. . . and nine more people
Kevin Vickers
Kevin Vickers gave a whole new meaning to the quaint title of sergeant-at-arms when he drew his pistol and shot would-be jihadist Michael Zehaf Bibeau as he attacked Parliament’s Centre Block with a hunting rifle on Oct. 22. The act catapulted Vickers, an RCMP veteran, to instant national hero, a household name from coast to coast. International fame followed: he has been cited by French President Francois Hollande, lauded by American comedian Stephen Colbert and honoured by the Israeli Knesset.
Olivia Ward
Travis Kalanick
His may not be a household name, but his company Uber is shaking up the taxi industry, threatening to leave rivals and regulators in the dust. His smartphone app can hail a limo, a cab or even an ordinary driver looking to make some extra money. But no cash changes hands, only credit card information. Even though the company is likely now worth $40 billion (U.S.), it has hit a series of bumps in the road: from Toronto and other jurisdictions trying to shut it down to growing questions about privacy controls on user data. An Uber driver in New Delhi is accused of raping a passenger, which has led to the shutdown of services in India. But Kalanick, 38, has hired lawyers to fight on every front. Now operating in more than 250 cities in 50 countries, Uber expects to roll out much more, including carpooling services to on-demand deliveries.
Vanessa Lu
Amal Clooney
The high-profile lawyer and activist, formerly known as Amal Alamuddin, burst into the public consciousness when word broke in April that she was engaged to long-time bachelor, actor George Clooney. The two tied the knot in a star-studded affair — Matt Damon, Cindy Crawford and Anna Wintour were among the A-list Maria de los Angeles Pineda Villa and her husband, Jose Luis Abarca. guests — in Venice in September. Here in Canada, the British-Lebanese specialist in international law and human rights, 36, is making headlines for more than her marital status: she is currently representing Canadian-Egyptian journalist Mohamed Fahmy, who is behind bars in Cairo.
Lauren Pelley
Maria de los Angeles Pineda Villa and Jose Luis Abarca
Maria de los Angeles Pineda Villa had a big speech planned for the night of Sept. 26 in the central Mexican town of Iguala, a presentation about her charitable activities as wife of Jose Luis Abarca, the town’s mayor. But trouble was on the way. A group of student teachers were headed for Iguala, possibly to disrupt her speech. She ordered they be stopped. Acting together, the town’s police and a local drug gang swung into action. They captured 43 of the young men, killing them and apparently burning their remains — a shocking crime that has triggered a “national crisis” in Mexico. Pineda Villa and her husband are both in jail now, pending trial.
Oakland Ross
Iggy Azalea
When the 24-year-old Australian hitmaker burst onto the scene with “Fancy,” millions downloaded the song and plenty picked up her album The New Classic. But along with fame came criticism for the white rapper with a penchant for being provocative. Bloggers labelled her “racist” and hip-hop artist Azealia√ Banks called her “a wannabe black girl.” Despite the controversies, Azalea — who started out as Amethyst Amelia Kelly — fought back in 2014, earning Grammy nominations, awards and a Beatles comparison — she and the band are the only acts to rank on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 1 and 2 simultaneously with their first two hits.
Tara Deschamps
Trivago Guy
We loved to hate him. And hated to love him. We were confused. Tim Williams, the actor hired by Trivago, a German-based hotel-booking website to advertise its services to North Americans, just didn’t conform to our preconceived notion of a slick TV pitchman. With his disarming, slightly dishevelled appearance, the 48-year-old American actor quickly became an Internet sensation, though viewers’ comments ranged from “sexy” to “creepy.” Whatever your perspective, the controversy helped make the company a household name.
Dana Flavelle
Dr. Joanne Liu
Silence, silence, silence. For months, this was the global response to the Ebola outbreak that began in Guinea and quickly burned across West Africa. Only one voice — with a French-Canadian accent — dared to be heard: that of Montreal doctor Joanne Liu, who assumed the presidency of Médecins Sans Frontières just months before Ebola claimed its first victim. In the sclerotic channels of UN diplomacy, Liu and her colleagues at MSF were pushy and unafraid to speak the truth: the Ebola outbreak was out of control. It was a reality check many didn’t want, and Liu was accused of crying wolf. But with more than 6,800 deaths from Ebola — and no end to the suffering in sight — history will remember Liu and MSF as the only ones who dared to speak out when it mattered most.
Jennifer Yang
Arthur Chu
He’s a self-described “mad genius, a comedian, an actor and a freelance voiceover artist.” But let’s face it: we all know him from Jeop-
ardy. Chu made his debut as a contestant in January, winning almost $40,000 in his first game thanks to his unusual playing style. With a rapid-fire buzzer response, Chu would bounce around the board — an unconventional, research-based strategy that had viewers seething. Chu was dubbed robotic and aggressive, but it paid off. The 30-year-old compliance analyst from Broadview Heights, Ohio, won almost $300,000 during his 11-game winning streak, becoming one of the most talked-about contestants ever to grace the Jeopardy set.
Lauren Pelley
Gilmore Junio
He didn’t win an Olympic medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, but overnight, Gilmore Junio became far better known than many who did. The 24-year-old long-track speed skater became a Canadian hero for a remarkable act of selfsacrifice: he gave up the spot he had earned in the 1,000-metre race to his teammate Denny Morrison, who had missed the trials but was faster and had a better chance to win a medal for Canada. Morrison won a silver medal in that race, but it’s Junio’s act of sportsmanship that resonated with Canadians as much as, if not more than, any gold medal performance.
Kerry Gillespie