Canadian Celebrities Born In January

Nina Dobrev is one of the most popular Canadian actresses. Apart from her acting career, she is also known for her activism and charity work. She uses her fame to support several charitable causes, such as Puma’s Project Pink. Also an enthusiastic volunteer, Dobrev takes part in social movements like WE movement, Me to We, and We Day.

Canadian ice hockey player Connor McDavid currently serves as the captain of the NHL team Edmonton Oilers. The two-time Art Ross Trophy-winning player became the youngest NHL captain and has won the gold at the 2016 Ice Hockey World Championships, the 2015 Junior Championships, and the 2013 U-18 Championships.

Maryse Ouellet is a Canadian-American businesswoman, actress, and professional wrestler. Currently signed to WWE, Ouellet often appears alongside her husband and WWE superstar The Miz. In 2008, Maryse won the WWE Divas Championship and went on to become the third-longest reigning Divas Champion in the history of WWE. In 2009, she was ranked ninth in the PWI Female 50 list.

American-Canadian actor Andrea Martin is best known for her roles in movies such as My Big Fat Greek Wedding. She has also won Tony and Drama Desk awards for her performances in plays such as My Favorite Year and Pippin. Her one-woman show Nude, Nude, Totally Nude was a hit.

John A. Macdonald was the first prime minister of Canada. A dominant figure in Canadian politics for half a century, he was a lawyer by profession before venturing into politics. As a politician, he was influential in building Canada’s new government. To date, he remains one of the highest-rated prime ministers in Canadian history. 

Canadian actor Calum Worthy, best known for his roles in The Act and American Vandal, had started his career as a child actor. A prominent environment activist, he makes his fans aware about climate change through his social-media profiles and has been associated with the Climate Reality Project.

Canadian retired actor, Michael Ontkean, is best known for playing a homosexual man in the drama film Making Love. Beginning his career in the mid-1950s, he was active in the entertainment industry for over five decades, playing versatile roles in films and TV shows. He was nominated for a Genie Award for his role in the film Bye Bye Blues. 

Lara Fabian is a Canadian-Belgian musician, singer, songwriter, and actress. One of the best-selling Belgian music artists ever, Fabian has sold more than 20 million records all over the world. Over the course of her career, she has won many prestigious awards, such as Félix Awards and World Music Awards.

A high-school dropout, Dave Foley started his career with stand-up comedy. After meeting Kevin McDonald, he formed the iconic sketch-comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall with him and others. He later appeared in movies such as The Wrong Guy and voiced for animated characters, such as Flik from A Bug's Life.

Matt Frewer is a Canadian-American actor, singer, and comedian. He rose to fame in the 1980s for playing the iconic character Max Headroom in the TV movie of the same name. Interested in acting from a young age, he received training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School before starting his career. He is regarded as a brilliant character actor.

Robert W. Service was a British-Canadian poet and writer. Popularly called "the Bard of the Yukon," he wrote some of the most commercially successful poetry of his era. A bank clerk by profession, he often wrote while traveling for work. Besides poetry, he also wrote fiction and non-fiction. He was often compared to English writer and novelist Rudyard Kipling. 

Claude Giroux is a Canadian ice hockey player who plays as a forward for the Ottawa Senators of the NHL. He has also played for other popular clubs like the Florida Panthers and the Philadelphia Flyers. In 2022, Claude Giroux won the NHL All-Star Game MVP award.

Jagmeet Singh is a Canadian politician and lawyer. Since 2017, Singh has been serving as the leader of the popular Canadian political party, New Democratic Party. Jagmeet Singh serves as an inspiration to other Canadian politicians of Indian origin as he is the first member from a visible minority group to lead a prominent federal political party in Canada.

Chinese-born Canadian chess sensation Qiyu Zhou grew up in countries such as France and Finland and began learning chess at age 3. She won the Finnish U-10 championship at 5 and won the World Youth Chess Championship at 14. Known for her Twitch livestreams as akaNemsko, she is also Canada’s first woman grandmaster.

Michael Lee-Chin is a Jamaican-Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He is best known for his association with a privately held investment company named Portland Holdings Inc., where he serves as the CEO and chairman. A well-known philanthropist, Michael Lee-Chin has donated millions of dollars to educational institutions and museums across Canada. 

Mack Sennett was a film actor, director, and producer. He specialized in comedy and was known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Canada in 1880, he moved to USA as a young man and entered the fledgling film industry as an actor. He found considerable success and went on to open Keystone Studios in Edendale. 

Neuroscientist Wilder Penfield redefined medical science with his innovative way of treating epilepsy patients through surgery. He would note down his patients’ responses when they would be conscious under local anesthesia. He also founded the Montreal Neurological Institute, but was unable to cure his sister’s brain cancer.

Nominated for a Canadian Country Music Award at 17, Tenille Townes rocked the country music scene of Canada with hits such as Somebody’s Daughter and Come as You Are. Her albums, such as The Lemonade Stand, have been inspired by the beauty of her hometown, Grande Prairie, in Alberta.