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 385 of 4,921 notable people

0008 PIANIST

Oscar Peterson

1925 - 2007

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0014 HOCKEY

Maurice Richard

1921 - 2000

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0019 ACTOR

Colleen Dewhurst

1924 - 1991

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0025 TRUMPET

Maynard Ferguson

1928 - 2006

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0053 PAINTER

Jean-Paul Riopelle

1923 - 2002

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0079 BODYBUILDER

Joe Weider

1920 - 2013

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0080 CHEMIST

Rudolph A. Marcus

Born 1923

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0088 ACTOR

Madeleine Sherwood

1922 - 2016

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0101 NOVELIST

Mavis Gallant

1922 - 2014

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0122 SINGER

George London (bass-baritone)

1920 - 1985

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0123 FILM

Michel Brault

1928 - 2013

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0126 WRESTLER

Maurice Vachon

1929 - 2013

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0128 ENTREPRENEUR

Edgar Bronfman Sr.

1929 - 2013

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0134 ARCHITECT

Phyllis Lambert

Born 1927

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0136 COMPOSER

Galt MacDermot

1928 - 2018

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0140 POLITICIAN

Pierre Laporte

1921 - 1970

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0148 WRITER

Hubert Aquin

1929 - 1977

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0152 POET

Peter Dale Scott

Born 1929

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0169 PAINTER

Marcel Barbeau

1925 - 2016

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0178 ACTOR

Henry Corden

1920 - 2005

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0182 HOCKEY

Gump Worsley

1929 - 2007

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0202 HOCKEY

Doug Harvey (ice hockey)

1924 - 1989

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0209 COMEDIAN

Mort Sahl

Born 1927

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0268 PIANIST

André Mathieu

1929 - 1968

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0280 SOCIOLOGIST

Robert W. Cox

1926 - 2018

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0287 FILM

Silvio Narizzano

1927 - 2011

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0310 POET

Claude Gauvreau

1925 - 1971

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0312 PHYSICIAN

Lucille Teasdale-Corti

1929 - 1996

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0316 BODYBUILDER

Samson Burke

Born 1929

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0318 COMPOSER

François Morel

1926 - 2018

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0323 SINGER

Pierrette Alarie

1921 - 2011

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0338 ACTOR

Gabriel Gascon

1927 - 2018

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0339 ACTOR

Jean-Louis Roux

1923 - 2013

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0366 SCULPTOR

Françoise Sullivan

Born 1923

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0373 ACTOR

Marc Favreau

1929 - 2005

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0374 ACTOR

Bobby Breen

1927 - 2016

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0382 ARTIST

Mimi Parent

1924 - 2005

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0391 POET

Pierre Perrault

1927 - 1999

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0407 WRITER

Pierre Gauvreau

1922 - 2011

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0408 ACTOR

Monique Leyrac

1928 - 2019

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0458 ACTOR

Jean Gascon

1920 - 1988

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0460 LAWYER

Paul Gérin-Lajoie

1920 - 2018

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0468 POLITICIAN

Claude Ryan

1925 - 2004

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0469 SINGER

Louis Quilico

1925 - 2000

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0480 COMPOSER

Pierre Mercure

1927 - 1966

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0483 SCULPTOR

Jean-Paul Mousseau

1927 - 1991

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0488 SINGER

Raymond Lévesque

Born 1928

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0494 PSYCHOLOGIST

Ronald Melzack

1929 - 2019

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0516 ACTOR

Hélène Loiselle

1928 - 2013

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0517 WRESTLER

Tarzan Tyler

1927 - 1985

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0552 SINGER

Anita Ellis (singer)

1920 - 2007

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0556 PAINTER

Betty Goodwin

1923 - 2008

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0592 ACTOR

Janette Bertrand

Born 1925

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0605 CHOREOGRAPHER

Brian Macdonald (choreographer)

1928 - 2014

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0640 MANAGER

Sam Pollock

1925 - 2007

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0645 PHILOSOPHER

William Herbert Dray

1921 - 2009

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0672 PHOTOGRAPHER

Dan Gibson

1922 - 2006

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0698 PHARMACOLOGIST

Bernard Belleau

1925 - 1989

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0709 JOURNALIST

Red Fisher (journalist)

