Performers | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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  • Article

    Maestro Fresh Wes

    Wesley Williams (a.k.a. Maestro Fresh Wes, Maestro), rapper, actor, author, motivational speaker, radio and TV host (born 31 March 1968 in Toronto, ON). Maestro Fresh Wes is regarded as the “godfather of Canadian hip hop.” His debut album, Symphony in Effect (1989), was the first album by a Black Canadian artist to be certified platinum in Canada. It yielded the hugely successful and influential hit single “Let Your Backbone Slide.” In 2019, it became the first rap song to be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Maestro has been nominated for 17 Juno Awards and has won two, including the inaugural award for Rap Recording of the Year in 1991. In 2013, he was named No. 1 on CBC Music’s list of the greatest Canadian rappers. Between 2022 and 2024, he earned three straight Juno nominations for Children’s Album of the Year. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and received a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in 2024.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/43d42d71-70ac-431c-b58c-9a8eca0b50e5.jpg Maestro Fresh Wes

  • Article

    Marcel Sabourin

    Marcel Sabourin, OC, actor, writer, screenwriter, lyricist, producer, director, teacher (born 25 March 1935 in Montreal, QC). An important figure in Quebec cinema and television, Marcel Sabourin has performed in more Quebec films than any other actor. He first came to prominence as Professor Mandibule in the Radio-Canada children’s TV programs Les Croquignoles (1963–67) and La Ribouldingue (1967–71). He is perhaps best known for his role as Abel Gagné in Jean-Pierre Lefebvre’s acclaimed Abel trilogy. Sabourin received the Jutra-Hommage lifetime achievement award at the Jutra Awards (now Prix Iris) in 1999. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2019.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/1024px-Marcel_Sabourin.jpg Marcel Sabourin

  • Article

    Olivier Guimond

    Olivier Guimond, actor, mime (born 21 May 1914 in Montréal, QC; died 29 November 1971 in Montréal). 

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    https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 Olivier Guimond

  • Article

    Oscar Peterson (Plain-Language Summary)

    Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, OOnt, jazz pianist, composer, educator (born 15 August 1925 in Montréal, QC; died 23 December 2007 in Mississauga, ON). Oscar Peterson was one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. He was famous for his speed and dexterity, flawless technique and swinging style. He earned the nicknames “the brown bomber of boogie-woogie” and “master of swing.” Louis Armstrong called him “the man with four hands.” Peterson released several albums a year from the 1950s until his death. He played on more than 200 albums by other artists. He was also a noted jazz educator and advocate for racial equality. He won a Juno Award and eight Grammy Awards. He was the first person to receive the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the International Jazz Hall of Fame. He was also made a Companion of the Order of Canada and an Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters in France. This article is a plain-language summary of Oscar Peterson. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry: Oscar Peterson.

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  • Article

    Patrick Huard

    Patrick Huard, comedian, actor, writer, director, producer (born 2 January 1969 in Montreal, QC). Dynamic and charming, Patrick Huard is a multi-talented artist who has enjoyed great success in front of and behind the camera, as well as on stage and radio. One of Canada’s and Quebec’s biggest stars, he has appeared in some of the country’s highest-grossing films, including Les Boys (1997) and its two sequels; the record-breaking, Genie Award-winning comedy Bon Cop Bad Cop (2006), which he also co-wrote; his feature directorial debut, Les 3 p’tits cochons (2007); and Starbuck (2011). He has also starred in several successful Quebec TV series, including the hugely popular Taxi 0-22 (2007–10), which he also produced and directed. He has won numerous awards for his stand-up comedy and comedy writing, and has hosted several Juste pour rire galas, the Gala de l’ADISQ and the Soirée des Jutra (now Prix Iris), as well as several radio programs.

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    https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 Patrick Huard

  • Article

    Portia White (Plain-Language Summary)

    Portia May White, singer, teacher (born 24 June 1911 in Truro, NS; died 13 February 1968 in Toronto, ON). Portia White was one of the best classical singers of the 20th century. She was the first Black Canadian concert singer to become famous. Her voice was described by one critic as “a gift from heaven.” She was often compared to the African American singer Marian Anderson. The Nova Scotia Talent Trust was founded in 1944 to allow White to focus on her singing career. She was named a “person of national historic significance” by the Government of Canada in 1995. This article is a plain-language summary of Portia White. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry: Portia White.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/PortiaWhiteHeader.jpg Portia White (Plain-Language Summary)

  • Article

    Reg Schwager

    Reginald Cornelis Egbert Schwager, CM, jazz guitarist, composer (born 7 May 1962 in Leiden, Netherlands). Reg Schwager is one of Canada’s most acclaimed jazz guitarists. Over the course of his 40-year career, he has played with such notable musicians as Peter Appleyard, Diana Krall, Mel Tormé, Chet Baker, Rob McConnell and Oliver Jones. Schwager was named Guitarist of the Year at the National Jazz Awards four years in a row (2005–08) and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2021.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/Guitars_of_the_sort_played_by_Lennon.jpg Reg Schwager

