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Judie Barbara Alimonti, immunologist (born 13 March 1960 in Kelowna, BC; died 26 December 2017 in Ottawa, ON). Alimonti made a significant contribution to one of Canada’s greatest achievements in medical science and public health, the development of the Ebola vaccine. (See also Medical Research.) From 2010 to 2015, Alimonti managed the Ebola vaccine during a time when research was underfunded. Alimonti received little recognition for her work during her lifetime, and her colleagues have called her the unsung hero of the Ebola vaccine story.

Werner Israel, OC, FRS, FRSC, physicist (born 4 October 1931 in Berlin, Germany; died 18 May 2022 in Victoria, BC). Werner contributed new insights to the field of physics and is perhaps best known for his research on black holes. During his career, he collaborated with the English physicist Stephen Hawking.

Canada’s Walk of Fame is a non-profit organization dedicated to honouring Canadians who have achieved excellence in the fields of arts and entertainment, science and technology, business, philanthropy and athletics. Modelled after the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it stretches along 13 city blocks in Toronto’s Entertainment District. Each inductee’s name and signature are etched onto a plaque embedded on the sidewalk, along with a star resembling a maple leaf. Inductees are honoured at an annual, nationally broadcast gala in Toronto. More than 210 people have been inducted since the Walk was founded in 1998.

Wallace Rupert Turnbull (Rupert), aeronautical engineer (born 16 October 1870 in Saint John, NB; died 26 November 1954 in Saint John, NB). Turnbull is credited with building Canada’s first wind tunnel in Rothesay, NB. He is also recognized for designing the first successful variable-pitch propeller, which he patented in 1922. (See also Aviation.)

Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen, writer, historian, scientist (born 24 February 1848 in Alwington, ON; died 25 Oct 1899 in London, England). Grant Allen spent most of his youth in Canada, and completed his formal education in France and England, where he graduated from Merton College, Oxford, in 1871.

Henri Joseph Breault, medical doctor, anti-poisoning advocate (born 4 March 1909 in Tecumseh, ON; died 5 September 1983 in Exeter, ON). Breault is known for spearheading a national campaign to prevent accidental childhood poisonings. He advocated for the development of the Palm-N-Turn, a safety cap that drastically reduced child deaths due to poisoning in Canada and around the world.

David Takayoshi Suzuki, CC, OBC, geneticist, broadcaster, environmental activist (born 24 March 1936 in Vancouver, BC). A Japanese Canadian, David Suzuki was interned with his family during the Second World War. He later became one of Canada’s most popular scientists and media personalities. He is best known as the host (1979–2023) of the longest-running science show on television, CBC’s The Nature of Things, and for his work as an environmental activist. He has received ACTRA’s John Drainie Award for broadcasting excellence and the Canadian Screen Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award. A Companion of the Order of Canada, he has also received the Order of British Columbia and been inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.

David Ernest Hornell, VC, clerk, pilot (born 26 January 1910 in Toronto, Ontario; died 25 June 1944 at sea near the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean). During the Second World War, Hornell was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross (VC) for his heroic actions in sinking a German submarine and encouraging his crewmates after their plane was shot down. He was the first member of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) to receive the VC.

The Fossmobile was invented by George Foote Foss in 1897. It is the first successful Canadian example of an automobile built with an internal combustion engine. While the Fossmobile was never mass-produced for the Canadian automotive market (see automotive industry), it is an example of ingenuity and innovation. Through Fossmobile Enterprises, the descendants of George Foote Foss have researched and built a tribute/replica of the Fossmobile prototype. The tribute/replica vehicle was donated and inducted into the Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa, Ontario in 2022.

Jean Coutu, O.C., O.Q., pharmacist, entrepreneur and philanthropist (born 29 May 1927 in Montreal, Quebec). Jean Coutu is the founder of the Jean Coutu Group, a chain of pharmacies established in 1969 under the name Pharm-Escomptes Jean Coutu. He is also the cofounder of the Marcelle and Jean Coutu Foundation, a private charitable foundation. Jean Coutu has received many honours and awards recognizing both his career and his philanthropy.

Wilder Graves Penfield, OM, CC, FRS, FRSC neurosurgeon, scientist (born 26 January 1891 in Spokane, Washington; died 5 April 1976 in Montreal, QC). Dr. Penfield was the founder and first director of the Montreal Neurological Institute and established the "Montreal procedure" for the surgical treatment of epilepsy. (See also Neuroscience.)

Nadine Rena Caron, OBC, surgeon, researcher, mentor, educator, patient advocate, community leader (born 1970 in Kamloops, BC). Nadine Caron was the first female First Nations student to graduate from the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine. She was also the first female First Nations general surgeon in Canada. For many years, Caron has highlighted the needs and voices of northern, rural and Indigenous populations in Canada.

Flordeliz (a.k.a. Gigi) Osler (née Sharma), FRCSC, senator, physician and educator (born 1968 in Winnipeg, MB). Dr. Osler is an Otolaryngology – Head and Neck surgeon (ENT) surgeon and has practiced in Winnipeg since 1998. She was the past president of the Canadian Medical Association, making her the first female surgeon and the first woman of colour to assume the role. Osler was appointed to the Canadian Senate in 2022, making her the second senator of Filipino descent and the first woman of Filipino heritage to sit in the Senate.

Israel Halperin, CM, mathematician, human rights activist (born 5 January 1911 in Montreal, QC; died 8 March 2007 in Toronto, ON). Halperin advanced mathematical knowledge in the fields of operator algebras and operator theory. (See also Mathematics.) He became embroiled in the Gouzenko Affair in 1946 when he was accused of being an informant for the Soviet Union. After this ordeal, Halperin returned to his post as a professor at Queen’s University, later also teaching at the University of Toronto. Beginning in the 1970s, he created letter-writing campaigns that aimed to end human rights abuses and free political prisoners.

An astronaut is an individual involved in flight beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. Since the National Research Council of Canada held its first recruitment campaign in 1983, 14 Canadians have completed astronaut training and nine have participated in 17 missions to space. Specifically, they have flown as payload specialists, mission specialists, and flight engineers on NASA shuttle flights and expeditions to the International Space Station (ISS). Canadian astronauts have played key roles in repairing satellites and building the ISS using the Canadarm and Canadarm2 robotic technologies, and have advanced scientific knowledge by conducting a variety of experiments in space. (See also Robotics in Canada; Space Technology.)

David Saint-Jacques, OC, OQ, astronaut, engineer, astrophysicist, medical doctor (born 6 January 1970, in Québec City, QC). Early in his career, Saint-Jacques contributed to advances in telescope technology in Japan and Hawaii, and medical technology at Lariboisière Hospital in Paris. (See also Astronomy; Medical Research; Technology in Canada.) He also worked as a doctor and co-chief of medicine at the Inuulitsivik Health Centre in Puvirnituq, Nunavik. In 2009, he was chosen by the Canadian Space Agency to become an astronaut. In 2018, he served on the International Space Station for 204 days, longer than any other Canadian astronaut.