Steve Nash
Steve Nash was one of the most elite NBA players to come from Canada. He was a 8 time All Star and a two time MVP of the NBA. Drafted in 1996 by the Phoenix Suns, Nash spent 10 seasons with his original team. He also played 6 seasons with Dallas and 3 with the LA Lakers.
Among his accomplishments outside of being an MVP, he lead the league in assists 5 times, won the Lionel Conacher award 3 times, and was a member of the 50-40-90 club 4 times.
Steve retired in March 2015. He then took on part time consulting for the Golden State Warriors.
Georges St-Pierre
Often referred to as GSP, he is a Canadian mma fighter who is currently “semi-retired”.
He found massive success in the UFC during the mid-late 2000’s and is a 3 time former Welterweight Champion of the World.
He was also ranked as the #1 welterweight in the world by Sherdog several times. Sportsnet named him Canadian Athlete of the year 3 times from 2008-2010.
Tessa Virtue
Tessa Virtue is a Canadian ice dancer. Born in 1989, she began skating at the age of 5 and has found massive amounts of success.
She has a gold medal from Vancouver 2010, two gold medals from the world championships, two gold medals from the Four Continents Championships, 6 gold medals from the Canadian Championships, and a gold from both the world junior championships and the junior grand prix final.
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky is a former NHLer and Head coach. He spent his career with four teams: The Oilers, Kings, Blues, and Rangers.
You might know him as “The Great One”. He holds the record for highest scorer in NHL history, so, he’s pretty good. He’s also the only player to ever reach 200 points in a season. He currently holds 60 NHL records.
What more can we say about the guy? He’s got 4 cups with Edmonton, and has won 3 gold medals at the Canada Cup!
Wayne retired in 1999 and had a short stint coaching the Phoenix Coyotes.
Donovan Bailey
Donovan Bailey was a Canadian sprinter who held the world record for fastest 100 meter sprint after his performance in the 1996 Olympics. He was also the first Canadian to legally break the 10 second barrier in the 100 meter sprint. That’s impressive! He has 4 gold medals coming from The Olympics, World Championships, and Commonwealth games.
His capturing of gold in Atlanta brought Canada tons of pride. He was inducted into the Ontario sports hall of fame in 2005.
Hayley Wickenheiser
Hayley Wickenheiser is without a doubt one of the most successful Canadian athletes of all time. She’s represented Canada 5 times at the Olympics, capturing gold 4 times and silver once.
She also has more gold medals than any Canadian Olympian. That is impressive. She also has 7 gold medals from the World Hockey Championships.
She was named to the Canadian women’s hockey national team at the young age of 15!
Sidney Crosby
Widely regarded as the best hockey player on earth for the better part of the last 10 years, Sidney has a Stanley cup, two Olympic Gold Medals, World Junior Gold, and a World Hockey Championship gold medal.
He is also currently in the Stanley Cup Finals vs the San Jose Sharks.
He’s won the Art Ross Trophy (leading scorer) twice, in 2007 and 2014, and a Rocket Richard Trophy (most goals) in 2010.
Terry Fox
Terry Fox is a Canadian hero to many. After losing his leg, he decided to run across Canada in 1980 to raise awareness and money for cancer research.
In what was dubbed “The Marathon of Hope” he ran 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles) in 143 days until his cancer had spread to the point that he had to stop. By this time, he had raised $1.7 million.
Terry passed away on June 28th, 1981.
Since his death, his legacy has grown and the “Terry Fox Run” tradition is held annually in over 60 countries.
