Best Canadian moustaches for Movember inspiration

Movember, also known as the month of November, has officially started meaning men around the world have shaved their faces and started growing their best moustaches to raise awareness and money for prostate cancer research.

While some men will spend a month growing a thin, awkward looking 'stache, some possibly inspired by famous Canadians will grow full, lush ones.

To give participants some inspiration, we decided to take a look at some of the most famous Canadians who have sported a moustache.

Topping our list is a man who was born in Sudbury, Ont. and started his broadcasting career on CBC radio, but really became famous asking people tough answers on the U.S. game show 'Jeopardy!'

Quite possibly Canada's most famous moustache export is the hair on Alex Trebek's upper lip. He has been hosting Jeopardy! since 1984 and has gone back on forth on his moustache even though he does not sport one currently.

Landing second on our list is one of Canada's best-known rock stars, Burton Cummings. The Manitoba-born singing, songwriting and piano playing frontman of the Guess Who made it big with his hit 'American Woman' in the 1960s and he continues to sport his famous stache.

In third place is a Canadian that isn't a household name, but he certainly has some award-winning facial hair. Evan Gillespie, a 23-year-old from Calgary won third place this year in the freestyle competition of the World Beard and Moustache Championships in Norway.

We can't put a list like this together without mentioning some famous hockey players from the 1960s all the way to the 1990s. Topping the list is Lanny McDonald who played with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and Colorado Rockies during his 16-year career. His red upper lip hair stretched down below is lower lip and was hard to miss on the ice.

Eddie Shack, also known as The Entertainer and The Nose, played for six different NHL teams between 1959 and 1975 and won a Stanley Cup with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1967. While many photos from his playing days don't show him with a 'stache, in the past few decades he could often be seen with his cowboy hat and long, thick moustache.

The final hockey player is former Leafs captain Wendel Clark, whose 'stache during his playing days wrapped around his mouth in the handlebar style.

Many people who helped make Canada what it is today have sported some amazing moustaches. Sam Steele, a member of the North-West Mounted Police became famous for his work in the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. He was also featured in a Heritage Minute kicking an American out of Canada for wanting to bring pistols and gambling gear into the country.

Another famous founding Canadian who every student reads about in high school is Louis Riel. He was the political and spiritual leader of the Metis people leading resistance movements against the Canadian government.

While the next person was definitely not born in Canada, he was filming in Nova Scotia earlier this year and he arguably has the greatest moustache of all time. Tom Selleck has sported the facial hair for almost all of his roles and can still not be seen without it.

Finally, we couldn't put this together without including Jack Layton. The former leader of the NDP, who passed away a few months ago after losing his battle with prostate cancer, could always be seen with a covered upper lip. As an April fool's joke this year, all the journalists put on fake moustaches to greet him at a press conference during his federal election campaign. Layton's son, Toronto councillor Mike Layton, has just started growing a moustache of his own for Movember even though he has never grown one before. He tells Inside Toronto, "I am pretty sure it is in my genes."

Movember raised almost $77 million globally in 2010.