Cross (Newfoundlander at the time of his award)
 * Harold A. Rogers OC OBE (1889–1994) – founder of Kin Canada
 * Roméo Sabourin (1923–1944) – SOE agent, executed by the Nazis
 * General Guy Simonds CC CB CBE DSO CD (1903–1974) – commander of the II Canadian Corps
 * Ernest Smith (1914–2005) – VC, CM, OBC, CD, Seaforth Highlander Private/ Sergeant, the last living Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, awarded for gallantry in actions at the River Savio, Northern Italy 1944
 * Sam Steele CB KCMG MVO (1851–1919) – member of the North-West Mounted Police, commander of Yukon detachment
 * William Stephenson CC MC DFC (1897–1989) (codename: Intrepid) – senior representative of British intelligence for the Western Hemisphere in World War II
 * Lieutenant-General Kenneth Stuart CB DSO MC (1891–1945) – Chief of the General Staff 1941–1943, educator
 * Tecumseh (1768–1813) – Leader of First Nations British Allies, War of 1812, died defeating American invasion
 * Rear Admiral Robert Timbrell CMM DSC CD (1920–2006) – first Canadian to be decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross
 * General Christopher Vokes CB CBE DSO CD (1904–1985) – General Officer commanding the Canadian Army Occupation Force in Europe
 * Brigadier Sir Edward Oliver Wheeler (1890–1962) – Corps of Royal Engineers surveyor
 * General Ramsey Muir Withers CMM CD LLD (hc) (1930–2014) – Chief of the Defense Staff
 * Sir James Lucas Yeo (1782–1818) – commander of Royal Navy forces in Canada during the War of 1812

Monarchs and Canadian Royal Family
Main articles:
 * List of Canadian monarchs
 * Canadian Royal Family

Magicians

 * Shawn Farquhar (born 1962) – magician, winner of the Grand Prix Close Up at the 2009 FISM World Championship of Magic
 * Doug Henning (1947–2000) – credited with reviving the magic show in North America
 * Leon Mandrake (1911–1993) – Mandrake the Great; and his sons Lon and Ron, born in 1948 and 1949, respectively
 * James Randi (1928–2020) – magician, writer, skeptical investigator of paranormal and pseudo-scientific claims, founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation
 * Dai Vernon (1894–1992) – magician, known as "the man who fooled Houdini"

Politicians

 * Lloyd Axworthy PC OC OM (born 1939) – former Cabinet minister
 * Thomas Bain (1834–1915) – former Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
 * Robert Baldwin (1804–1858)
 * Maude Barlow LLD (hc) DHL (hc) (born 1947) – activist, Chairperson of the Council of Canadians
 * Perrin Beatty PC (born 1950) – former cabinet minister, president of CBC
 * Monique Bégin PC OC ScD (hc) FRSC (born 1936) – former cabinet minister
 * Thomas R. Berger OC OBC (1933–2021) – jurist
 * Ethel Blondin-Andrew PC (born 1951) – former Cabinet minister
 * Henri Bourassa (1868–1952) – Quebec politician
 * Pierre Bourgault (1934–2003) – President of Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale
 * Ed Broadbent PC CC (1936–2024) – former New Democratic Party leader
 * George Brown (1818–1880)
 * Rosemary Brown PC CC OBC LLD (hc) (1930–2003)
 * Tim Buck (1891–1973) – leader of the Canadian Communist Party
 * George-Étienne Cartier Bt KSMG PC (1814–1873) – Cabinet minister
 * Brock Chisholm CC MC* LLD (hc) (1896–1971) – first Director-General of the World Health Organization
 * Joe Clark (born 1939) – 16th Prime Minister of Canada, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada 1976–1983, and again 1998–2003
 * Sheila Copps PC (born 1952)
 * Victor Copps (1919–1988) – Mayor of Hamilton
 * John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, Earl of Durham GCB PC (1792–1840)
 * Ellen Fairclough PC CC OOnt (1905–2004) – first female member of the Canadian Cabinet
 * The Famous Five – 1920s women's rights activists
 * Janice Filmon (born 1943) – Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba since 2015
 * Iqwinder Singh Gaheer (born 1993) – member of Parliament for the riding of Mississauga—Malton
 * Jennifer Granholm (born 1959) – first female governor of Michigan
 * Gurmant Grewal (born 1957) – the "Ironman of Canadian Parliament"
 * Nina Grewal (born 1958) – first South Asian and Sikh woman elected to Parliament; with her husband Gurmant, the Grewals are the first married couple to concurrently serve in Canadian Parliament
 * Elijah Harper (1949–2013) – Cree chief (Red Sucker Lake Nation), MLA Manitoba, successfully blocked the Meech Lake Accord (proposed Constitutional amendment)
 * C. D. Howe PC (1886–1960) – Cabinet minister
 * Joseph Howe PC (1804–1873) – "father of Confederation"
 * Michael Kerzner – Solicitor General of Ontario
 * Stan Keyes PC (born 1953)
 * Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bt (1807–1864) – co-premier of the United Province of Canada
 * Franklin K. Lane (1864–1921) – 1910s United States Secretary of the Interior (1913–1920)
 * Jack Layton PC (1950–2011) – leader of the New Democratic Party
 * William Lyon Mackenzie (1795–1861) – Mayor of Toronto
 * Allan MacNab Bt (1798–1862) – Prime Minister of Upper Canada
 * Thomas D'Arcy McGee PC (1825–1868)
 * Agnes Macphail (1890–1954) – first female Member of Parliament (MP)
 * Beverley McLachlin PC LLD (hc) (born 1943) – Chief Justice of Canada
 * James McMillan (1838–1902) – US Senator from Michigan
 * Cory Morgan (born 1971) – Alberta independence politician
 * John Munro PC (1931–2003)
 * Papineau (1786–1871) – reformer and 1837 rebellion leader
 * Allan Studholme (1846–1919)
 * Nathan Eldon Tanner (1898–1982)

