10 people from Canadian history you should know

1. 

   @Freetaxman

   September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

   I learned about most of the people on this list today.

2. 

   @omnisel

   September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

   8:30 hmm

3. 

   @bumperman1

   September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

   I sometimes listen to JJ because he offers interesting opinions. One theme that always stands out is how, as a Canadian, he works hard to downplay the tendency among Canadians to be “anti-American.” For a while, I found that perspective persuasive and thought he had a point. But in recent years, as events have unfolded, it seems he hasn’t adjusted his view even as those developments have undermined that position. I’ve come to think that a certain “anti-American” mindset may actually be critical to Canada’s survival as an independent country. To me, JJ now comes across as portraying Canada as an unserious place that might as well just join the United States.

4. 

   @popezosimusthethird269

   September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

   This imposter is Jojo MacCullot, not our JJ.
   You can tell because he referenced an older video and did NOT mention it won awards.
   The real JJ has been abducted by the European Union.

5. 

   @SailorAirman

   September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

   Someone who probably should be on the list is General Arthur Currie

6. 

   @brettb.1574

   September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

   As an outsider, I feel like I get closest to understanding the Canadian soul from listening to Stan Rogers. He'd have my vote.

7. 

   @916009

   September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

   I don't recall learning any of this stuff 😕I do recall seeing last of the Mohicans tho, and another film, but the name of that film escapes me, however it was famous enough to be mentioned in my film studies class. Edit: I do recall Louis Riels' name coming up… Red River rebellion. ALSO Tommy Douglas… Shout out to Definition.

8. 

   @aperson22222

   September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

   Two Canadians that I, as an outsider, would like to see more celebrated are Leonard Cohen and Romeo Dallaire.

9. 

   @MinedMaker

   September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

   I already know all the most famous people from Canada, I just think they're American.

10. 

    @feldmarschallvonbraunschwe4463

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    A couple minor inaccuracies:

    8:00 Its not wrong to question how bottom up it was, but to your point, it basically was bottom up because it had to be. The majority of deployed forces in Canada were British fencibles raised from upper and lower Canada or volunteers, in fact, the only actual regular infantry regiments were the 103rd and 104th that were raised in the Maritimes. The only reason Britain could successfully raise these fencibles was because of the strong loyalist culture that was established in upper Canada especially- these are the guys with the scarlet tunics. However, due to supply failures and lack of British confidence in Canada, uniforms had to be rationed for only fencible militias, in other volunteer battle groups many just wore their civilian clothing (sedentary militia). In essence, the war was bottom up and popular, but only due to organisation than anything else.

    8:40 also she did not warn Brock, as he was already dead by that time. James Fitzgibbon was actually the general warned of the incoming Battle of Beaver Dams.

11. 

    @omarsingh3578

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    You talked about historical dead Canadians – why not talk about current ones (still beathing) – none related to politics please. We all know that Justin Trudeau is an asshole.

12. 

    @basedgaming1826

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    Laura Secord is a very deep pull. Banger song about her on the imperial Britannia channel

13. 

    @OdinWannaBe

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    Most Quebecois dont give a f about the past actors JJ, the problem is the anglo saxon culture you are trying so hard to protect.

14. 

    @maxwelljudd4133

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    As an American the only one I had heard of was Terry Fox. As far as other famous Canadians…its a bit flippant, but many of the entrainers that came from Canada like John Candy for example.

15. 

    @sirloinofice

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    7:02 this is genuinely hilarious.

16. 

    @simonricher7037

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    Shoutout Joseph Montferrand

17. 

    @polariss0i

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    You should do one of these based on some of the street names we see a lot, Simcoe being one around me. My friends daughter asked me one time about how streets get named and I mentioned lord Simcoe to her.

18. 

    @redditz2712

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    Tim horten?

19. 

    @a_da_stick

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    This is going to sound silly, but Rob Ford might actually be a good addition to a list like this, he was Canada's first 21st century populist political leader, and also created worldwide awareness of the office of the Mayor of Toronto…. not for the best reasons….

20. 

    @LonkinPork

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    5:21 please tell me I'm not the only Canadian who first learned of this guy when people mentioned Carney having a figurine of him, and asked "Why would the PM of Canada have a figurine of the guy from Modest Mouse?"

21. 

    @LonkinPork

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    4:33 not to be such an obvious college-educated white dude in my early 30s, but this reminds me of the "Great Concavity"/"Great Convexity" terminology regarding the massive trash heap in Infinite Jest

22. 

    @tianpitman2852

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    If we leave aside prime ministers and general pop-culture figures it might make sense to break it down by category:

    You could probably do a whole episode on noteworthy premiers and it would do more justice to the way the drama of Canadian political life actually generally unfolds. In addition to Douglas and Levesque, you could probably add Haultain, Smallwood, Duplessis, Bennett, Davis, Lougheed, Klein and Bouchard.

    Other "Fathers of Confederation" that immediately stick out: George Brown & Thomas D'Arcy McGee

    Other politicians: CD Howe, Preston Manning, The Famous Five, Lord Elgin, Lord Simcoe

    Aboriginal leaders: Tecumseh, Crowfoot, Poundmaker

    Military & Police: Sir Arthur Curry, Billy Bishop, James MacLeod

    Thinkers & Cultural Institutions: George Grant, Marshall McLuhan, the Group of Seven, Earl Grey, Lord Stanley

    Explorers: Samuel to Champlain, David Thompson, Alexander MacKenzie, Simon Fraser

    Exports and Oddities: Lord Beaverbrook, Norman Bethune, John Kenneth Galbraith, Maurice "Food-for-oil" Strong

    If you want to move past people, you could do a "7-Wonders" approach too. Natural and monumental wonders would be a tad trite, what would make more sense for understanding the country would be how Canada has conquered the landscape with infrastructure.

    The Transcontinental Railroad, The TransCanada Highway, the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the James Bay Project, the Oilsands, the DEW Line and CANDU

    Might make a good list. You could divert into monuments and talk about how the National Parks and Grand Railway Hotels go along with the trains. Or how the Confederation Bridge joins PEI to +7,000Kms of continuous highway. The stories behind hydro, oil & gas and nuclear in Canada are also hugely consequential. HM: to the dams and canals of Ontario and forestry industry. No forestry, no Cottage County and no Log Driver's Waltz.

    You could get into Canada's love hate relationship with its corporate oligopolies in Banking, Telecoms, Airlines, Groceries and Rail. They're ubiquitous and often held up as "champions", but at the same time everyone despises the collusion and price gouging. Something like ATB, or the implosion of Canadian Airlines would be interesting side stories too.

    There's Canada's chequered history of other "corporate champions": the Hudson's Bay Company, Eaton's, Nortel (Chinese intrigues!), Blackberry/RIM (the Pheonix from the ashes?), Encana, Potash Corp, SNC-Lavalin, Tim Hortons, Shopify, Canadian Pacific, Molsons

    And as the latter suggests, a lot of those companies come with interesting family names: Molson, Rogers, Shaw, Thomson, Weston, Sobey, McCain, Pattison, Desmarais, Bronfman, Richardson, Irving, Bombardier/Beaudouin.

23. 

    @LonkinPork

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    using the "Message From The Government Of Canada" sting instead of your usual Super Mario World coin sample for this list is a beautiful (and nostalgic) touch 🍁

24. 

    @Ileft170

    September 26, 2026 at 6:24 am

    🐘: address me

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