Advertisement

Canadian athletes and celebrities from small towns

Our greatest hockey players came from rural communities

Many of Canada’s top athletes, actors and musicians hail from Canada’s small towns and rural communities. While these Canadian icons found fame under the bright lights of the big city, many were born or raised in some of Canada’s smallest and most isolated communities.

Below is a list of famous Canadians and the town they call home, as well as that community's most recently-recorded population.

These lists are not, by any means, definitive.


Canadian athletes from small towns


Joffrey Lupul – Fort Sasktachewan, Alberta (12,500)

Gordie Howe – Floral, Saskatchewan (5,000)

Wayne Gretzky – Brantford, Ontario (90,192)

Mike Weir – Brights Grove, Ontario (4,000)

Larry Walker – Maple Ridge, B.C. (76,000)

Matt Stairs – Saint John, New Brunswick (68,000)

Jason Bay – Trail, B.C. (7,320)

Glenn and Russ Howard – Midland, Ontario (16,500)

Rich, Ron, Brent, Brian, Duane and Darryl Sutter – Viking, Alberta (1,040)

Jordin Tootoo – Churchill, Manitoba (813)

Jonathan Cheechoo – Moose Factory, Ontario (1,458)

Paul Henderson – Lucknow, Ontario (1,136)

Bobby Clarke – Flin Flon, Manitoba (5,363)

Derek Drouin – Corunna, Ontario (?)

Graham DeLeat – Weyburn, Sask. (10,484)

David Hearn – Brantford, Ontario (90,192)

Perdita Felicien – Pickering, Ontario (88,721)

Jon Montgomery – Russell, Manitoba (1,611)

Willie de Wit – Three Hills, Alberta (3,198)

Beckie Scott – Vegreville, Alberta (5,717)

Shannon Kleibrink – Norquay, Saskatchewan (485)

Ed Lukowich – Speers, Saskatchewan (74)

Kurt Browning – Rocky Mountain House, Alberta (6,933)

Brian Orser – Belleville, Ontario (49,454)

Elizabeth Manley – Trenton, Ontario (19,374)

Elvis Stojko – Newmarket, Ontario (79,978)

Lorie Kane – Charlottetown, PEI (34,562)

Richard Zokol – Kitimat, B.C. (8,335)

Tim Horton – Cochrane, Ontario (5,340)

Bobby Hull – Pointe Anne, Ontario (now part of Belleville)

Red Kelly – Simcoe, Ontario (14,777)

Reggie Leach – Riverton, Manitoba (600)

Bobby Orr – Parry Sound, Ontario (6,191)

Larry Robinson – Winchester, Ontario (11,225)

Hayley Wickenheiser – Shaunavon, Saskatchewan (1,691)

Georges St. Pierre – Saint-Isidore, Quebec (2,581)

Jeremy Wotherspoon – Humboldt, Saskatchewan (5,687)

Jonathon Power – Comox, B.C. (13,627)

Brett Lawrie – Langley, B.C. (25,081)

Melanie Turgeon – Alma, Quebec (30,904)


Canadian actors and musicians from small towns


Shania Twain – Timmins, Ontario (43,165)

Alan Thicke – Kirkland Lake, Ontario (8,493)

Justin Bieber

– Stratford, Ontario (30,886)

Ryan Gosling – Cornwall, Ontario (46,340)

Rachel McAdams – St. Thomas, Ontario (37,905)

Avril Lavigne – Belleville, Ontario (49,454)

Joe Dinicol – Stratford, Ontario (30,886)

Kevin Zegers – St. Thomas, Ontario (37,905)

Amanda Walsh – Hudson, Quebec (5,135)

Pamela Anderson – Ladysmith, B.C. (7,921)

Kevin McNulty – Penticton, B.C. (32,877)

Celine Dion – Charlemagne, Quebec (5,853)

Carly Rae Jepsen – Mission, B.C. (36,426)

Trevor Boris – Selkirk, Manitoba (9,834)

Debra DiGiovanni – Tillonsburg, Ontario (15,301)

Tom Green – Pembroke, Ontario (14,360)

Chad Kroeger

– Hanna, Alberta (2,673)

Joni Mitchell – Fort MacLeod, Alberta (3,117)

Emily VanCamp – Port Perry, Ontario (21,569)

Gordon Pinsent – Grand Falls, Newfoundland (13,725)

Jewel Staite – White Rock, B.C. (19,339)

Tricia Helfer – Donalda, Alberta (259)

k.d. lang – Consort, Alberta (689)

Alex Lifeson – Fernie, B.C. (4,811)

Barry Pepper – Campbell River, B.C. (31,186)

Lee Aaron – Belleville, Ontario (49,454)

Susan Aglukark – Arviat, Nunuvut (2,318)

Jann Arden – Springbank, Alberta (36,461)

Mike Smith – New Glasglow, Nova Scotia (9,562)

John Dunsworth – Bridgewater, Nova Scotia (8,241)

Patrick Roach – Branch, Newfoundland (309)

Colin MacDonald – Antigonish, Nova Scotia (4,524)

Regine Cassagne – Saint-Lambert, Quebec (21,555)

Sarah Neufeld – Courtenay, B.C. (24,099)

Alan Doyle – Petty Harbour, Newfoundland (924)

Feist – Amerst, Nova Scotia (9,717)

Adam Beach – Ashern, Manitoba (1,480)