Université De Montréal

Pierre Trudeau was a Canadian politician who served as the 15th prime minister of the country. His personality generated excitement within Canada's mass media, which gave rise to the term Trudeaumania. The effects of Trudeau's contribution to Canadian nationalism can still be felt in Canada. 

Michaëlle Jean is a Canadian stateswoman who became the first black person and Haitian Canadian to serve as Governor General of Canada, a position which she held from 2005 to 2010. In 2015, Jean became the first woman to serve as the secretary-general of the International Organisation of La Francophonie, a position which she held until the end of 2018.

Initially a player with the McGill Redmen team, Guy Boucher later coached the NHL teams Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. A prominent scar on his right cheek has often made people compare him to Le Chiffre from the James Bond movie Casino Royale.

Canadian game designer Patrice Désilets is best known for his Assassin's Creed game series. He also contributed to the creative direction of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Hype: The Time Quest. After leaving Ubisoft, he formed his own studio, the Montreal-based Panache Digital Games.

Robert Bourassa made headlines when, in 1970, he became the youngest premier of Quebec. After a crushing defeat 6 years later, following corruption scandals, he moved to Europe and the U.S., where he taught while in exile. In the mid-1980s, he reclaimed the Liberal Party leadership and became a premier again.

Louise Arbour is a Canadian lawyer, jurist, and prosecutor. She made history when she indicted Slobodan Milošević for war crimes; Milošević became the first sitting head of state to be summoned before an international court. Arbour's attempt to indict Bosnian Serb war criminals inspired a 2005 TV film titled Hunt for Justice, where Louise Arbour was played by Wendy Crewson.

Jewish Polish-born-Canadian physician and activist Henekh Morgentaler, CM, is noted for his abortion rights advocacy and commitment to enhance healthcare for women. He is counted among the first Canadian doctors who carried out vasectomies for inserting intrauterine devices to prevent pregnancies and provided birth-control pills to unmarried women. He became the first doctor in North America who used vacuum aspiration.

Known as “The Poet of the Stars,” Canadian astrophysicist Hubert Reeves has been a NASA advisor. His research covers neutrinos and thermonuclear reactions in stars. Having penned numerous science and astronomy books such as Soleil, he is known as a popularizer of science and has an asteroid named after him.

Roger Guillemin is a French-American neuroscientist. He is best known for his work on neurohormones, which earned him the prestigious Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1977. Guillemin is also the recipient of other prominent awards such as the National Medal of Science, Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, and Passano Award in Medical Sciences.

Jules Léger was a Canadian diplomat and politician. He served as the governor-general of Canada from 1974 to 1979. He completed his legal studies and took up a job in the Canadian Department of External Affairs. He served as an ambassador to a number of countries and was appointed as the governor-general by Queen Elizabeth II. 

Marie-Claire Blais is a French Canadian writer, poet, and playwright. Born into a blue-collar family, she was unable to pursue full-time education. However, she did attend a few classes at Université Laval and began her literary career at the age of 20. She eventually became a successful author with numerous novels, plays, and poetry collections to her name. 

One of the most significant female French Canadian poets, Blanche Lamontagne-Beauregard wrote mostly on historical and regional themes that centered around the Gaspé Peninsula. However, following her marriage to a renowned lawyer, she was unable to devote herself to writing. Through Our Fields and Shores remains one of her best-known works.