1926 - 2018

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0729 PHOTOGRAPHER

Arnaud Maggs

1926 - 2012

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0731 PUBLISHER

John Calder

1927 - 2018

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0732 BASEBALL

Jean-Pierre Roy

1920 - 2014

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0742 POLITICIAN

Pierre Juneau

1922 - 2012

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0750 SINGER

Robert Savoie

1927 - 2007

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0755 POLITICIAN

Victor Goldbloom

1923 - 2016

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0759 ACTOR

Denise Morelle

1926 - 1984

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0761 LAWYER

William Tetley

1927 - 2014

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0768 BUSINESS

Pierre Péladeau

1925 - 1997

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0770 POLITICIAN

Yvon Dupuis

1926 - 2017

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0794 ACTOR

Béatrice Picard

Born 1929

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0804 ACTOR

Jean Coutu (actor)

1925 - 1999

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0809 PUPPETEER

Sid Krofft

Born 1929

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0848 BUSINESS

Heward Grafftey

1928 - 2010

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0855 BASKET

Ernie Vandeweghe

1928 - 2014

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0856 ACTOR

Amulette Garneau

1928 - 2008

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0860 ACTOR

Jean Duceppe

1923 - 1990

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0866 RABBI

Nahum Rabinovitch

1928 - 2020

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0869 HOCKEY

Dollard St. Laurent

1929 - 2015

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0871 FLYING ACE

John T. Godfrey

1922 - 1958

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0872 POLITICIAN

Maurice Sauvé

1923 - 1992

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0885 FILM

Fernand Dansereau

Born 1928

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0938 PHILOSOPHES

Michael Brecher

Born 1925

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0948 JOURNALIST

Jacques Hébert (Canadian politician)

1923 - 2007

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0954 STATISTICIAN

Martin Wilk

1922 - 2013

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0977 ACTOR

Huguette Oligny

1922 - 2013

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0981 PAINTER

Paterson Ewen

1925 - 2002

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0989 TRUMPET

Alfred "Chico" Alvarez

1920 - 1992

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0995 LAWYER

Jules Deschênes

1923 - 2000

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0996 PAINTER

Kittie Bruneau

Born 1929

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0998 WRITER

André Langevin

1927 - 2009

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1002 POLITICIAN

Jean-Guy Cardinal

1925 - 1979

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1016 CRIMINOLOGIST

Marie-Andrée Bertrand

1925 - 2011

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1017 WRESTLER

Brute Bernard

1921 - 1984

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1036 BIOLOGIST

Fernand Seguin

1922 - 1988

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1047 WRESTLER

Jean Rougeau

1929 - 1983

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1048 ARCHITECT

Roger D'Astous

1926 - 1998

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1082 ACTOR

Pierre Daignault (acteur)

1925 - 2003

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1089 JUDGE

Jean Beetz

1927 - 1991

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1113 POLITICIAN

Gérald Beaudoin

1929 - 2008

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1136 LAWYER

Jérôme Choquette

1928 - 2017

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1139 SINGER

Guylaine Guy

Born 1929

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1142 NOVELIST

John Edgar Colwell Hearne

1926 - 1994

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1155 JOURNALIST

Gretta Chambers

1927 - 2017

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1156 PRIEST

Emmett Johns

1928 - 2018

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1180 POET

Roland Giguère

1929 - 2003

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1186 AUTHOR

William Weintraub

1926 - 2017

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1223 JOURNALIST

Elie Abel

1920 - 2004

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1256 POET

Andrée Maillet

1921 - 1995

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1269 SINGER

Claire Gagnier

Born 1924

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1297 CHOREOGRAPHER

Fernand Nault

1920 - 2006

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1298 LAWYER

Ronald St. John Macdonald

1928 - 2006

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1318 POLITICIAN

Leo Kolber

1929 - 2020

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1320 BUSINESS

Charles-Albert Poissant

1925 - 2011

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1335 COMPOSER

Robert Turner (composer)