  • Article

    Robin Poitras

    Robin Poitras, CM, dancer, teacher, choreographer, administrator (born 1958 in Regina, SK). Robin Poitras is the co-founder and artistic and managing director of Regina-based New Dance Horizons. It is one of Canada’s most successful and groundbreaking contemporary dance organizations. It has played a crucial role in the development of contemporary dance in Saskatchewan since the mid-1980s. Poitras has received a YWCA Women of Distinction Award for the Arts, as well as lifetime achievement awards from the Regina Mayor’s Arts and Business Awards and the Saskatchewan Arts Board. She was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2021.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/135235928_39241f4f59_o.jpg Robin Poitras

  • Article

    Shawn Hook

    Shawn Hook (born Shawn Hlookoff), singer, songwriter, actor, music producer, philanthropist (born 5 September 1984 in Castlegar, BC). Shawn Hook is a pop singer-songwriter best known for the double platinum singles "Sound of Your Heart” and “Reminding Me” (featuring Vanessa Hudgens). He has been nominated for three Juno Awards and received the Allan Slaight Music Impact Honour from Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2017.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/Shawn_Hook_By_Daniel_Ahs.jpg Shawn Hook

  • Article

    Shawn Mendes

    Shawn Peter Raul Mendes, singer, songwriter, model, mental health advocate (born 8 August 1998 in Pickering, ON). Pop phenom Shawn Mendes followed in the footsteps of earlier Canadian pop music star Justin Bieber, building a following online in his teens before signing with a major label. Mendes is the only artist to have four No. 1 singles on the Adult Pop Songs chart before the age of 20. Released when he was 16, his first full-length studio album, Handwritten (2015), debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and quickly went platinum in the US. In fact, his first four albums all debuted at No. 1. Together they have sold more than 4 million copies in the US, while Mendes’s singles have sold more than 13 million copies. He has received 13 Juno Awards and 20 SOCAN Awards, as well as three Grammy Award nominations.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/ShawnMendes/17269780285_776dfa7e73_h.jpg Shawn Mendes

  • Article

    Sugar Sammy

    Samir Khullar (a.k.a. Sugar Sammy), comedian (born 29 February 1976 in Montreal, QC). Sugar Sammy is an award-winning multi-ethnic and multilingual comedian. He is best known for his observations about Canada’s Francophone and Anglophone communities from his vantage point as the child of immigrants who settled in Montreal. His groundbreaking 2012 bilingual tour, You're Gonna Rire, sold more than 371,000 tickets and grossed over $17 million. Sammy is also a star in France. He was hailed as the “funniest man in France” in 2017 and has been a judge on the French version of America’s Got Talent since 2018.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/7268787770_317b460ec9_c-2.jpg Sugar Sammy

  • Article

    The Sheepdogs

    Saskatoon blues rockers the Sheepdogs were plucked from obscurity in 2011 when they won a Rolling Stone contest. On 18 August 2011, they became the first unsigned band ever featured on the cover of the famed music magazine. The Sheepdogs have since released seven studio albums and won four Juno Awards, including New Group of the Year, Single of the Year and Rock Album of the Year in 2012. They have had two platinum albums and two platinum singles (“I Don’t Know” and “Feeling Good”) in Canada.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/5903251013_19c82ef745_o.jpg The Sheepdogs

  • Article

    Viola Léger

    Viola P. Léger, OC, ONB, senator, actor, director, teacher (born 29 June 1930 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts; died 28 January 2023 in Dieppe, NB). Viola Léger served in the Senate from 2001 to 2005. She is perhaps best known for her career as an actor and for her performance as La Sagouine in Antonine Maillet’s play of the same name. Léger performed the role 3,000 times between 1971 and 2016. Widely considered the greatest Acadian actress of all time, she was also a prominent advocate and global ambassador for Acadian people and Acadian culture. She was made a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la France and a Member of the Ordre des Francophones d’Amérique. She also received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in theatre.

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    https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 Viola Léger

  • Article

    Yves Lambert

    Yves Lambert, CM, singer, musician (born 15 September 1956 in Joliette, QC). Yves Lambert rose to fame in Quebec as a founding member of La Bottine souriante. The folk music group had three platinum albums and four gold albums in Canada and won multiple Juno Awards and Félix Awards. Lambert has been credited with popularizing traditional Québécois folk music while also reinventing it. His musical style blends folk music with traditional Quebec, Acadian, Celtic and country music styles. He has been described as a pillar of Quebec’s living heritage. Lambert was named Traditional Singer of the Year at the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Awards and has twice won the Conseil québécois de la musique (Québec Music Council) Opus Award. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2021.

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    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/Yves_Lambert_Cambridge_Folk_Festival_50th_Anniversary_14851562333.jpg Yves Lambert

  • Article

    Yvon Deschamps

    Yvon Deschamps, actor, comedian (born in Montreal, QC in 1935).

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    https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 Yvon Deschamps