people of small towns
235 notable Canadians. The small towns that shaped them.
Bobby Orr · Parry Sound
W. Brett Wilson · Battleford
Yann Martell · Port Hope
Tom Thomson · Owen Sound
Joni Mitchell · Fort Macleod
David Suzuki · Leamington
Wayne Gretzky · Brantford
Alexander Graham Bell · Brantford
Stompin’ Tom · Skinners Pond
Farley Mowat · Port Hope
What small towns mean to the people who grew up there
Written for 1000 Towns of Canada
We lost something, a strong sense of community and connection to place.
David Suzuki
Scientist & TV Host
Wonderful place to raise the family in the 1950s — fond memories about Battleford and all things prairie.
W. Brett Wilson
Dragons’ Den Panelist
I’ve lived in small places, big places, centric places, eccentric places. I see the blessing and the curse in all of them.
Yann Martell
Life of Pi Author
235 Profiles and Counting
Celebrities, entrepreneurs, artists, athletes — the people who call small-town Canada home.
♥ There’s a small town in all of us
Even if you’ve never lived in a small town, you’ve been shaped by one — through a grandparent’s stories, a childhood visit, or a place that just felt like home. We’d love to hear your story.
#TheSmallTownInMe
Municipalities & Tourism Organizations
Your town has people worth celebrating, too
Person profiles are one of the most visited sections on our platform. A partnership puts your community’s stories in front of 132,000 travellers a year — through profiles, town pages, and Google search advertising.