Provincial premiers

 * Main articles:

 * List of premiers of Alberta
 * List of premiers of British Columbia
 * List of premiers of Manitoba
 * List of premiers of New Brunswick
 * List of premiers of Newfoundland and Labrador
 * List of premiers of Nova Scotia
 * List of premiers of Ontario
 * List of premiers of Prince Edward Island
 * List of premiers of Quebec
 * List of premiers of Saskatchewan

Territorial premiers

 * Main articles:

 * List of premiers of the Northwest Territories
 * List of premiers of Nunavut
 * List of premiers of Yukon

Indigenous leaders

 * Shawn Atleo (born 1967)
 * William Beynon (1888–1958)
 * Big Bear (1825–1888) – Cree leader
 * Joseph Brant (1742–1807) – Mohawk leader
 * Mary Brant (1736–1796) – leader of Six Nations women's federation
 * Frank Calder (1877–1943) – Nisga'a
 * Joe Capilano (c. 1854–1910) – Squamish
 * Rose Charlie (1930–2018)
 * Arthur Wellington Clah (1831–1916)
 * Heber Clifton (1871–1964)
 * Cumshewa – 18th-century Haida chief at the inlet now bearing his name
 * Harley Desjarlais
 * Alfred Dudoward (ca. 1850–1914)
 * Dan George (1899–1981) – Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard)
 * Joseph Gosnell (1936–2020) – Nisga'a
 * Simon Gunanoot (1874–1933) – Gitxsan
 * Guujaaw (born 1953) – modern-day Haida leader
 * Elijah Harper (1949–2013) – Cree
 * Chief Hunter Jack (died 1905) – St'at'imc
 * Mary John, Sr. (1913–2004)
 * August Jack Khatsahlano (1877–1971) – Squamish
 * Klattasine (died 1864) – Tsilhqot'in war chief, surrendered on terms of amnesty in times of war, hanged for murder
 * Koyah (fl. 1787–1795) – 18th-century chief of the Haida
 * George Manuel (1921–1989)
 * Maquinna – 18th-century Nuu-chah-nulth chief (Yuquot/Mowachaht)
 * Harriet Nahanee (1935–2007) – Squamish and Nuu-chah-nulth (Pacheedaht)
 * Nicola (1780/1785–c. 1865) – Grand chief of the Okanagan people, and jointly chief of the Nlaka'pamux-Okanagan-Nicola Athapaskan alliance in the Nicola Valley and of the Kamloops group of the Secwepemc
 * Andy Paull (1892–1959) – Squamish
 * Stewart Phillip
 * Chief Poundmaker (c. 1842–1886) – Cree chief
 * Piapot (c. 1816–1908) – Cree chief
 * Steven Point (born 1951) – modern Sto:lo leader, current Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia
 * Louis Riel (1844–1885) – leader of two Métis rebellions before being hung for treason
 * James Sewid (1913–1988) – Kwakwaka'wakw
 * Tecumseh (1768–1813) – Shawnee leader
 * Alec Thomas (1894–?)
 * Wickanninish – 19th-century Nuu-chah-nulth chief (Opitsaht/Tla-o-qui-aht)
 * Walter Wright (died 1949)

