# Who is/was the most influential Canadian in American culture? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 30, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843 "2012-06-30T19:53:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/61 "2012-07-06T05:25:46Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Neil Peart > > or > > Geddy Lee > > or > > Alex Lifeson Something tells me you rushed into that conclusion. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/62 "2012-07-06T05:51:17Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > Something tells me you rushed into that conclusion. At least he didn’t say Randy Bachman and Fred Turner. He would have gone into overdrive. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/63 "2012-07-06T12:57:03Z")
> [@Steken](#): > > James Cameron. I came into the thread to post that. He directed the two most successful films in history. He also directed the best of the “Alien” series and the first two terminators. He helped start the current 3D cinema craze. I can’t see how any other Canadian comes close. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/64 "2012-07-06T13:31:43Z")
See I was thinking [John Kenneth Galbraith](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kenneth_Galbraith). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/65 "2012-07-06T13:43:44Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > You could also argue that [football was invented in Canada, too.](http://cflhq.ca/2012/02/how-canada-invented-american-football/) > > Also, from the [CFL Grey Cup site -](http://greycup.cfl.ca/page/grey-cup-history-timeline-1870) > My vote is for [Tommy Douglas.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Douglas) 🙂 That would be a bad argument. The first college football game between Rutgers and Princeton was in 1869. New Brunswick New Jersey is the birthplace of football. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/66 "2012-07-06T14:33:08Z")
Joni Mitchell. Or Dayglo Abortions. Just can’t decide. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/67 "2012-07-06T16:20:07Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > Surprise, fear, and ruthless efficiency? And a fanatical devotion to Tim Hortons? That sounds about right. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/68 "2012-07-06T16:22:12Z")
My first thought was Joni Mitchell. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/69 "2012-07-06T16:48:08Z")
I’d say Lorne Michaels had more of an impact than Joni Mitchell (or Neil Young or Rush) - not everybody in America was a fan of those artists; you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t seen SNL or at least one of the hundreds of movies made by SNL alumni. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/70 "2012-07-07T01:31:03Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > Something tells me you rushed into that conclusion. None of those people will be in history books 100 years from now. Not even Canadian history books. They may have had influence on POP culture, but they had none whatsoever on any nation’s REAL culture, like an intertationally influential politician.They are already being forgotten, like Randy Bachman or Joni Mitchell. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/71 "2012-07-07T01:55:35Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > Of course, there’s also Laura Secord, who [del]was a nosy old broad with good legs[/del] single handedly won the war of 1812. It would be hard to make the case for Manifest Destiny if the Americans had conquered Canada, and so every foreign policy decision of the US gov’t for the past 200 years can be directly attributed to her work. > > I don’t think that’s a stretch at all! 🆒 A big stretch! Then again, she was from Massachusetts. She was a traitor to her homeland. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/72 "2012-07-07T02:09:11Z")
Okay, I’ll give you Frederick Banting, one of the discoverers of insulin. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/73 "2012-07-07T02:17:23Z")
What? I get nothing for Galbraith? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/74 "2012-07-07T04:47:16Z")
Okay, Galbraith, too. But not Neil Peart. This isn’t Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/75 "2012-07-07T13:39:12Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Okay, I’ll give you Frederick Banting, one of the discoverers of insulin. I’m still trying to decide: if a person discovered or invented a thing, and that thing has had a great effect on American culture, to what extent can we say that the _person_ has influenced American culture? If you allow that sort of answer, it’s theoretically possible for a person to be “most influential in American culture” without ever having heard of America, which doesn’t seem right. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/76 "2012-07-07T15:48:53Z")
It’s the Canadians who dominate the entertainment industry! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/77 "2012-07-07T16:20:16Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > None of those people will be in history books 100 years from now. Not even Canadian history books. They may have had influence on POP culture, but they had none whatsoever on any nation’s REAL culture, like an intertationally influential politician. I really don’t think politicians are what anyone, much less the OP, was thinking about when talking about CULTURE. The OP is clearing asking for people who directly impacted matter of culture - letters, arts. cinema, drama, sports, and music. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/78 "2012-07-07T16:44:36Z")
James Doohan, hands down Mr Shatner is a nice guy, but I don’t know a single person in the sciences who’d have rather been Kirk than Scotty. Do you have a smart phone? Somewhere along its design was a geeky engineer who took one look at it and said, “Whats the _matter_ with that thing?” “Its a power drain somewhere…” _examines_ “Its in the main circuitry. I’ll get it…” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/79 "2012-07-08T02:47:11Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I really don’t think politicians are what anyone, much less the OP, was thinking about when talking about CULTURE. The OP is clearing asking for people who directly impacted matter of culture - letters, arts. cinema, drama, sports, and music. Then you mean Pop Culture. Are you going to move this thread to Cafe Society? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/80 "2012-07-08T03:07:13Z")
Oooops! Missed the ;). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843.md?page=5)