1920 - 2012

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1337 WRITER

Pierre Trottier

1925 - 2010

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1338 POLITICIAN

François Aquin

1929 - 2017

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1379 SINGER

Muriel Millard

1924 - 2014

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1384 BUSINESS

André Chagnon

Born 1928

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1396 WEIGHTLIFTER

Gerry Gratton

1927 - 1963

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1397 IMMUNOLOGIST

Samuel O. Freedman

Born 1928

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1417 POLITICIAN

Jean-Noël Lavoie

1927 - 2013

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1420 POLITICIAN

Sheila Finestone

1927 - 2009

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1443 POLITICIAN

Jean-Pierre Côté

1926 - 2002

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1452 POLITICAL SCIENTIST

André D'Allemagne

1929 - 2001

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1453 OPERA

André Turp

1925 - 1991

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1457 BIOLOGIST

Louis Siminovitch

Born 1920

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1499 POET

Thérèse Renaud

1927 - 2005

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1505 TRADE UNION

Marcel Pepin

1926 - 2000

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1512 WRITER

May Cutler

1923 - 2011

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1520 PHARMACIST

Jean Coutu (pharmacist)

Born 1927

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1535 PAINTER

André L'Archevêque

1923 - 2015

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1614 WRITER

Louise Maheux-Forcier

1929 - 2015

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1621 ACTOR

Paul Carpenter (actor)

1921 - 1964

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1652 GEOGRAPHER

Pierre Camu

Born 1923

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1665 LAWYER

Charles Gonthier

1928 - 2009

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1686 PIANIST

Pierre Brabant

1925 - 2014

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1702 MAYOR

Marion Dewar

1928 - 2008

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1703 PRELATE

Charles-Omer Valois

1924 - 2013

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1706 LAWYER

A. Jean de Grandpré

Born 1921

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1712 ACTOR

Georges Groulx

1922 - 1997

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1724 ACTOR

René Caron (acteur)

1926 - 2016

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1743 HOCKEY

Larry Zeidel

1928 - 2014

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1828 WRITER

Pierre Vadeboncœur

1920 - 2010

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1848 SCIENTIST

Leo Margolis

1927 - 1997

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1860 POLITICIAN

Marcel Robidas

1923 - 2009

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1865 ACTOR

Réal Béland (père)

1920 - 1983

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1870 CONDUCTOR

Francis Coleman

1924 - 2008

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1884 MUSIC

Gilles Potvin

1923 - 2000

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1902 PRODUCED

Veronica Foster

1922 - 2000

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1906 PLAYER

Henri Rochon

1924 - 2005

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1931 POLITICIAN

Fernand Daoust

1926 - 2020

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1944 NOVELIST

Constance Beresford-Howe

1922 - 2016

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1947 ACTOR

Gérard Lorin

1927 - 2000

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1965 POLITICIAN

Yves Gabias

1920 - 2002

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1968 POLITICIAN

André Marchand (politician)

1926 - 2011

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1972 JOURNALIST

Reuven Frank

1920 - 2006

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1973 JOURNALIST

Jacques Francœur

1925 - 2005

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2000 WRITER

Jean-Marc Léger (écrivain)

1927 - 2011

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2017 ACTOR

Pierre Dufresne

1927 - 1984

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2023 ACTOR

Jean Mathieu

1924 - 2017

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2031 PRIEST

René Audet

1920 - 2011

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2039 HOCKEY

Hy Buller

1926 - 1968

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2047 SPORT

Gil Boa

1924 - 1973

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2055 ACTOR

Paolo Noël

Born 1929

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2056 SPY

Roméo Sabourin

1923 - 1944

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2072 CONDUCTOR

Michel Perrault

Born 1925

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2081 PSYCHOLOGIST

Jean-Pierre Hogue

1927 - 2012

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2092 COMPOSER

André Asselin (Pianist)

