1

Jim Carrey

Image: Avel Chuklanov

Jim Carrey, the man with the "rubber face" himself, is a famously Canadian actor known for his comedic roles in Ace Ventura , The Mask , Dumb and Dumber , and for his more dramatic roles in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Truman Show , among many other movies.

Jim was born in Newmarket, Ontario , to Kathleen and Percy Carrey. He was raised Catholic and has three older siblings: John, Patricia, and Rita. The family’s original surname was Carré.

2

Avril Lavigne

Image: Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦

Early 2000s skate-punk rock teenage star Avril Lavigne recorded Let Go , the best-selling album of the 21st century by a Canadian artist, in 2002 and was named the "Pop-Punk Queen" by the media at the time.

She was born in Belleville, Ontario , and, as the story goes, her parents recognized her vocal abilities when she was two years old and sang "Jesus Loves Me" on the way home from church.

3

Michael J. Fox

Image: Roger Ce

One of the most beloved Canadians of all time is Michael J. Fox, the actor who portrayed Marty McFly in the Back to the Future movies. He began his career as a child actor on the NBC sitcom Family Ties and starred in many movies in the '80s and '90s, beyond his famous role as the time-traveling teenager.

Fox was born in Edmonton, Alberta , and in 1998, he disclosed his diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Since then, the actor has become an advocate for finding a cure and founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 to help fund research. Worsening symptoms have since forced him to reduce his acting work.

4

Celine Dion

Image: Edward Cisneros

The Queen of Power Ballads, noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, was born into a large family in Charlemagne, Quebec . Despite starting her career singing in French, Celine Dion became internationally famous thanks to her best-selling albums Falling Into You and Let’s Talk About Love . Her song "My Heart Will Go On," the theme from the 1997 film Titanic , is probably her most famous work.

She was the youngest of 14 children and as a baby, Dion slept in a drawer instead of a crib to save money. With over 200 million records sold worldwide, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, the best-selling French-language artist, and one of the best-selling musical artists of all time.

5

Dan Aykroyd

Image: Lance Grandahl

Dan Aykroyd, known as one of the Blues Brothers and a member of the original Ghostbusters , is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and former SNL cast member. Despite being best known for his comedic roles, he was nominated in 1990 for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Boolie Werthan in Driving Miss Daisy.

Aykroyd was born in Ottawa, Ontario , to Samuel Cuthbert Peter Hugh Aykroyd, a civil engineer, and Lorraine Hélène Marie, a secretary. His mother was of French-Canadian descent, and his father was of English, Scottish, Irish, French, and Dutch ancestry.

6

Chris Hadfield

Image: Niketh Vellanki

It is always inspiring to see someone who is truly in love with their job and shares that same passion with the rest of us. And, while one could argue that being an astronaut is an easy job to fall in love with, very few astronauts, if any, have been able to convey what Canadian retired astronaut Chris Hadfield does.

Hadfield was born in Sarnia, Ontario . As the first Canadian to perform extravehicular activity in outer space, he has flown on two Space Shuttle missions and also served as commander of the International Space Station (ISS). During this mission, he documented life onboard the space station by posting on various social media platforms. He appeared on television news and talk shows and gained popularity by performing David Bowie’s "Space Oddity" in space.

7

Alanis Morissette

Image: Jason Buscema

A 1990s phenomenon, Alanis Morissette stormed the charts with her 1995 album Jagged Little Pill , which sold more than 33 million copies worldwide and made her a star. She has released several albums since and has sold more than 75 million records.

Morissette was born in Ottawa, Ontario , to Georgia Mary Ann and Alan Richard Morissette. She has a twin brother, Wade (12 minutes older), who is also a musician.

8

Keanu Reeves

Image: Matthew Ball

A genuine on-screen tough guy and off-screen nice guy, Keanu Reeves is best known for his roles as Neo in the Matrix franchise and as John Wick in the films of the same name, among many other roles.

While Keanu was not born in Canada — he was born in Beirut —he is on this list because he was raised in Toronto and made his acting debut in the Canadian television series Hangin' In (1984). An avid motorcyclist, Reeves is the co-founder of the custom motorcycle manufacturer ARCH Motorcycle.

9

Neil Young

Image: Ahmed Rizkhaan

Legendary rocker Neil Young started his career in Winnipeg in the 1960s before joining Buffalo Springfield in Los Angeles. He has released critically acclaimed albums like After the Gold Rush and Harvest , participated in the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and has been an active promoter of environmental causes in both his native Canada and the U.S.