Martyrs

 * St. Marguerite Bourgeoys (1620–1700) – first Canadian saint
 * St. Noël Chabanel (1613–1649) – Jesuit missionary
 * St. Anthony Daniel (1601–1648) – Jesuit missionary
 * St. Jean de Brébeuf (1539–1649) – Jesuit missionary
 * St. Jean de Lalande (died 1646) – Jesuit missionary
 * St. Saint Charles Garnier (1606–1649) – Jesuit missionary
 * St. René Goupil (1608–1642) – first North American martyr of the Roman Catholic Church
 * St. Isaacs Jogues (1607–1646) – Jesuit missionary
 * St. Gabriel Lallemant (1610–1649) – Jesuit missionary

Religious community leaders

 * Alexis André (1832–1893) – Catholic missionary priest, spiritual advisor to Louis Riel
 * Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic (1930–2011) – Archbishop Emeritus of Toronto
 * André Besette (1845–1937) – Holy Cross Brother known as the "Miracle Man of Montreal"
 * Linda Bond (born 1946) – General of The Salvation Army, 2011–2013
 * Arnold Brown (1913–2002) – General of The Salvation Army, 1977–81
 * Hugh B. Brown (1883–1975) – Latter-day Saint apostle
 * Ranj Dhaliwal (born 1976) – Sikh, writer, activist and co-founder of the Sikh Youth orthodox political party in Surrey, British Columbia
 * Lionel Groulx (1878–1967) – Roman Catholic priest, historian, nationalist, and traditionalist
 * Albert Lacombe (1827–1916) – Roman Catholic missionary
 * John G. Lake (1870–1935) – leader of the Pentecostal Movement, born in St. Marys, Ontario
 * Cardinal Paul-Émile Léger (1904–1991) – Catholic clergyman and humanitarian
 * Merlin Lybbert (1926–2001) – general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 * David Mainse (1936–2017) – broadcaster, founder of 100 Huntley Street and CITS-TV
 * Aimee Semple McPherson (1890–1944) – founder of the Foursquare Church
 * William D. Morrow – General Superintendent of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada
 * Bishop Michael Power (1804–1847) – Roman Catholic Bishop of Toronto
 * Alexandre-Antonin Taché (1823–1894) – Roman Catholic priest, missionary of the Oblate order
 * Nathan Eldon Tanner (1898–1982) – Latter-day Saint apostle
 * John Taylor (1808–1887) – president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 * Kateri Tekakwitha (1656–1680) – "The Lily of the Mohawks", first Native American canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church
 * Rúhíyyih Khanum (1910–2000) – wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Baháʼí Faith until 1957; she was appointed as a Hand of the Cause; in 2004, CBC viewers voted her number 44 on the list of "greatest Canadians" on the television show The Greatest Canadian
 * Bramwell Tillsley (1931–2019) – General of The Salvation Army, 1993–94
 * Clarence Wiseman (1907–1985) – General of The Salvation Army, 1974–77

Religious cult figures

 * Roch Thériault (1947–2011) – cult leader
 * Brother XII (1878–1934) – cult leader

