True portrait love . . .
From athletes and actors to politicians and scientists, Canada’s most celebrated have sat for Canadian photographer Don Dixon, who is hoping to shoot and interview 150 icons to mark Canada’s 150th birthday. He is now just 23 icons away from his goal
Dr. Tak Wah Mak Scientist, geneticist
“Canada is a country of relative harmony . . . at the end of the day we recognize we are Canadians and we work together. I have been in science now for 40 years and I have interacted with people at many different levels (in the U.S.), so I get to know the dynamics . . . For example, at Harvard you could have, in a very small field, five experts, but they won’t work with each other. In Canada, we have an expert in one field and I’m in a different field and someone else is in a different field, but we try to get together and make it work. I like that kind of attitude.”
Beverley McLachlin Chief justice of Canada
“I think we in Canada are very fortunate to have inherited a good justice system based on the rule of law, in a country where fairness is treated as a fundamental value and where we recognize that justice is not just something for the rich and powerful but something that every man, woman and child in Canada is entitled to.”
Roberta Bondar Astronaut, neurologist
“I think of Canada as a place of promise; I think of it as a place of tremendous environmental importance to the whole world; and I think it’s a place where people are underrated. I think, by and large, we are a country that, yes, maybe we have a reputation for being quieter and being peacekeepers and peacemakers, but we are still striving to develop that kind of international reputation.”
Perry Bellegarde Assembly of First Nations National Chief
“There is still that debate between Indigenous peoples: should we be celebrating (Canada’s 150th)? Or should we be saying ‘No, we are not going to celebrate that. It’s all about colonization.’ But I say this: we are going to celebrate that 150th birthday. Why? Because we are still here. And we can still hear Cree being spoken, we can still hear Ojibwe being spoken, we can still hear Mi’kmaq being spoken, we can still hear Mohawk and Blackfoot . . . So in spite of all those things that we’ve endured for 500-plus years . . . we are still here as Indigenous peoples and we are embracing the diversity across Canada and we are going to keep making it a better and richer country than it is.”
Measha Brueggergosman Soprano
“The Canadian culture is incredibly unique. It’s so unique because we have shied away from really defining it. It’s so strong and so well-regarded and so respected worldwide, but we are, by nature of being Canadian . . . we just have a hard time embracing how awesome it is. In some ways I feel like until we can have a clear understanding of what it is we have here, we will never rightfully and justifiably and sustainably protect it. Because there’s no future without true identity. I feel like we’re on the cusp of losing who we are because we are scared about who we might be.”
Hazel McCallion Former mayor of Mississauga
“The topography of Canada is fantastic. We have the mountains, we have the rivers, we have the streams, we have the beautiful coastlines, Pacific and Atlantic. It’s so natural. Yes, we have our urban centres that are growing rapidly, but it still has beauty. And it has such a variety of beauty . . . every province is different and every part of the country is different and even the people are different. There’s a difference in the people who live in the West to those who live in the Maritimes. And so we are blessed with uniqueness, second to none.”
Donovan Bailey Olympic champion sprinter
“Canada is incredible . . . as we grow as a nation, we see that we are starting to be even bigger and better. And one of the things we should do is own what we’ve done, own our success. It’s something that I’ve done and sometimes been criticized for it, but I truly believe that Canada is the best, and when I was honoured to be serenaded by the national anthem in the victories over the 10 years of my career, they were the greatest, proudest moments in my life, other than my two kids.”
Atom Egoyan Director
“We have this openness and this generosity of spirit, which is what Canada is about for me ultimately. It’s a sense that we are all part of this venture which is unprecedented; of people having a strong identity, a sense of where they are from and incorporating that into this new identity that is being formed and being assessed and being felt by all of us as it’s progressing. It’s an ongoing experience, and we’re testing tolerances and we’re testing all sorts of things that have never explored anywhere else in the world to the degree that we are living it now in this country.”