Born in Toronto, Neil Young is one of the few people to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: in 1995 as a solo artist and in 1997 as a member of Buffalo Springfield.

10

James Cameron

Image: Michal Mrozek

Most people would think that being a film director known for Terminator 2 , Titanic , and Avatar , among many other blockbusters, would be accomplishment enough. But not for James Cameron, who also decided to become the first person to make a solo descent to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of Earth's ocean.

Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario , and spent summers on his grandfather's farm. He attended Stamford Collegiate in Niagara Falls. Three of Cameron's films are among the top four highest-grossing films of all time: Avatar , Avatar: The Way of Water , and Titanic hold the positions of highest, third-highest, and fourth-highest-grossing films, respectively. Not bad, right?

1

Decoration Day

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and was first observed on May 30, 1868, as a way to honor Union soldiers who had died in the Civil War. However, the idea behind it actually came from the South. Mary Ann Williams , whose husband died during the conflict, wrote a letter to a newspaper urging women to set aside a day to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers.

2

The end of May

Decoration Day was instituted by the Army’s commander-in-chief, General John A. Logan , and was quickly adopted by most states. There are several theories about why the date was chosen: some say Logan purposely picked a day that was not the anniversary of any Civil War battle, while others believe he chose it because it’s the time of year when most flowers bloom.

3

National Cemeteries

During the American Civil War, the U.S. Congress passed an act to create military burial places for Union soldiers. By the end of that year, 12 national cemeteries had been established. Today, the National Cemetery System maintains 164 military burial sites, the most well-known being Arlington National Cemetery and Gettysburg National Cemetery .

4

Renaming

The term Memorial Day was first recorded in the 1880s and grew increasingly popular after World War II. However, the holiday wasn’t officially renamed until 1968, when the Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved its observance from May 30 to the last Monday in May.

5

A moment for remembrance

The establishment of Memorial Day weekend has been seen by some as a benefit to the travel, sports, and entertainment industries. Veterans’ organizations have urged that the holiday be returned to its original date, arguing that the three-day weekend undermines its intended meaning. In response, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act , which encourages people to pause at 3:00 p.m. for a moment of silent reflection and remembrance.

6

Poppies

Several English-speaking countries adopted the poppy flower as a symbol of remembrance for fallen soldiers after World War I. This tradition was inspired by the poem In Flanders Fields , written by Canadian military doctor John McCrae , which describes poppies growing among soldiers’ graves. In the United States, the poppy was originally associated with Veterans Day but is now primarily worn during Memorial Day weekend.

7

The flag

The national flag flies at half-staff during periods of mourning. While special instances of mourning can be proclaimed by government authorities, remembrance holidays follow a set protocol. On Memorial Day, the U.S. flag is briskly raised to the top of the staff, then solemnly lowered to half-staff, where it remains until noon. At that time, it is raised again to full staff to honor the nation’s living heroes and those still serving.

8

The Unknown Soldier

One of the focal points of Memorial Day is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery . This symbolic monument was established in 1921 and originally held the remains of an unidentified soldier who died in World War I. Later, unidentified soldiers from World War II and the Korean War were also interred at the site. A permanent military guard stands watch year-round, honoring the sacrifice of all unidentified service members.

9

Memorial Wreaths

Wreaths are a common sight on Memorial Day—but where does the tradition come from? In 1992, Morrill Worcester, owner of a wreath company in Maine, found himself with a surplus of holiday wreaths. Wanting to put them to good use, he donated them to Arlington National Cemetery as a tribute to the fallen—a gesture that soon became an annual tradition. After a photo of the wreath-covered graves went viral in 2005, the nonprofit organization Wreaths Across America was established to help volunteers place wreaths on veterans’ graves across the country.

10

The start of the summer

Even though it is a day of remembrance, Memorial Day weekend also marks the unofficial start of summer . The holiday often coincides with the end of the school year, and the warmer weather encourages families to gather for barbecues and cookouts, attend parades, and visit the graves and memorials of fallen soldiers.

1

Roswell Incident (New Mexico, 1947)

It was July 1947 when something extraordinary happened near Roswell, New Mexico: a mysterious, large object crashed on a ranch outside the town. It wasn't an airplane, it wasn't a helicopter, it didn't resemble any known aircraft at the time. Interestingly, the military first described it as a "flying disc," only to later retract the statement and claim it was just a weather balloon. This shift caused endless theories and made Roswell perhaps the most famous UFO story of all time.