Scholars

 * Louise Arbour (born 1947) – jurist
 * Marc van Audenrode (born 1961) – economist
 * Pratima Bansal – economist
 * Timothy Brook (born 1951) – professor, historian and writer
 * Joseph-Alphonse-Paul Cadotte (1897–1979) – professor, author
 * Jack Chambers (born 1938) – linguist
 * Thomas H. Clark (1893–1996) – McGill geology professor, namesake of Thomasclarkite
 * Gerald Cohen (1941–2009) – Oxford Philosopher
 * Northrop Frye (1912–1991) – influential critic, Shakespeare and Blake scholar
 * John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) – economist
 * George Grant (1918–1988) – philosopher
 * John Peters Humphrey (1905–1995) – legal scholar, principal drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
 * Harold Innis (1894–1952) – political economist; author of seminal works on Canadian economic history, media and communications
 * Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980) – communications theorist, coined phrases "the medium is the message" and "global village"
 * Steven Pinker (born 1954) – psychologist, cognitive scientist, writer of popular science
 * John Ralston Saul (born 1947) – businessman, essayist, diplomat
 * F. R. Scott (1899–1985) – law professor, philosopher, poet
 * Guy Sylvestre (1918–2010) – literary critic
 * David Sztybel (born 1967) – philosopher
 * Charles Taylor (born 1931) – philosopher
 * William R. White (born 1943) – economist
 * Marc Zender – Mayanist

