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Web-user’s favorite Anglophone Québécois – Part B (#306)

July 9, 2015 3:38 pm / Leave a comment

The last post introduced you to web-users’ favorite ANGLOPHONE Québécois.

I introduced that post with a little bit of information on how Anglophones form an important part of Québec’s overall cultural fabric and spirit.

I’ll open this post by saying that Montréal’s unique city scene and cosmopolitan culture plays a major role in influencing the type of success Anglophones from Québec tend to achieve.

This is especially felt in artistic spheres.

Most Anglophone Québécois reside in Montréal.  It should therefore be no surprise that Anglophone artists from Montréal find as much “wide” success as their Francophone compatriots.  Montréal’s cultural backdrop is no small player in this equation.

Below are the remaining 15 “favorite” Anglophone Québécois ranked on Rankopedia (out of 25).  I’ve added a bit of my own insight and thoughts regarding each figure.

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11.  Sam Roberts

  • Rock Musician (Born & raised in Montréal
  • One of Canada’s and Québec’s best selling and highest chart-topping singers of the past decade (with numerous #1 albums and singles).   Turn on the radio anywhere in Canada, and you won’t have to wait for long before hearing Sam Roberts.
  • Sings in English and French (the French version of Shapeshifters achieved the #1 hit spot in Québec).

12. Doug Harvey

  • Hockey Player (Montréal, born & raised)
  • One of the best NHL defencemen ever.
  • Passed away in 1989.
  • Played for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings, Baltimore Clippers, Buffalo Bisons, Pittsburgh Hornets, Quebec Aces

13. Wilder Penfield

  • Neurologist (lived and worked most of his life in Montréal, where he died in 1976).
  • If you have a brain (and I hope you do), then thank Mr. Penfield for figuring out how it works, and in no small way.   Penfield was once dubbed one of the smartest men alive.

14. Jeff Martin

  • Rock Musician (Born in Ontario, but claims Montréal as home).
  • As just a normal everyday dude, he was… you know…  only just the lead singer of… “Tea Party!”
  • In the video below, you can catch bits and pieces of him speaking French (in a Québec City concert)

15. Rufus Wainwright

  • Pop Musician (Montréal inside and out).
  • One of Canada’s best known “alternative” pop singers (Baroque pop, operatic pop, indie pop).
  • He’s known to Anglophones and Francophones alike by pushing music over the edge with his unique style.   He was huge in Canada a number of years ago, and still attracts a lot of attention to this day.

16. Sass Jordan

  • Pop Singer, TV celebrity (Montréal be her hometown).
  • Wow… Hopefully I don’t need to tell you who she is.  But if you perhaps haven’t turned on the TV at some point this century, I can tell you she has rocked the country like few others have (not to mention that she’s one of the judges for Canadian Idol, and even an honorary colonel of Canada’s 417 Combat Support Squadron – bang, bang, boom!!).

17. Jessica Paré

  • Actress (Montréal, born & raised).
  • Although Anglophone, she started out acting in Québec’s Francophone film industry (with a break in one of Denys Arcand’s films), and then made the shift to Canada’s English film & television industry.
  • Eventually she made it big in the overall North American scene with her roles in The Baby-sitters Club, and as Megan in Mad Men.

18. Oscar Peterson

  • Jazz Musician (Montréal, born & raised).
  • Canadian jazz doesn’t get much bigger than Oscar Peterson.
  • He passed away in 2007 in Mississauga, Ontario.   His music left a large imprint across the country.

O.P.1

19. Clara Hughes

  • Olympian (Born in Winnipeg, calls Québec home).
  • Canadian multi-medallion Olympian – cycling & speed skating (both summer and winter Olympics).
  • Known for her humanitarian activism.

