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Joseph Boyden, CM, author (born 31 October 1966 in Toronto, ON). Joseph Boyden's work focuses on the historical and contemporary experience of First Nations peoples of Northern Ontario. He became widely known in Canada following the publication of his debut novel, Three Day Road (2005), which won numerous awards and was nominated for a Governor General’s Award. His second novel, Through Black Spruce, won the 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2015. Born in Toronto to Blanche and Raymond Wilfrid Boyden, a highly decorated medical officer who served in the Second World War, Boyden has claimed Indigenous heritage through both his father’s and mother’s ancestry. However, he has been accused of misrepresenting himself by those who say his claims cannot be documented or confirmed.

Rodney Graham, artist (born 16 January 1949 in Abbotsford, BC). Known for his conceptual sculpture, text-works, photography and films, Rodney Graham is associated with a group of Vancouver artists that includes Jeff Wall, Ian Wallace, Ken Lum, Stan Douglas and Roy Arden. Graham is especially notable for the ways in which he incorporates various technologies, and the history of technology, into his artworks.

Rose Marie “Tantoo” Cardinal, CM, actor (born 20 Jul 1950 in Fort McMurray, AB). Cree and Métis actor Tantoo Cardinal has broken barriers for onscreen representation of Indigenous peoples. She has more than 120 film, television and theatre roles to her credit, including the films Dances With Wolves (1990), Black Robe (1991), Smoke Signals (1998) and Through Black Spruce (2018); as well as the TV series Street Legal (1987–94), Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993–95), North of 60 (1993–97), Moccasin Flats (2003-06) and Mohawk Girls (2010–17). She is known for her strong presence, the depth of her performances and her activism on behalf of the environment. A Member of the Order of Canada, she has won a Gemini Award, the Earle Grey Award for lifetime achievement in Canadian television, a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, and a National Aboriginal Achievement Award.

Austin Chesterfield Clarke, novelist, short-story writer, journalist (born 26 July 1934 in St. James, Barbados; died 26 June 2016 in Toronto, ON).

George Godfrey, boxer (born 20 March 1853 in Charlottetown, PEI; died 18 October 1901 in Revere, Massachusetts). George Godfrey was a successful Black Canadian boxer who began his career at the age of 26. He won the World Colored Heavyweight championship in 1883 and held the title for five years. Godfrey retired in 1896 after competing in over 100 fights. He was the first of many great Black Canadian boxers from the Maritimes; others included George Dixon and Sam Langford. Godfrey was inducted into the PEI Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

Marlene Nourbese Philip, poet, novelist, essayist (born 3 February 1947 in Moriah, Tobago).

Armand J.R. Vaillancourt, sculptor (b at Black Lake, Qué 3 Sept 1929). He studied at the École des beaux-arts in Montréal. An inventor of new techniques, he uses modern materials such as welded metal.

Filmmaking is a powerful form of cultural and artistic expression, as well as a highly profitable commercial enterprise. From a practical standpoint, filmmaking is a business involving large sums of money and a complex division of labour. This labour is involved, roughly speaking, in three sectors: production, distributionand exhibition. The history of the Canadian film industry has been one of sporadic achievement accomplished in isolation against great odds. Canadian cinema has existed within an environment where access to capital for production, to the marketplace for distribution and to theatres for exhibition has been extremely difficult. The Canadian film industry, particularly in English Canada, has struggled against the Hollywood entertainment monopoly for the attention of an audience that remains largely indifferent toward the domestic industry. The major distribution and exhibition outlets in Canada have been owned and controlled by foreign interests. The lack of domestic production throughout much of the industry’s history can only be understood against this economic backdrop.

This article is one of four that surveys the history of the film industry in Canada. The entire series includes: Canadian Film History: 1896 to 1938; Canadian Film History: 1939 to 1973; Canadian Film History: 1974 to Present; Canadian Film History: Regional Cinema and Auteurs, 1980 to Present.