Scientists

 * Robert Campbell Aitken (born 1963) – electrical engineer
 * Judie Alimonti (1960–2017) – immunologist
 * Sidney Altman (1939–2022) – molecular biologist, winner of Nobel Prize in chemistry
 * Brenda Andrews (born 1957) – academic, researcher and biologist specializing in systems biology and molecular genetics.
 * Albert Bandura (1925–2021) – psychologist
 * Neil Banerjee – earth scientist
 * Karen Bailey – plant pathologist
 * Karen Beauchemin (born 1956) – livestock ruminant nutrition
 * Robert Bell FRSC (1841–1917) – geologist
 * Walter A. Bell (1889–1969) – geologist, paleontologist
 * Manjul Bhargava (born 1974) – mathematician and Fields medallist
 * Selwyn G. Blaylock ScD (hc) (1879–1945) – chemist and mining executive
 * Stewart Blusson OC (born 1939) – geologist, diamond prospector, multimillionaire and philanthropist
 * Adolfo J. de Bold (born 1942) – biomedical scientist, discoverer of hormone secreted by heart muscle cells
 * Willard Boyle (1924–2011) – inventor of the charge coupled device, winner of nobel prize in physics
 * Bertram Brockhouse CC FRSC (1918–2003) – designer of the Triple-Axis Neutron Spectrometer, winner of Nobel Prize for Physics
 * Georges Brossard CM CQ ScD (hc) (1940–2019) – entomologist, television personality and founder of the Montreal Insectarium
 * Moira Brown – North Atlantic Right Whale researcher and conservationist
 * Vernon Burrows (1930–2020) – oat breeder
 * John J. Clague FRSC (born 1946) – authority in quaternary and environmental earth sciences
 * Kate Crooks (1833–1871) – botanist
 * Claire Cupples – microbiologist
 * Philip J. Currie (born 1949) – palaeontologist
 * John William Dawson CMG FRS FRSC (1820–1899) – first Canadian-born scientist of worldwide reputation
 * Duncan R. Derry LLD (hc) (1906–1987) – economic geologist
 * Raymond Desjardins – agrometeorologist
 * Donald B. Dingwell – earth scientist
 * Martine Dorais – plant physiologist, organic horticulture
 * Robert John Wilson Douglas FRSC (1920–1979) – petroleum geologist
 * Eugenia Duodu – chemist
 * Lorne Elias – chemist, inventor of the explosives vapour detector EVD-1
 * John Charles Fields FRS FRSC (1863–1932) – mathematician and founder of the Fields Medal
 * J. Keith Fraser (born 1922) – geographer
 * Hu Gabrielse (born 1926) – geologist with the Geological Survey of Canada
 * William Giauque (1895–1982) – Nobel Prize winner in chemistry
 * Anne-Claude Gingras – molecular geneticist
 * Cynthia Grant – soil fertility and crop nutrition specialist
 * Donald O. Hebb FRS (1904–1985) – neuroscientist, published his theory of Hebbian learning
 * Gerhard Herzberg PC CC ScD (hc) LLD (hc) FRSC FRS (1904–1999) – Nobel Prize winner in chemistry for molecular spectroscopy
 * James Hillier OC (1915–2007) – inventor of the electron microscope
 * Vanessa M. Hirsch – veterinary pathologist and virologist
 * Paul F. Hoffman OC FRSC (born 1941) – geologist noted for research into Snowball Earth events
 * Edward A. Irving CM ScD (hc) FRSC FRS (1927–2014) – provided the first physical evidence of continental drift
 * Charles Legge (1829–1881) – civil engineer
 * Victor Ling CC (born 1944) – medicine, drug resistance in cancer
 * Sir William Edmond Logan FRS (1798–1875) – founded the Geological Survey of Canada
 * Mary MacArthur – botanist, cytologist, horticulturalist
 * John Macoun (1831–1920) – botanist
 * Tak Wah Mak (born 1946) – immunologist who discovered the T-cell receptor
 * Claude Hillaire-Marcel FRSC (born 1943) – world leader in quaternary research
 * Rudolph A. Marcus (born 1923) – Nobel Prize in chemistry recipient for electron transfer reactions
 * Jerrold E. Marsden (1942–2010) – applied mathematician, founder of the Fields Institute
 * Ernest McCulloch CC FRSC FRS (1926–2011) – cellular biologist who, with James Till, demonstrated the existence of stem cells
 * Maud Menten (1879–1960) – medical scientist, made groundbreaking work in enzyme kinetics
 * Robert Mundell (1932–2021) – economist and Nobel laureate
 * John Charles Polanyi PC CC FRSC FRS (born 1929) – Nobel Prize in chemistry recipient for infrared chemiluminescence
 * Isabella Preston (1881–1965) – ornamental horticulturalist
 * Raymond A. Price OC ScD (hc) FRSC (born 1933) – geologist
 * Hubert Reeves CC OQ (born 1932) – astrophysicist and science popularizer
 * Soon Jai Park (1937–2018) – dry bean breeder
 * Elizabeth Pattey – agricultural micrometeorologist
 * Henry de Puyjalon (1841–1905) – biologist and ecologist
 * Carmelle Robert (born 1962) – astrophysicist
 * Laurie Rousseau-Nepton – astrophysicist, first indigenous woman in Quebec to obtain a PhD in astrophysics
 * Donald F. Sangster LLD (hc) ScD (hc) FRSC – geologist
 * Charles E. Saunders (1867–1937) – agronomist
 * Arthur Schawlow (1921–1999) – Nobel Prize winner in physics (for lasers)
 * David Schindler OC (1940–2021) – limnologist
 * Myron Scholes (born 1941) – Nobel Prize winner in economics
 * Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein – animal ethologist
 * Hans Selye CC (1907–1982) – pioneering stress researcher
 * Michael Smith CC OBE (1932–2000) – Nobel Prize winner in chemistry for site-based mutagenesis
 * Ralph M. Steinman (1943–2011) – Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive immunity
 * Peter A Stewart (1921–1993) – physiologist, quantitative acid-base physiology
 * Donna Strickland (born 1959) – Nobel Prize winner in Physics, optical physicist and pioneer in the field of pulsed lasers
 * Richard Summerbell (born 1956) – mycologist
 * David Suzuki CC OBC LLD (hc) ScD (hc) ScDEnv (hc) ScDComm (hc) DHL (hc) (born 1936) – geneticist and science popularizer
 * Felicitas Svejda (1920–2016) – horticulturalist
 * Henry Taube FRSC (1915–2005) – Nobel Prize in chemistry for electron transfer reactions
 * Richard Taylor CC FRSC FRS (1929–2018) – Nobel Prize in physics recipient for verifying the quark theory
 * James Till CC FRS (born 1931) – biophysicist who, with Ernest McCulloch, demonstrated the existence of stem cells
 * Joseph Tyrrell (1858–1957) – geologist, cartographer, discoverer of dinosaur bones in Alberta
 * William Vickrey (1914–1996) – Nobel Prize winner in economics
 * Harold Williams FRSC (1934–2010) – geologist, expert on the Appalachian Mountains
 * John Tuzo Wilson CC OBE ScD (hc) FRSC FRS FRSE (1908–1993) – geophysicist, expert in plate tectonics

