Canada – From multi-platinum recording artists to world-class athletes, some of the biggest stars in the world hail from nine of Canada’s ten beautiful provinces.
So, the next time you feel the urge to point out that a celebrity is Canadian, you can use this helpful list to find the most famous person from your home province, unless you come from Prince Edward Island.
Alberta: Michael J. Fox
The star of Back to the Future hails from Edmonton, Alberta. And like most people from Edmonton, he tells Americans he’s from Vancouver.
British Columbia: Ryan Reynolds
One Instagram post of Ryan Reynolds hanging out in Charlottetown would do more for PEI’s economy than the entire Ministry of Tourism, but of course the Deadpool star is from BC. Don’t they have enough?
Manitoba: Anna Paquin
Don’t let the New Zealand accent fool you, Oscar-winner Anna Paquin was born in Manitoba – and you better believe we’re claiming her as one of our own. After all, there’s nothing more Canadian than wanting to get the hell out of Winnipeg.
New Brunswick: Matty Matheson
Saint John native Matty Matheson is a breakout star thanks to his role on The Bear. But if you want to lie and say he’s from St. Nicholas, PEI instead, we won’t stop you. It’s not like anyone outside of Canada knows the difference.
Newfoundland and Labrador: Rick Mercer
This is a tough blow for PEI – we even managed to find someone from Newfoundland. Newfoundland!
Saskatchewan: Tatiana Maslany
She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany was born and raised in Saskatchewan, Manitoba.
Nova Scotia: Sidney Crosby
You’d think including hockey players would make it easier for us to find someone from PEI, but apparently not. Brad Richards of Murray Harbour isn’t exactly on the same level as Sid the Kid.
Ontario: Martin Short
Ontario’s population is 100 times bigger than PEI’s, so we tried to even the scales here. We didn’t pick Ryan Gosling, Justin Bieber, or Shania Twain. We passed over Wayne Gretzky, Rachel McAdams, and Drake. But even the 100th most famous person from Ontario, television’s Martin Short, is still a pretty big deal.
Prince Edward Island: Elliott MacDougal
According to his wife’s Facebook page, Elliott is a retired dentist from Summerside, PEI. What were you expecting? PEI produces 20% of our national potato supply, but they haven’t produced a true celebrity since Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Quebec: Celine Dion
Damn, Quebec didn’t have to go this hard right after PEI.
