45.5089° N, 73.5618° W

MONTREAL

Most Famous People Born in Montreal, Canada

Notable people
4,921
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1948
Most distinctive
Hockey 8.4×

Bilingual, with a comic streak. Montreal's distinctive profession is hockey at more than eight times the global rate, alongside an unusually thick column of actors, filmmakers, singers, and poets — the city's notables split almost evenly between French and English in every category. Hockey is the constant, but the comedy tradition that runs from the cabarets of Saint-Laurent through the National Film Board to the Just for Laughs festival is the cultural surprise the panel can't quite carry.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Montreal during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1960s with 594 notable births.

What Montreal Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is Montreal's biggest profession — 12% of all notables (592).

Montreal over-indexes on hockey8.4× the global rate.

Montreal under-produces football — only 0.3× the global rate.

  1. Actor592
  2. Politician522
  3. Hockey492
  4. Writer245
  5. Singer193
  6. Football157
  7. Film134
  8. Lawyer116
  1. Hockey4928.4×
  2. Actor5922.3×
  3. Film1342.2×
  4. Singer1931.9×
  5. Poet941.8×
  6. Business791.6×
  7. Writer2451.5×
  1. Football1570.3×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Montreal's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

16501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Music
  • Art & Design
  • Other
All4,921
Sort By

Showing 258 of 4,921 notable people

0002 POLITICIAN

Pierre Trudeau

1919 - 2000

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0016 PHYSICIAN

Eric Berne

1910 - 1970

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0037 ACTOR

Joseph Wiseman

1918 - 2009

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0038 PAINTER

Philip Guston

1913 - 1980

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0058 FILM

Mark Robson

1913 - 1978

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0061 PSYCHIATRIST

Ian Stevenson

1918 - 2007

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0104 POLITICIAN

Jean Lesage

1912 - 1980

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0165 GEOGRAPHER

Arthur H. Robinson

1915 - 2004

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0196 POLITICIAN

Jean Drapeau

1916 - 1999

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0210 POET

Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau

1912 - 1943

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0230 ACTOR

Percy Rodriguez

1918 - 2007

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0271 COMPOSER

Henry Brant

1913 - 2008

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0274 BOTANIST

Pierre Dansereau

1911 - 2011

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0278 HOCKEY

Émile Bouchard

1919 - 2012

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0347 PRELATE

Gerald Emmett Carter

1912 - 2003

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0360 COMPOSER

Jean Papineau-Couture

1916 - 2000

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0362 ACTOR

Ted Allan

1916 - 1995

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0380 POET

Louis Dudek

1918 - 2001

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0392 PLAYWRIGHT

André Laurendeau

1912 - 1968

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0403 PRESENTER

Lucille Dumont

1919 - 2016

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0431 BUSINESS

Sidney Harman

1918 - 2011

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0438 COMPOSER

Violet Archer

1913 - 2000

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0462 AUTHOR

H. L. Gold

1914 - 1996

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0521 POLITICIAN

Gilles Lamontagne

1919 - 2016

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0580 ACTOR

Juliette Huot

1912 - 2001

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0585 PHYSICIAN

Jacques Genest

1919 - 2018

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0588 CHEMIST

Saul Winstein

1912 - 1969

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0597 ECONOMIST

Eric Kierans

1914 - 2004

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0600 COMPOSER

Alexander Brott

1915 - 2005

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0608 SPRINT

Hilda Strike

1910 - 1989

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0646 PAINTER

Fernand Leduc

1916 - 2014

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0665 ACTOR

Paul Dupuis

1916 - 1976

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0668 FILM

Robert Lawrence (film editor)

1913 - 2004

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0675 TRADE UNION

Michel Chartrand

1916 - 2010

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0718 HOCKEY

Buddy O'Connor

1916 - 1977

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0733 FIGHTER PILOT

Sir Max Aitken, 2nd Baronet

1910 - 1985

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0766 STATISTICIAN

Nathan Keyfitz

1913 - 2010

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0793 JOURNALIST

Michelle Tisseyre

1918 - 2014

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0796 ACTOR

Olivier Guimond

1914 - 1971

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0841 SCULPTOR

Louis Archambault

1915 - 2003

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0847 ACTIVIST

Simonne Monet-Chartrand

1919 - 1993

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0910 PRIEST

William Mackey (Jesuit)