Viceroys

 * List of governors general of Canada
 * List of lieutenant governors of Alberta
 * List of lieutenant governors of British Columbia
 * List of lieutenant governors of Manitoba
 * List of lieutenant governors of New Brunswick
 * List of lieutenant governors of Newfoundland and Labrador
 * List of lieutenant governors of Nova Scotia
 * List of lieutenant governors of Ontario
 * List of lieutenant governors of Prince Edward Island
 * List of lieutenant governors of Quebec
 * List of lieutenant governors of Saskatchewan

Other personalities

 * Alexandre Trudeau (born 1973) – author, filmmaker and journalist
 * Janis Babson (1950–1961) – organ donor, subject of two books
 * Antonio Barichievich (1925–2003) (known as The Great Antonio) – strongman, showman, and eccentric
 * Grant Bristow (born 1958) – CSIS undercover agent who started the Heritage Front, planted as political operative within Reform Party
 * René Lepage de Sainte-Claire (1656–1718) – lord-founder of Rimouski, Quebec
 * Donnelly family (known as the Black Donnellys) – participants and/or victims of a vicious community feud
 * Josiah Henson (1789–1883) – former slave, believed to be the inspiration for Uncle Tom's Cabin
 * Trevor James (born 1988) – YouTuber
 * Harold Kandel (1906–1995) – legendary theatregoer from Toronto, Ontario known for speaking out during theatre events, now commemorated through the Harold Awards
 * Marc Karam (born 1980) – professional poker player
 * Anna Ruth Lang CV – recipient of the Cross of Valour
 * Sunny Leone (born 1981) – Canadian and Indian pornographic actress; Bollywood actress
 * Bat Masterson (1853–1921) – gunfighter, fight promoter, sports journalist
 * Charles Vance Millar (1853–1926) – lawyer, financier, and posthumous practical joker
 * Sorel Mizzi (born 1986) – professional poker player
 * John Wilson Murray (1840–1906) – Canada's first major detective
 * Daniel Negreanu (born 1974) – professional poker player
 * Minnie Patterson (died 1911) – heroine noted for her daring rescue of men from the barkentine (barque) Coloma during a severe storm in 1906
 * Sue Rodriguez (1950–1994) – amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) sufferer and right to die advocate
 * Alexander Milton Ross (1832–1897) (known as The Birdman) – pre-American Civil War abolitionist and participant in the Underground Railroad
 * Craig Russell (1948–1990) – female impersonator and actor
 * Laura Secord (1775–1868) – heroine of the War of 1812, warned the British of a surprise American attack at Battle of Beaver Dams
 * Chris Sky (born 1983) – conspiracy theorist
 * Joshua Slocum (1844–1909) – first man to sail around the world solo
 * Margaret Trudeau (born 1948) – widow; former wife of Pierre Elliott Trudeau

Fictional Characters

 * Amuro Ray – main character in the mecha anime Mobile Suit Gundam and varying roles in subsequent sequels
 * Ike Broflovski – character on South Park
 * Tom Evans (known as Captain Canuck) – cartoon character
 * Benton Fraser – Mountie on the 90s television show Due South
 * James Howlett (aka "Logan", aka "Wolverine") – member of the X-Men
 * Justin Jones from Justin Time
 * Rodney McKay – character on Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis
 * Bob and Doug McKenzie – characters on SCTV
 * Darren Oak (known as Captain Canuck) – cartoon character
 * Trevor Philips – one of the three protagonists of Grand Theft Auto V
 * Scott Pilgrim – from the graphic novel series of the same name
 * Sergeant William Preston – heroic Mountie of radio and TV series from the 1950s
 * Peter Puck – Hockey Night in Canada symbol from the 1970s
 * Robin Scherbatsky – supporting character on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother
 * Dave Semple (known as Captain Canuck) – cartoon character
 * Anne Shirley – known as Anne of Green Gables
 * Terrance and Phillip – characters on South Park
 * Wade Wilson (aka "Deadpool") – comic book anti-hero

Other

 * National
 * Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
 * List of companions of the Order of Canada
 * List of inductees of Canada's Walk of Fame
 * The Greatest Canadian

 * Groupings and articles of relevance

 * Aboriginal Canadian personalities
 * Asian Canadians
 * Black Canadians
 * European Canadians
 * List of First Nations people
 * List of Canadian Jews
 * List of Canadians by net worth

 * Lists by city
 * List of people from Canada by city

 * Lists by province/territory

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Lists of Canadians