20. Jack Layton

  • Politician (Born in Montréal, grew up in Hudson, Québec).
  • Although he politically made a name for himself in Toronto, he maintained a special place in his heart for Québec, where he grew up.
  • His connection with Québec remained so strong that he swept the province away from the Bloc Québécois in the 2011 Federal elections, and may have started the beginning of the end for Québec’s sovereignty movement (many people believe Jack Layton was the man who may have pounded the final nail in the coffin of sovereignty… the story is still in the process of being written – only time will tell what mark he has left).
  • Regardless of what political stripes you wear, or whether you are Anglophone or Francophone, few in Canada would say he was not one of Canada’s greatest modern political figures, if for no other reason than his ability to connect with every day common people.
  • Passed away August 2011.

21. Norma Shearer

  • Actress (Montréal, born and raised)
  • Passed away in L.A. in 1983.
  • One of Hollywood’s finest hayday (1930s), multi-Academy award winning actresses.

22. Arturo Gatti

  • Boxer (raised in Montréal, where he also lived much of his adult life & post-boxing retirement – although born in Italy)
  • Died 2009 of suicide at age of 37.
  • Two-weight class, two-time world champion boxer.

23. Jonas Tomalty

  • Rock Singer (Born & raised in Montréal)
  • Lead singer of the chart-topping rock group “Jonas and the Massive Attraction”
  • Currently topping the charts in both English and French in Canada.
  • Although most of his songs are in English, many are also in French.

FRENCH version of one of his #1 hits (was one of the top singles of 2014 in Québec).

ENGLISH version of the same hit (was one of the top charting songs in English Canada in 2014).

24. Gregory Chamitoff

  • NASA Astronaut

25. Melissa Auf Der Maur

  • Rock Musician (Montréal through-and-through).
  • Alternative Rock

In ENGLISH

In FRENCH

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SERIES:  WEB-USERS’ VARIOUS QUÉBEC CULTURAL RANKINGS (11 POSTS)

You are going to know a lot more about Québec after this series of posts

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Web-user’s favorite Anglophone Québécois – Part A (#305)

July 8, 2015 10:53 am / Leave a comment

I have focused very heavily on Québec’s Francophone nature in this blog.

But it is undeniable that Anglophones have always been major contributors to Québec’s overall fabric, and are as equally Québécois.  Québec would not be Québec without its Anglophone flare and evolution (as Québec’s society evolves).

You may recall I talked a little bit about Anglophone historical contributions to building Québec in the post “200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo: How it shaped Québec and Canada (#289)”  

In this post and the next, we will look at people who internet-users have voted as their favorite Anglophone Québécois (via Rankopedia).

You will notice that some people on this list are less contemporary than others.  I assume that many of the voters come from all age-brackets, and thus voted for personalities who used to be quite famous, but perhaps are not so well-known to younger people.  Regardless, this is still a great list!! (After all, every society is the sum of its past, as much as its present).

I’ll also provide you with some videos links of well-known Anglophone Québécois who also sing in French (near the bottom).

One thing you may have noticed is that I have used the word “Québécois” to describe Anglophones in Québec (rather than the term “Quebeckers”).  More and more Anglophones in Québec are choosing to use the word “Québécois” to describe themselves.  They use it as an “all-inclusive” term for anyone from Québec and who has Québec’s society as a whole at heart.

(You may recall that I wrote a blog post in FRENCH, in which I explained some of the nuances between various  Anglophone “residents” of Québec:  Une pub forte intéressante “pro-français” à la télé en Saskatchewan, qui passe à l’écran aux heures de grande écoute (#207)).  I described how many Anglophone Québécois feel quite integrated into Québec’s Francophone fabric, and I also accounted for the nuances ahd circumstances of others who may not fit such a mould (a touchy subject, but one which I tried to tactfully take on nonetheless).

This change in semantics is a major shift from the 1980s and 1990s, when it seemed that the word “Québecker” was used for Anglophones and “Québécois” for Francophones.  It is a wall which appears to be falling.

I think it’s a good sign of progress when the semantics of demarcation start to fall.   It’s evidence that the Two Solitudes are being bridged.