1915 - 1995

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0944 POLITICIAN

Paul David

1919 - 1999

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0959 COMPOSER

Jean Vallerand

1915 - 1994

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1015 CONDUCTOR

Ethel Stark

1910 - 2012

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1027 POLITICIAN

Elizabeth Rudel Smith

1911 - 1997

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1033 OPERA

Roger Doucet

1919 - 1981

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1049 ACTOR

Olivette Thibault

1914 - 1995

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1078 CARTOONIST

Albert Chartier

1912 - 2004

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1148 WRITER

Jean Le Moyne

1913 - 1996

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1170 POLITICIAN

Solange Chaput-Rolland

1919 - 2001

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1173 SKATER

Alexander Hurd

1910 - 1982

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1236 COMPOSER

Samuel Dolin

1917 - 2002

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1246 TRADE UNION

Madeleine Parent

1918 - 2012

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1264 PAINTER

Jacques de Tonnancour

1917 - 2005

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1272 HISTORIAN

Michel Brunet (historian)

1917 - 1985

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1280 ACTOR

Yvette Brind'Amour

1918 - 1992

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1307 ACTOR

Nicole Germain

1917 - 1994

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1342 JOURNALIST

René Lecavalier

1918 - 1999

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1401 LAWYER

Charles Drury

1912 - 1991

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1405 PHYSICIAN

Gustave Gingras

1918 - 1996

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1406 CARTOONIST

Harry Mayerovitch

1910 - 2004

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1415 LAWYER

Guy Favreau

1917 - 1967

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1449 PHILOSOPHER

Vianney Décarie

1917 - 2009

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1459 DIPLOMAT

John Kennett Starnes

1918 - 2014

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1506 HOCKEY

Paul Bibeault

1919 - 1970

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1548 PAINTER

Louis Jaque

1919 - 2010

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1581 BASEBALL

Calvin Griffith

1911 - 1999

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1583 ARCHITECT

Hazen Sise

1917 - 1974

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1602 POLITICIAN

Robert Gordon Rogers

1919 - 2010

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1608 DIPLOMAT

Marcel Cadieux

1915 - 1981

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1701 POLITICIAN

Lucien Saulnier

1916 - 1989

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1709 POLITICIAN

Claude Jodoin

1913 - 1975

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1710 HISTORIAN

Guy Frégault

1918 - 1977

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1717 COMPOSER

Marvin Duchow

1914 - 1979

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1723 HOCKEY

Jimmy Orlando

1916 - 1992

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1763 PAINTER

Joseph Giunta

1911 - 2001

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1799 BASEBALL

Roland Gladu

1911 - 1994

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1804 PSYCHOLOGIST

Jeannine Guindon

1919 - 2002

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1823 HOCKEY

Phil Watson

1914 - 1991

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1824 PLAYWRIGHT

Paul Toupin

1918 - 1993

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1872 PRODUCER

Robert Whitehead (theatre producer)

1916 - 2002

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1894 PIANIST

Émilien Allard

1915 - 1976

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1927 SINGER

Charles Jordan (baritone)

1915 - 1986

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1946 WORKER

Manuel G. Batshaw

1915 - 2016

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1949 PHOTOGRAPHER

Conrad Poirier

1912 - 1968

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1985 DRUG TRAFFICK

Lucien Rivard

1914 - 2002

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2024 FILM

Gerald Mayer

1919 - 2001

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2043 SINGER

Albert Viau

1910 - 2001

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2078 PRESENTER

Roger Baulu

1910 - 1997

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2083 FOOTBALL

Charlie O'Rourke

1917 - 2000

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2113 PRIEST

Gérard Tremblay (bishop)