1923 - 2012

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2104 PHOTOGRAPHER

Mia Matthes

1920 - 2010

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2105 BASKET

Sol Tolchinsky

Born 1929

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2136 SCÉNOGRAPHE

Robert Prévost

1927 - 1982

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2138 HOCKEY

Ken Mosdell

1922 - 2006

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2140 ACTOR

Denise Proulx

1928 - 1993

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2168 CARICATURIST

Normand Hudon

1929 - 1997

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2203 FILM

Harry Gulkin

1927 - 2018

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2215 ACTOR

Monique Lepage

Born 1929

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2226 PHOTOGRAPHER

Antoine Desilets

1927 - 2019

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2231 BASKET

Bennie Lands

1921 - 2014

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2234 PAINTER

Jean McEwen

1923 - 1999

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2239 FILM

Jean-Paul Ladouceur

1921 - 1992

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2250 SPORT

Laurent Tessier

Born 1928

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2260 ACTOR

Gisèle Schmidt

1921 - 2005

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2275 POLITICIAN

Douglas Roche

Born 1929

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2288 BUSINESS

Peter Bronfman

1929 - 1996

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2292 SPORT

Bob Lacourse

1926 - 2013

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2305 PAINTER

Robert Roussil

1925 - 2013

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2345 SINGER

Colette Bonheur

1927 - 1966

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2352 ACTOR

Jean Lajeunesse

1921 - 1991

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2357 ACTOR

Jacques Galipeau

1923 - 2020

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2395 PLAYER

Brendan Macken (tennis)

1923 - 2020

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2400 HOCKEY

Frank Eddolls

1921 - 1961

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2413 PAINTER

Ghitta Caiserman-Roth

1923 - 2005

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2427 ACTOR

Gérard Paradis

1921 - 2013

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2434 SINGER

Jeanne-D'Arc Charlebois

1920 - 2001

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2440 PIANIST

Dorothy Morton

1924 - 2008

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2455 WRITER

Luigi Incoronato

1920 - 1967

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2461 PSYCHOANALYST

André Lussier (psychanalyste)

1922 - 2016

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2482 COMPOSER

Gérald Gagnier

1926 - 1961

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2513 ACTOR

Roger Garand

1922 - 1987

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2542 PAINTER

Roger Fauteux

Born 1923

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2548 BASKET

Mendy Morein

1926 - 2003

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2564 SINGER

Jen Roger

1928 - 2016

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2569 VIOLONISTE

Gilles Lefebvre

1922 - 2001

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2602 PAINTER

Jack Nichols (painter)

1921 - 2009

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2610 BUSINESS

Edward Bronfman

1927 - 2005

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2613 WRITER

Jean-Paul Fugère

1921 - 2011

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2628 PHOTOGRAPHER

Maurice Perron

1924 - 1999

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2661 PSYCHOLOGIST

Thérèse Gouin Décarie

Born 1923

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2664 BUSINESS

J. David Molson

1928 - 2017

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2681 MUSIC

Daisy Sweeney

1920 - 2017

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2684 SINGER

Serge Deyglun

1929 - 1972

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2710 POLITICIAN

Rod Sykes

Born 1929

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2722 ACTOR

Jacques Bilodeau

1923 - 1976

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2732 ACTOR

Aimé Major

1924 - 1996

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2735 SINGER

Lise Roy (chanteuse)

1923 - 1977

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2755 HUMOURIST

Lucien Boyer (humoriste)

1928 - 1977

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2758 FOOTBALL

Paul Duhart

1920 - 2006

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2772 WRITER

Jacques Lamarche

1922 - 2006

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2777 FILM

Jacques Giraldeau

1927 - 2015

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2821 OPERA

Clarice Carson

1929 - 2015

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2826 CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien

Born 1928

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2831 ACTOR

Thérèse Cadorette

1925 - 2007

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2845 POLITICIAN

Robert Layton

1925 - 2002

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2849 CONDUCTOR

Jacqueline Richard

1928 - 2015

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2903 FOOTBALL

John Taylor (Canadian football)

1925 - 2005

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2917 PHOTOGRAPHER

Lorraine Monk

Born 1926

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2926 MOBSTER

Michael Rizzitello

1929 - 2005

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2946 ENGINEER

Camille Dagenais

1920 - 2016

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2948 SINGER

Rolande Désormeaux

1926 - 1963

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2958 ACTOR

Jack Duffy

1926 - 2008

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2992 POLITICIAN

Yves Ryan

1928 - 2014

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3022 HOCKEY

Andy Gilpin

1920 - 2014

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3028 ACTOR

Mario Verdon

1923 - 1992

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3031 FILM

Pierre Petel

1920 - 1999

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3032 PHYSICIAN

Luc Chicoine

1929 - 2015

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3034 WRITER

Fernande Saint-Martin

1927 - 2019

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3045 SOCIOLOGIST

Yves Martin (sociologue)

