Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jul 1, 2025 | 8 comments

It’s CANADA DAY!

By PETER BOSCH

For July 1, Canada Day, I would like to d0 something special this year. I was born in Canada and lived there for half of my life, so I have an appreciation for all things Canadian. As Leslie Nielsen said to me in a newspaper interview, “Canada is where I had all my firsts. Your first kiss. Your first train ride. Your first drink from a well. First time you made a snowball. It’s part of my marrow.” He paused to reflect and then added, “There’s no way to ever stop being a Canadian.”

As an aside, Canada Day (once called “Dominion Day”) was established to celebrate the 1867 union of three individual British colonies (Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia) into one country, the Dominion of Canada.

I have many of those same memories that Nielsen had, as well as a deep pride in how Canada has stood up and done the right thing in trying times. I think many here will remember how, in 1979, the people of the Canadian embassy in Tehran secretly took in six members of the American consulate when it was overrun by the Iranian people and helped them escape the country at the risk of their own lives. And, more recently, how the 9,000 people living in Gander, Newfoundland, took in to their homes nearly 7,000 people from around the world when 38 planes were diverted to their airport for several days after the World Trade Center in New York City was attacked on September 11, 2001. (A musical was even made of the experience and it turned into a worldwide success.)

I also have a strong pride in the actors of Canada who have had success in both their own country and in the United States. Many of these have appeared on the big and small screens since the days of the silent cinema, with “America’s sweetheart” Mary Pickford — who was born in Toronto, Ontario — leading the way.

By the way, Canadians, in addition to their niceness, have a great sense of humor about themselves. If you would like to see a very funny mockumentary that was created by the Canadian Broadcasting Company for the amusement of its citizens about a so-called plot by Canada to infiltrate all parts of the United States in order to seize control of the government of the U.S. from within, I heartily recommend viewing “The Canadian Conspiracy” below, which starred Lorne Greene, William Shatner, Margot Kidder, Leslie Nielsen, and so many others from the neighbors to the North.

Speaking of actors, do you know just how many Canadians appear in movies based on comics, radio, and pulp characters from America? Well, let’s just say, Los Angeles has been nicknamed “Canada’s 4th largest city.” And this leads into the focus of this year’s 13th Dimension article honoring Canada Day: a look at some of the Canadian actors you didn’t realize have starred, or are starring, in many of these motion pictures and TV shows.

Before we do that, though, here are two Canadian-born actors who are among the most famous iconic heroes of America:

Star Trek: WILLIAM SHATNER (born in Montreal, Quebec) and JAMES DOOHAN (from Vancouver, British Columbia).

OK, here we go. Enjoy, eh? (By the way, British Columbia will be referred to by its more famous “B.C.” — where I was born in its capital city, Victoria, many wonderful years ago.)

—

JIM CARREY (The Mask and the Riddler in Batman Forever): Born in Newmarket, Ontario.

—

RYAN REYNOLDS (Green Lantern and Deadpool): Vancouver, B.C.

—

JAY SILVERHEELS (Tonto in The Lone Ranger TV series and two movies): Brantford, Ont.

—

Superman the Movie: Three from the Christopher Reeve film – MARGOT KIDDER (Lois Lane): Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. GLENN FORD (Jonathan Kent): Sainte-Christine-d’Auvergne, Quebec. AARON SMOLINSKI (young Clark Kent): Calgary, Alberta.

—

PAMELA ANDERSON (Barb Wire): Ladysmith, B.C.

—

VICTOR JORY (The Shadow/Lamont Cranston – 1940 movie serial): Dawson City, Yukon.

—

SETH ROGEN (The Green Hornet): Vancouver, B.C.

—

STEPHEN AMELL (Green Arrow): Toronto, Ont.

—

VICTOR GARBER (Martin Stein/Firestorm in Legends of Tomorrow, Daddy Warbucks in the 1999 TV-movie version of Annie, and the voice of Sinestro in the animated Green Lantern: First Flight). (Also, in Argo, Garber played the real-life Ken Taylor, the Canadian ambassador who took in the six American embassy workers.) Born in London, Ont.

—

EVANGELINE LILLY (Hope Van Dyne/Wasp in the Ant-Man movies): Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta.

—

The X-Men movies: Clockwise from top left – SHAWN ASHMORE (Bobby Drake/Iceman, as well as Lamplighter in The Boys): Richmond, B.C. ANNA PAQUIN (Rogue): Winnipeg, Manitoba. DANIEL CUDMORE (Colossus): Squamish, B.C. ELLEN PAGE aka ELLIOT PAGE (Kitty Pryde): Halifax, Nova Scotia.

—

COBIE SMULDERS (Agent Maria Hill in various Marvel movies, as well as in the TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.): Vancouver, B.C.

—

SERINDA SWAN (Zatanna in Smallville and Medusa in Inhumans): West Vancouver, B.C.

—

MORE

— O CANADA! An American Salute to CAPTAIN CANUCK. Click here.

— 13 COVERS: It’s CANADA DAY. Click here.

—

13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. (You can buy it here.) A sequel, American Movie Comic Books: 1930s-1970s — From the Silver Screen to the Printed Page, is due in 2025. (You can pre-order here.) Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in Hollywood.