1918 - 2019

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2131 ACTOR

Guy Mauffette

1915 - 2005

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2135 PAINTER

Léon Bellefleur

1910 - 2007

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2144 CHEMIST

Stanley Mason

1914 - 1987

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2152 ACTOR

Rolland Bédard

1913 - 1987

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2194 BASEBALL

Paul Calvert (baseball)

1917 - 1999

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2240 PHILOSOPHER

Jacques Lavigne (philosophe)

1919 - 1999

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2243 POLITICIAN

William McLean Hamilton

1919 - 1989

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2248 CHEMIST

Benton Seymour Rabinovitch

1919 - 2014

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2257 ATHLETIC

Roxy Atkins

1912 - 2002

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2300 BOTANIST

Joseph Robert Bernard Boivin

1916 - 1985

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2318 ACTOR

Jeanine Beaubien

1919 - 2016

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2319 PHYSICIAN

Gérard Desrosiers

1919 - 2016

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2340 POLITICIAN

Jean-Paul Deschatelets

1912 - 1986

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2378 WRITER

Ambroise Lafortune

1917 - 1997

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2388 PRIEST

René Latourelle

1918 - 2017

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2403 BIOCHEMIST

Theodore Sourkes

1919 - 2015

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2404 SINGER

Dick Todd (singer)

1914 - 1974

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2407 BASKET

Doodie Bloomfield

1918 - 1950

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2433 BOXER

Maxie Berger

1917 - 2000

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2441 PAINTER

Stanley Cosgrove

1911 - 2002

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2459 MEDIEVALIST

Morton W. Bloomfield

1913 - 1987

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2495 POLITICIAN

Sam Walsh

1916 - 2008

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2499 ACTOR

Marcel Giguère

1917 - 1997

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2502 HOCKEY

Paul Haynes (ice hockey)

1910 - 1989

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2505 CIVIL SERVANT

Simon Reisman

1919 - 2008

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2506 WRITER

Henri Tranquille

1916 - 2005

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2520 BUSINESS

Roland Giroux

1913 - 1991

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2584 MAGIC

Henry Gordon (magician)

1919 - 2009

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2586 POET

Robert Charbonneau

1911 - 1967

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2605 POET

Pierre Baillargeon

1916 - 1967

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2615 COMPOSER

Maurice Dela

1919 - 1978

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2652 PLAYWRIGHT

Robert Élie

1915 - 1973

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2662 WRITER

Jean Filiatrault

1919 - 1982

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2665 ART HISTORIAN

Naomi Jackson Groves

1910 - 2001

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2728 SINGER

Jean Lalonde

1914 - 1991

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2733 NATURALIST

Dollard Senécal

1912 - 2002

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2743 LAWYER

John Richard Hyde

1912 - 2003

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2751 NOVELIST

Joyce Marshall

1913 - 2005

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2761 MUSIC

Bluma Appel

1919 - 2007

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2774 CYCLIST

Jules Audy

1911 - 1989

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2788 PLAYWRIGHT

Guy Dufresne

1915 - 1993

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2805 BASEBALL

Sherry Robertson

1919 - 1970

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2837 LAWYER

Albert Malouf

1916 - 1997

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2850 OFFICER

Jacques Dextraze

1919 - 1993

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2872 EDITOR

Larry Henderson

1917 - 2006

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2879 POLITICIAN

David Côté

1915 - 1969

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2888 TRADE UNION

Myra Wolfgang

1914 - 1976

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2889 PHYSICIST

Paul Lorrain

1916 - 2006

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2915 POLITICIAN

George M. Smith

1912 - 1962

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2928 WRITER

Claude Robillard

1911 - 1968

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2930 HUMOURIST

Marcel Gamache

1913 - 1995

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2940 HISTORIAN

Edgar Andrew Collard

1911 - 2000

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3006 WORLD WAR

Lloyd Chadburn

1919 - 1944

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3009 ÉDITEUR

Léo Bonneville

1919 - 2007

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3044 JOURNALIST

Gérard Dagenais

1913 - 1981

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3049 POLITICIAN

Jacques Trudel

1919 - 2004

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3059 PRIEST

Pierre Angers

1912 - 2005

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3070 RELIGIEUSE

Marcel de la Sablonnière

1918 - 1999

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3083 LAWYER

Louis-Philippe de Grandpré

1917 - 2008

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3107 ACTOR

Pierre Gay (acteur)

