People - 1000 Towns of Canada
People of Small Towns
You know their names. You've never been to their towns.
235 notable Canadians. The small towns that shaped them.
250+
Profiles
997
Towns
200+
Years of History
Bobby Orr · Parry Sound W. Brett Wilson · Battleford Yann Martell · Port Hope Tom Thomson · Owen Sound Joni Mitchell · Fort Macleod David Suzuki · Leamington Wayne Gretzky · Brantford Alexander Graham Bell · Brantford Stompin’ Tom · Skinners Pond Farley Mowat · Port Hope
What Small Towns Mean to the People Who Grew Up There
In Their Own Words
Written for 1000 Towns of Canada
"We lost something, a strong sense of community and connection to place."
David Suzuki
Scientist & TV Host
Leamington, Ontario
"Wonderful place to raise the family in the 1950s — fond memories about Battleford and all things prairie."
W. Brett Wilson
Dragons’ Den Panelist
Battleford, Saskatchewan
"I’ve lived in small places, big places, centric places, eccentric places. I see the blessing and the curse in all of them."
Yann Martell
Life of Pi Author
Port Hope, Ontario
235 Profiles and Counting
From Small Towns Across Canada
Celebrities, entrepreneurs, artists, athletes — the people who call small-town Canada home.
📍 Fergus, Ontario
Abraham Groves | Physician, Surgeon
From Peterborough & Fergus, Ontario Dr. Abraham Groves was well known as a medical innovator and surgeon. He was known for his pioneered work in the…
📍 Bracebridge, Ontario
Ace Bailey | Hockey Player
Ace Bailey — the Bracebridge boy whose number was the first ever retired in the NHL The Muskoka town built around a waterfall where a…
📍 St. George, Ontario
Adelaide Hoodless | Women’s Institute Founder
From St. George, Ontario Adelaide Hoodless, the née Addie Hunter, was an educational reformer who founded the Women's Institute.
📍 Dundalk, Ontario
Agnes Macphail | Politician
From Proton Township, Grey County, Ontario (now Dundalk, Ontario) The face from the new $10 banknote Agnes Campbell Macphail was the first Canadian woman elected…
📍 Chippawa, Ontario
Alan Barillaro | Animator, Oscar Laureate
From Chippawa, Ontario Nicolas Alan Barillaro is an animator, director and writer at Pixar Studio. Best known for his work on the short film Piper…
📍 Cobourg, Ontario
Alan Bradley | Flavia de Luce Author
From Cobourg, Ontario Alan Bradley is the New York Times bestselling author of many short stories, children’s stories, newspaper columns. His the Flavia de Luce…
📍 Petty Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador
Alan Doyle | The Voice of Small-Town Newfoundland
Great Big Sea frontman, born in Petty Harbour. Grew up in a fishing village without sidewalks and wrote about it in his book.
📍 Bishop’s Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador
Alex Faulkner | Hockey Player
From Bishop's Falls, Newfoundland Selm Alexander (Alex) Faulkner was the first Newfoundlander to play in the National Hockey League. Born in 1936 in Bishop's Falls,…
📍 Brantford, Ontario
Alexander Graham Bell | Telephone Inventor
Alexander Graham Bell was a scientist, inventor, engineer, and innovator who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone.
📍 Strathroy, Ontario
Alexander Knox | Actor
From Strathroy, Ontario Alexander Knox was an actor and author of adventure novels set in the Great Lakes area during the 19th century.
📍 Wingham, Ontario
Alice Munro | Nobel Laureate
From Wingham, Ontario · Clinton, Ontario Alice Munro spent her whole life writing about the small country towns of southwestern Ontario. In 2013 she became…
📍 Cobourg, Ontario
Alice Wilson | Palaeontologist
From Cobourg, Ontario Alice Evelyn Wilson was the first female geologist in Canada and the first woman to become a member of the Royal Society…
♥ There’s a small town in all of us Even if you’ve never lived in a small town, you’ve been shaped by one — through a grandparent’s stories, a childhood visit, or a place that just felt like home. We’d love to hear your story.