Quote:
Originally Posted by Architype
IDK,
Jacques Cartier?
Samuel de Champlain?
René Lévesque?
Pierre Trudeau?
Celine Dion?
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Maybe I should have stipulated, "worldwide", because even among average Canadians outside this forum, I think few Anglos outside of Quebec could tell you much about the first three... and depending on where you are and who you ask, you might hear some wildly inaccurate things about Pierre Trudeau. I guess there's also a big difference between most notable and most famous.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Architype
Yes, for the time period we are living in now, but does it matter that they said "in history"?
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It pains me to say it, but at this point, I'd say JT is far more famous and well known than his father, even within Canada. World wide, it's not even close, as the global population has basically increased by 2 billion since Pierre Trudeau died, the world has become much more literate and connected, and world leaders have just become much more well known than they were in the past— largely thanks to the internet, social media, and how politics have become much more of a global conversation. Thanks Obama! lol
Still, before there was Obamamania, there
was Trudeaumania. I don't think many Canadians under the age of 40 really understand just how much of a global celebrity Pierre Trudeau was, and how enamoured the country and even the world was with him at one point. The world might have embraced Justin Trudeau for his youth and good looks, but Justin was never a bonafide phenomenon like his father was. Perhaps thanks to history we will see a global resurgence in interest in Pierre Trudeau
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I was fortunate to have a very open minded history teachers when I attended high school in Western Canada, including one who showed us the "
Just Watch Me" clip and did his very best to explain to us why this was such an important moment in Canadian history... and just how badass Trudeau was for doing what he did, but I don't think all high school students in Western Canada are that fortunate.
Still, I don't think we covered the October Crisis in high school history as in depth as we could have, and I can only hope its covered more extensively in public high school history classes across Canada today.
Speaking of Trudeau and Lévesque, the NFB also has an interesting documentary series on them both:
The Champions, Part 1: Unlikely Warriors: director Donald Brittain chronicles the early years of Pierre Elliott Trudeau and René Lévesque.
Anyways, as for other notable options. There's film director, Denis Villeneuve.
In sports, Gilles Villeneuve and Georges St-Pierre are perhaps the most globally famous French Canadian sports figures in history? I'd like to say it was Maurice Richard or Mario Lemieux, but hockey is just not a very globally popular sport. I think it's likely we will see a French Canadian soccer star or basketball star become the most globally famous French Canadian athlete in the coming years.
I still think there's gotta be some obvious options for most famous French Canadian not covered yet... especially if we include Canadians of French descent, but no one really famous is coming to mind, or google.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwoldtimer
Celine Dion.
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Absolument.
Like it or not, there is no other answer. It's indisputable that Celine Dion remains the most famous French Canadian.
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There's an appearance by Joseph R. Smallwood at 0:47 in that video. 
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