Born 1916

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3131 PRIEST

William Edward Power

1915 - 2003

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3147 HOCKEY

John Mahaffy (ice hockey)

1918 - 2015

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3205 LAWYER

Alan B. Gold

1917 - 2005

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3216 ACADEMIC

Robert Fletcher Shaw

1910 - 2001

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3225 SAINT

Gilberte Côté-Mercier

1910 - 2002

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3244 ACTOR

Jean-Paul Kingsley

1914 - 2005

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3273 POLITICIAN

Fernand Picard

1917 - 1986

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3275 ACTIVIST

Laura Sabia

1916 - 1996

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3278 ACTOR

John McLeish

1916 - 1968

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3291 LAWYER

Louis-René Beaudoin

1912 - 1970

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3299 HISTORIAN

W. Roger Graham

1919 - 1988

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3327 HOCKEY

Maurice Croghan

1914 - 1979

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3334 PRIEST

Paul-Aimé Martin

1917 - 2002

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3355 WRITER

Geneviève de la Tour Fondue

1912 - 2000

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3379 FILM

Julian Roffman

1919 - 2000

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3404 ACADEMIC

Davidson Dunton

1912 - 1987

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3411 LAWYER

Milton L. Klein

1910 - 2007

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3435 HOCKEY

Conrad Bourcier

1916 - 1987

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3440 WRITER

Roger Brien

1910 - 1999

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3457 PSYCHOLOGIST

Adrien Pinard

1916 - 1998

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3459 BOTANIST

Ernest Rouleau

1916 - 1991

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3482 PAINTER

Maurice Raymond

1912 - 2006

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3493 ARTIST

Simone Aubry Beaulieu

1917 - 2006

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3496 SKI

Norman Gagne

1911 - 1986

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3535 LAWYER

Frank Power

1918 - 1973

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3572 SPORT

Frank Dilio

1912 - 1997

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3593 PHYSICIST

Alan Brewer

1915 - 2007

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3602 ACTOR

Marthe Nadeau

1910 - 1994

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3611 FOOTBALL

Joe Watt

1919 - 1983

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3623 CONSERVATIVE

Charles-Édouard Campeau

1916 - 1992

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3635 LAWYER

Raymond Eudes

1912 - 1980

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3647 SPORT

Laurent Gadou

Born 1912

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3712 HOCKEY

Russell McConnell

1918 - 1942

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3766 POLITICIAN

Fernand Leblanc

1917 - 1996

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3769 ÉTUDES

Pierre Béique

1910 - 2003

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3782 POLITICIAN

Obie Baizley

1917 - 2000

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3787 ENGINEER

Henri Audet

1918 - 2012

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3808 HOCKEY

Ernie Laforce

1916 - 2009

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3841 JOURNALIST

Marcel Ouimet

1915 - 1985

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3858 ACTOR

Clément Latour

1911 - 1961

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3888 POLITICIAN

Maurice Rinfret

1915 - 1967

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3933 HOCKEY

Gerald Heffernan

1916 - 2007

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3981 FOOTBALL

Steve Levantis

1916 - 1993

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3988 POLITICIAN

J. Antonio Thomas

1912 - 1998

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4005 SAXOPHONIST

Sid Cooper

1918 - 2011

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4017 PHOTOGRAPHER

Roger St-Jean

1917 - 1971

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4019 ACTOR

Andrée Basilières

1915 - 2007

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4036 POLITICIAN

Mickey Hennessy

1915 - 1991

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4049 SINGER

Paul-Marcel Gauthier

1910 - 1999

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4056 PAINTER

Alphonse Lespérance

1914 - 2003

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4063 BASEBALL

Joe Krakauskas

1915 - 1960

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4095 MILITAR

Robert Moncel

1917 - 2007

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4124 JOURNALIST

Al Palmer

1913 - 1971

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4126 HOCKEY

Jean Pusie

1910 - 1956

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4153 PATHOLOGIST

Isadore Nathan Dubin

1913 - 1980

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4154 HOCKEY

Jean Bourcier

1911 - 1989

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4176 FENCER

Joan Archibald

1913 - 2002

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4183 AEROSPACE

Albert William Baker

1918 - 2008

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4195 PAINTER

Jeanne Rhéaume

1915 - 2000

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4219 HOCKEY

George Hayes (ice hockey)

