CANADA’S GREATEST EXPLORERS

ON ITS 90TH ANNIVERSARY, CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC PRESENTS THE 90 MOST INFLUENTIAL EXPLORERS IN THE NATION’S RECORDED HISTORY

On its 90th anniversary, Canadian Geographic presents the 90 most influential explorers in the nation’s recorded history

FOR THIS 90TH anniversary of Canadian Geographic, we asked a panel of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Explorers-in-residence and Honorary Vicepresidents to give us Canada’s greatest explorers, dead or alive, mariner, mountain climber, polar trekker, anthropologist or astronaut. The only condition? Their picks must have been born in Canada or lived here long enough to qualify for citizenship by today’s standards.

So here are those greats, anchors in a list of 90 men and women stretching from the 16th century to today. All have performed great feats and forged new relationships with the natural world. All have taken bold steps, whether in the service of pure discovery, science and education, the environment, king and country or personal glory. All are human, and to at least some extent products of their time, their cultures and the various technology available to them. As deep-sea explorer Joe Macinnis says, “There are as many versions of ‘explorer’ as there are explorers.”

As for the essential questions “What is an explorer?” and “Who is the best at it?” there are no real answers. “But it is worthy of the chase,” says Macinnis. “That very act alerts us to the importance of exploration as a means of expressing personal curiosity, asking questions and building answers to those questions.”

For the sake of the chase, then, and to embark on the discussion, here are our choices. And look for our pick for the single “Greatest Canadian Explorer” on cangeo.ca, after a live debate on the topic with RCGS Explorers-in-residence (on Feb. 4, 2020, at 50 Sussex Drive, in Ottawa). This will be an individual who exemplifies so many of the qualities vaunted in the pages that follow, it’s almost impossible to categorize them. The RCGS Compass Rose ( ) indicates a Fellow of the Society.