Filmmaking is a powerful form of cultural and artistic expression, as well as a highly profitable commercial enterprise. From a practical standpoint, filmmaking is a business involving large sums of money and a complex division of labour. This labour is involved, roughly speaking, in three sectors: production, distributionand exhibition. The history of the Canadian film industry has been one of sporadic achievement accomplished in isolation against great odds. Canadian cinema has existed within an environment where access to capital for production, to the marketplace for distribution and to theatres for exhibition has been extremely difficult. The Canadian film industry, particularly in English Canada, has struggled against the Hollywood entertainment monopoly for the attention of an audience that remains largely indifferent toward the domestic industry. The major distribution and exhibition outlets in Canada have been owned and controlled by foreign interests. The lack of domestic production throughout much of the industry’s history can only be understood against this economic backdrop.

This article is one of four that surveys the history of the film industry in Canada. The entire series includes: Canadian Film History: 1896 to 1938; Canadian Film History: 1939 to 1973; Canadian Film History: 1974 to Present; Canadian Film History: Notable Films and Filmmakers 1980 to Present.

Robert Lantos, CM, film and television producer and executive (born 3 April 1949 in Budapest, Hungary). A key figure in the development of contemporary Canadian cinema, Robert Lantos is one of Canada’s most powerful producers of film and television. In the 1970s, he founded the distribution company Vivafilm and the production company RSL Productions. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was chair and CEO of Alliance Communications Corporation, Canada’s largest film and television production and distribution company, before leaving to produce films through his own Serendipity Point Films. He is a Member of the Order of Canada and the Canadian Film and Television Hall of Fame and has received numerous awards and honours, including five Genie Awards, four Gemini Awards, two Golden Reel Awards, the Air Canada Award and the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Deborah Cox, singer, songwriter, actor (born 13 July 1974 in Toronto, ON). One of Canada’s top R&B artists, Deborah Cox is known for her powerful, soulful voice and sultry ballads. “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here,” from her second album, One Wish (1998), set a record as the longest-running No. 1 R&B single in the US, staying atop the Billboard R&B Singles chart for 14 weeks. She has had six top 20 Billboard R&B singles and 13 No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart. She has received multiple Juno Awards and Grammy Award nominations and has appeared as an actor in film and television and on Broadway. In 2022, she became the first Black woman and only the second Black Canadian (after Oscar Peterson) to be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Cedric Alan Smith, actor, writer, musician (born at Bournemouth, England 21 Sept 1943). Cedric Smith is well known in Canada as decent and goodhearted farmer Alec King in the longrunning TV series Road to Avonlea, and is also a successful stage performer and prolific television and film actor.

​Seth (born Gregory Gallant), cartoonist, visual artist (born 16 September 1962 in Clinton, ON).

In 1959 Christiane moved to Canada, where her mother now lived. Living in downtown Toronto, she painted her first landscapes, then interiors, concentrating on her daughters' dolls. On the Black Chair II is a strong early example.

Influenced by West-African forms of epic storytelling, Sears developed a signature dramaturgy and performance style that supported and developed its narrative material through choral technique, rhythms, singing and movement. Afrika Solo was premiered in 1987.

Rodney MacDonald's political career began in 1999 when he secured the Progressive Conservative nomination in his home riding of Inverness. In the previous election, PC candidate Randy MacDonald had run a poor third behind Liberal victor Charles MacDonald.

Ken Gass, director, playwright, producer (born at Abbotsford, BC 10 Sept 1945). Ken Gass is one of the key figures in the development of Canadian theatre.

Denis Héroux, film director, producer (born 15 July 1940 in Montréal, Qc; died 10 December 2015 in Montréal).

Josiah Henson, spiritual leader, author, founder of the Black community settlement at Dawn, Canada West (born 15 June 1789 in Charles County, Maryland; died 5 May 1883 in Dresden, ON). Born enslaved, Henson escaped to Upper Canada in 1830.

Ron Martin, painter (b at London, Ont 28 April 1943). Ron Martin studied at H.B. Beal Secondary School in London, Ont, began working in a studio shared with Murrary FAVRO in 1964, and had his first solo exhibition in Jack Pollock's gallery in Toronto in 1965.