Here is the first list in a two-part post of voter’s favorite ANGLOPHONE Québécois:

1.  William Shatner
  • Actor (from Montréal)
  • “Capitain Kirk” on Star Trek, with many other acting, activism, and musical roles
2.  Leonard Cohen
  • Singer Songwriter (from Montréal)
  • One of Canada’s more successful singers.
3.  Glenn Ford
  • Actor (Raised in Sainte-Christine-d’Auvergne, half way between Quebec City & Trois-Rivières).
  • Born in Québec City (when there used to be a much larger Anglophone population in the region).
  • Named after his father’s hometown, Glenford, in Alberta (wink, wink – Go Oilers!!!).
  • 50 year career in Hollywood’s golden era (first half of 1900s), as well as post-war era through to the 1970s.
  • One of Canada’s first major international movie actors.
4.  Elisha Cuthbert
  • Actress (Grew up in Montréal, although she was born in Calgary, Alberta – Go Flames Oilers!!!).
  • Perhaps not so well known to Francophones as she is to Anglophones (I’m guessing people who voted for her were mostly Anglophones).
  • Known to people under 25 and other younger adults for her performances in kids shows, Hollywood films and US TV programs geared towards young adults.
5.  Emmanuelle Chriqui
  • Actress (Born in Montréal.  Raised in Toronto area).
  • Main actress in numerous Hollywood box office films.
6.  Christopher Plummer
  • Actor (Born Toronto, raised in Montréal).
  • If you’re an Anglophone Canadian or an American, I don’t think I need to describe Christopher Plummer.  But I asked a couple of Francophones, and they were not sure who he was (that ‘ole 2-way door of the Two Solitudes… works in both directions).   It is kind of strange because Plummer is bilingual, and I believe he has done stage performances in French.
  • One of Hollywood’s most successful film actors, stage actors and Broadway actors of the past 50 years.  Think of a major acting award (in Canada, the UK, or the US), and he has won it.
7.  Scotty Bowman
  • NHL Hockey Coach (from Montréal)
  • Has coached numerous NHL teams to five Stanley Cup wins.
  • He has been coach of the Montréal Canadiens, Baffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, as well as Team Canada (Go Oilers!!… ok, ok… no affiliation – I just wanted to get in another Go Oilers!!).
8.  Mike Bossy
  • Hockey Player (Born & raised in Montréal)
  • Was a major factor for the NY Islander’s 4-year Stanley Cup winning streak in the early 1980s (for two of which he scored the winning goals as forward).
  • The NHL’s 3rd highest goal average, and the NHL’s only 50 goals / 50 games record.
9.  David Usher
  • Rock Musician (Actually, a number of places can claim him, but he calls Montréal as his home town.)
  • Was top-of-the-charts a few years ago.
  • Although he’s Anglophone, he sings in both French and English.  In fact one of his better known French songs was his hit duet with the Franco-Ontarien singing star, Marie-Mai (Marie-Mai’s status is sort of Canada’s and Québec French equivalent of Justin Bieber… but without the “issues”).
  • If you only know him for his ENGLISH songs but haven’t heard him sing in FRENCH, here’s your chance:

10.  Corey Hart
  • Pop Musician (Born in Montréal and still lives there).
  • One of Anglophone Canada’s most popular pop singers of the 1980s.
  • Married to the very famous and popular Québécoise singer, Julie Masse
  • Sings in both French and English, and thus is known to both Francophones and Anglophones.
  • If you only know him in English, here is one of his French hits from a few years ago in which he sings a duet with his wife:

  • Here is an excerpt on his family life in Montréal (he has a very French/English balanced lifestyle)

That sums up the top 10 most popular ANGLOPHONE Québécois, as voted by web-users.

The next post will introduce you to the next 10 ANGLOPHONE Québécois, as voted by internet users.

——————————————————————————–

SERIES:  WEB-USERS’ VARIOUS QUÉBEC CULTURAL RANKINGS (11 POSTS)

You are going to know a hell of a lot more about Québec after this series of posts