1914 - 1987

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4256 WRITER

Laurence Beaulieu-Beaudoin

1919 - 1996

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4274 FENCER

Nancy Archibald

1911 - 1996

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4278 MILITAR

William Anderson (Canadian Army officer)

1915 - 2000

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4289 POLITICIAN

Bert Weeks

1918 - 1990

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4293 WRITER

Jean de Laplante

1919 - 2004

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4303 ENGINEER

Thomas Kierans

1913 - 2013

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4368 MUSIC

Marcel Saucier

1912 - 1997

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4404 HOCKEY

Gaston Leroux (ice hockey)

1913 - 1988

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4433 HOCKEY

Armand Raymond

1913 - 1993

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4435 POLITICIAN

Marcel Dupré (député)

1911 - 1997

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4470 ACADEMIC

Gabrielle Léger

1916 - 1998

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4473 FENCER

Elizabeth Hamilton (fencer)

Born 1919

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4475 MISSING

Simone David-Raymond

1911 - 2012

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4503 CLUB

Thelma Griffith Haynes

1913 - 1995

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4518 POLITICIAN

George O'Reilly

1911 - 1992

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4524 POLITICIAN

Armand Maltais

1913 - 1993

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4528 SPORT

Bill Davies (Canadian football)

1916 - 1990

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4548 FENCER

George Tully (fencer)

1914 - 1986

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4555 TRADE UNION

Romeo Mathieu

1917 - 1989

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4560 FENCER

Rhoda Martin

1919 - 1998

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4562 MUSIC

Suzette Forgues Halasz

1918 - 2004

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4573 GOLF

Margaret Todd (golfer)

1918 - 2019

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4582 RUNNER

Lloyd Evans (athlete)

Born 1915

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4618 POLITICIAN

Irvine Barrow

1913 - 2005

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4619 FOOTBALL

Tommy Burns (Canadian football)

1910 - 1942

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4628 OFFICER

Michael Dare

1917 - 1996

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4647 BANK

Alfred John Ellis

1915 - 2020

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4648 PUBLISHER

Claude Hurtubise

1914 - 1999

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4673 SPORT

Mary Vandervliet

1912 - 2004

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4685 JOURNALIST

Willie Chevalier

1911 - 1991

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4690 POLITICIAN

Victor Yarnell

1919 - 2015

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4703 JUDGE

Arthur Jessup

1914 - 1990

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4705 DIPLOMAT

Jean Chapdelaine

1914 - 2005

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4710 ENSEIGNANT

Iole Appugliese

1912 - 1973

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4738 ENGINEER

Roger T. Trudeau

1914 - 1987

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4754 POLITICIAN

Arsène Gagné

1910 - 1964

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4757 HOCKEY

Bill Booth (ice hockey)

1919 - 1986

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4787 SYNDICALISTE

Eucher Corbeil

1912 - 2002

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4795 PRIEST

Célestin Marcotte

1915 - 1990

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4813 POLITICIAN

Paul-Émile Sauvageau

1918 - 2003

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4828 POLITICIAN

Maurice Custeau

1916 - 1990

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4833 POLITICIAN

Maurice-Tréflé Custeau

1916 - 1990

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4843 POLITICIAN

Germaine Huot

1919 - 2017

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4872 MISSING

Edith Jacobson Low-Beer

1916 - 2009

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4895 DIPLOMAT

Christopher Campbell Eberts

1913 - 1975

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4904 FOOTBALL

Bill Gill (soccer)

Born 1919

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