2

Kenneth Arnold Sighting (Washington, 1947)

No one knows the skies better than pilots, and in June 1947, one of them, Kenneth Arnold, saw something that would change the way we think about extraterrestrial life. According to his report, Arnold spotted nine bright objects moving near Mount Rainier, Washington. He described their flight as being like "a saucer skipping across water." That phrase would go on to coin the term "flying saucer," marking what many consider the beginning of the modern UFO era.

3

Washington, DC, Flap (1952)

Do you think UFO sightings only happen in rural or remote areas? Between July 12 and 29, 1952, something unexplainable occurred over Washington, DC. People in the US capital reported seeing mysterious objects moving randomly in the sky. But that wasn't all; pilots and even radar stations reported the same. While the US Air Force suggested that temperature might have affected radar performance, the sightings were never fully and clearly explained.

4

Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter (Kentucky, 1955)

On August 21, 1955, two families in rural Kelly, Kentucky, experienced something straight out of their wildest nightmares. In the evening, a bright, fleeting light appeared in the sky. According to their reports to the police, the light was followed by the arrival of small creatures with large eyes and long arms, described as "little green men," who allegedly approached their homes and peered through the windows. Terrified, the families shot at them for nearly four hours, until the "little green men" finally seemed to disappear. When police arrived the next day, the houses were empty. According to neighbors, both families had packed up and left, saying the creatures had returned around 3 a.m.

5

Kecksburg UFO Incident (Pennsylvania, 1965)

We all know what to do when we see a shooting star: make a wish! But that was far from the reaction in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, where on December 9, 1965, residents watched what looked like a massive fireball streak across the night sky before crashing into a forest on the town’s outskirts. Some people rushed to the site and claimed they saw a large metallic object shaped like an acorn. The military arrived soon after and launched an investigation that suggested it may have been a meteor or space debris. But the doubters were not convinced, and the event sparked a wave of theories and speculation that continues to this day.

6

Coyne Helicopter Incident (Ohio, 1973)

On October 18, 1973, near Mansfield, Ohio, something occurred that would challenge even the most stubborn skeptics. Captain Lawrence Coyne was piloting a US Army Reserve helicopter when it was allegedly intercepted by a large, cigar-shaped craft flying erratically at high speed and emitting green and red lights. During the encounter, the helicopter suddenly ascended beyond Coyne’s control. People on the ground witnessed the event and later confirmed parts of the pilot’s account. To this day, the incident remains unexplained.

7

Cash–Landrum Incident (Texas, 1980)

The ’80s were a wild decade, and that even included alleged encounters with alien spacecraft! In December 1980, three people reported a terrifying experience while driving through Texas: they were suddenly forced to stop when a huge craft hovered over the highway. According to their account, the metallic object emitted bright lights and intense heat. Later, all three developed physical symptoms, including burns, nausea, vomiting, and hair loss. Medical reports suggested these effects were consistent with prolonged radiation exposure, although it could not be proven that the incident itself caused the symptoms.

8

Hudson Valley UFO Wave (New York, 1982-1986)

An isolated UFO sighting involving just a few people is one thing. But it’s quite another when, for years, hundreds of people report sightings in the same place with similar characteristics. We’re talking about New York’s Hudson Valley, where for several years (1982–1986), residents, police officers, and even pilots reported UFO sightings. Many described the same thing: a large craft with a V-shaped row of lights that moved strangely and flew very low, sometimes even approaching houses. While some skeptics claimed they were planes flying in formation, witnesses didn’t fully accept this explanation.

9

Phoenix Lights (Arizona, 1997)

If one person’s sighting seems hard to believe, maybe the testimony of thousands will convince you. In March 1997, one of the most famous UFO events witnessed by large groups occurred. Thousands of people reported seeing the same phenomenon in the skies over Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico: a formation of lights moving silently and strangely across the night sky. Even Fife Symington, the then-governor of Arizona, later claimed he had seen the lights himself.

10

O'Hare Airport Sighting (Illinois, 2006)

If your skepticism has lasted this long, the next story might make you rethink everything. In November 2006, a large group of pilots, mechanics, and airline staff spotted a metallic, disc-shaped object hovering above United Airlines Gate C17 at O’Hare International Airport just outside Chicago. Witnesses say the object punched a circular hole in the clouds before shooting off. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) initially called it a "meteorological phenomenon," but later-released ATC audio reveals tower and ground staff discussing the object in total confusion.