21 People Who Represent Canada Better Than Justin Bieber (And 1 Who Doesn’t)

Because the Great White North has so much more to offer than “Bizzle.”

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1. William Shatner

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Not only did Shatner study economics at McGill University in Montreal, the student center is named after him. We’d give anything to pass time between classes at Gert’s Bar in the William Shatner University Centre.

2. Michael J. Fox

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Aside from the fact that he’s given us Marty McFly, aka one of the most iconic roles of all time, he’s a stand-up dude who roots for his home team of Canada, even though he’s been a dual American citizen for years. That’s loyalty!

3. Ryan Gosling

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This entire interview. Not gonna lie, we kind of miss his accent.

4. Ellen Page

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This pint-sized Canadian actress recently came out of the closet in a heartfelt speech during a Human Rights Campaign conference for LGBT youth, and in doing so propelled the fight for equality forward — not only for Canada, but for the rest of the world. You go, Juno! And we feel it’s worth mentioning she was on Trailer Park Boys as a kid. It doesn’t get more Canadian than that.

5. Drake

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The stellar SNL host and Rihanna’s on-again, off-again boyfriend got his start on the premier Canadian teenage drama: Degrassi: The Next Generation. Whatever it takes, we know Drake can make it through.

6. Mike Myers

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This comedian is SO wonderfully proud of his Canadian heritage, he wore a Team Canada hockey jersey to Scottish fashion show “Dressed to Kilt.” Well played, sir.

7. Alex Trebek

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Jeopardy! just wouldn’t be the same without him. We’ll take Canadian Slang for 200 loonies, Alex.

8. Alanis Morissette

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And we’re here to remind you of that time the ‘90s angst-queen sang the Canadian national anthem at an Ottawa Senators game.

9. Chris Hadfield

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Arguably one of the most awesome astronauts of all time, Hadfield put Canada at the forefront of space interaction with us here on land, and conducted a pretty legendary Reddit AMA while in orbit. He even did a series of videos from his space station answering questions about how astronauts do all sorts of things without gravity — from wringing out a washcloth to sleeping. And then there was that time he covered Davide Bowie’s "Space Oddity" IN OUTER SPACE. He’s a Canadian hero.

10. Rick Moranis

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Before he was shrinking his kids, fighting Bill Pullman in Spaceballs, or getting possessed by ghosts, Rick Moranis was part of a SCTV Network sketch that initially was intended to be a filler, but instead became a cultural Canadian phenomenon. When CBC requested there be some “identifiable Canadian content” on the Second City sketch show, their answer was to have Rick and fellow comedian Dave Thomas play fictional über-Canadian brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie. The toque-wearing, “eh”-spitting characters became so popular, in fact, that they got their own movie, Strange Brew, out of it.

11. Cobie Smulders

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Robin Sparkles, anybody? Even Cobie’s How I Met Your Mother character is Canadian. And damn if she doesn’t make that red and white look good.

12. Alan Thicke

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In 2013 Robin Thicke’s dad, Cobie Smulders’ fake-persona’s other persona’s fake-dad and Leonardo DiCaprio’s savior from Growing Pains homelessness in the ‘90s was inducted to the Canadian Walk of Fame. Well deserved, we say. Especially since he even had his own, self-titled talk show in the early ‘80s.

13. Celine Dion

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The Grammy Award–winning singer has received many Canadian accolades, including an honorary doctorate in music from Université Laval in Quebec City. We dare you to think of a more famous French Canadian than Celine.

14. Jim Carrey

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One of Jim’s earliest stand-up routines focused on combating the ridiculous stereotypes he was presented with when he told people in L.A. that he was from Canada. Wait, so Canadians don’t have to build igloos to protect themselves from flying hockey pucks?

15. James Naismith

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Basketball was invented by a Canadian. You’re welcome, America.

16. Joni Mitchell

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One of the most famous folk singers alive today, Mitchell got her start busking on the streets of Toronto, and even pays homage to her homeland in her hit song "A Case of You." In 2004, she was inducted into the Order of Canada. And let’s not forget she taught Alan Rickman’s “cold English wife how to feel” in Love, Actually. But then again, it’s sort of impossible to listen to "Blue" without feeling SOMETHING.

17. Leonard Cohen

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Music would not be the same without this singer-songwriter, who has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Order of Canada. There’d be no “Hallelujah” without him.

18. Sandra Oh

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The Emmy Award-winning actress behind Dr. Cristina Yang is a proud Canadian who holds a key to the city of Ottawa. She also likes to hang out with the National Ski Team, because Canada is, like, pretty damn good at winter sports.

19. Jewel Staite

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Sure, you may recognize her from Firefly and Stargate Atlantis, but anyone who watched Nickelodeon in the ‘90s first fell in love with this Canadian actress in Space Cases. Catalina’s rainbow hairdo was EVERYTHING.

20. The Kids in the Hall

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These five über-Canadians paved the way for sketch comedy and turned out some of the most hilarious skits from the late ‘80s and ‘90s. "Head Crusher" and "Chicken Lady" are some of the most famous from the series, and as an added bonus, the star of both these sketches, Mark McKinney, is the son of Canadian diplomat, Russell McKinney. How ehhhhhboot that?

21. Team Canada

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The Olympics aren’t over, but they’ve already won.

22. Rob Ford

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Just kidding. A musician throwing eggs and smuggling monkeys is not as bad as a mayor who admits to smoking crack.