Born 1929

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3051 WRITER

Claude Lévesque

1927 - 2012

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3056 POLITICIAN

Lucien Caron

1929 - 2003

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3067 PAINTER

Jean-Paul Jérôme

1928 - 2004

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3080 HOCKEY

Ralph Buchanan

1922 - 2005

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3081 POLITICIAN

Noël Saint-Germain

1922 - 1998

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3102 COMPOSER

Emmanuel Ghent

1925 - 2003

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3110 POLITICIAN

Fernand Lafontaine

1922 - 2010

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3132 JUDGE

Gerald Le Dain

1924 - 2007

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3141 CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Irving Grundman

Born 1928

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3142 ACTOR

Huguette Uguay

1927 - 2018

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3157 WRITER

John Buell

1927 - 2013

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3159 HISTORIAN

Roland Lamontagne

1921 - 2011

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3168 POLITICIAN

Claude Lefebvre (politician)

1929 - 2016

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3171 ILLUSTRATOR

Frank Lipari

1927 - 2015

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3188 POLITICIAN

Egan Chambers

1921 - 1994

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3206 ACTOR

Roland Chenail

1921 - 2010

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3223 ACTOR

Janine Mignolet

1928 - 1994

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3257 BASSIST

Hal Gaylor

1929 - 2015

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3267 ACTOR

Roger Garceau

1921 - 2001

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3280 THÉOLOGIEN

André Naud

1925 - 2002

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3295 LAWYER

Jacques Tétreault

1929 - 2018

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3297 CHOREOGRAPHER

Françoise Riopelle

Born 1927

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3338 PHYSICIAN

Claude Fortier

1921 - 1986

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3366 WRITER

Pierre Gélinas

1925 - 2009

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3367 ARTISTE

Rodolphe de Repentigny

1928 - 1959

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3380 ACTOR

Denise Provost

1925 - 1972

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3383 PAINTER

Gentile Tondino

1923 - 2001

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3388 SCULPTOR

John Cullen Nugent

1921 - 2014

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3419 BUSINESS

Jeannine Guillevin Wood

1929 - 2009

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3421 SINGER

Fernande Chiocchio

Born 1929

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3432 SAXOPHONIST

Bernie Piltch

1927 - 1983

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3433 POLITICIAN

Pierre Savard

Born 1927

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3442 POLITICIAN

Raymond Rock

1922 - 2016

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3444 MUSIC

Gloria Agostini

1923 - 2004

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3461 POLITICIAN

Maurice Dumas

1927 - 2015

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3472 PAINTER

Louise Renaud

1922 - 2020

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3499 CYCLIST

René Cyr

1920 - 2015

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3504 POLITICIAN

Carlo Rossi (politician)

1925 - 1998

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3519 ARCHITECT

Luc Durand (architecte)

1929 - 2018

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3520 LAWYER

Morgan McCammon

1922 - 1999

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3528 ACTOR

Rita Bibeau

Born 1925

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3532 DIPLOMAT

D'Iberville Fortier

1926 - 2006

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3542 THEOLOGIAN

Wilfred Shuchat

1920 - 2018

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3554 CARICATURIST

Roland Berthiaume

Born 1927

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3578 ACTOR

Madeleine Gérôme

1920 - 1996

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3592 ECONOMIST

Roland Parenteau

1921 - 2015

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3620 ACTOR

Jackie Kahane

1921 - 2001

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3646 POLITICIAN

Antonio Yanakis

1922 - 1997

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3679 POLITICIAN

George Albert Kerr

1924 - 2007

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3683 SCULPTOR

Jim Ritchie

Born 1929

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3698 ACTOR

Robert Gadouas

1927 - 1969

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3700 ENGINEER

Gerald A. Leonards

1921 - 1997

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3708 PSYCHOLOGIST

Gilles Gendreau

1926 - 2010

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3711 POLITICIAN

Gérard Loiselle

1921 - 1994

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3719 LAWYER

Guy Rouleau (politician)

1923 - 2010

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3722 RÉALISATEUR

Claude Sylvestre

1927 - 2014

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3731 POLITICIAN

Robert Dean

Born 1927

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3733 POLITICIAN

Louis-Joseph Pigeon

1922 - 1993

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3747 POLITICIAN

Joan Dougherty

Born 1927

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3748 PIANIST

Marcelle Corneille

1923 - 2019

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3749 OPERA

Jean-Pierre Hurteau

1924 - 2009

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3811 LAWYER

Georges-C. Lachance

1926 - 2020

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3813 PRESENTER

Louis Bilodeau

1924 - 2006

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