M - Canadian Effect

Sir John A. MacDonald was born in Glasgow, Scotland on January 11, 1815 and died June 6, 1891. At the age of five, his family moved to Kingston, Upper Canada (Ontario). He became Canada's first prime minister on July 1, 1867 until November 5, 1873 and was re-elected as prime minister on October 17, 1878 and was prime minister until his death.

Ashley MacIsaac was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, in 1975. He is a fiddler who style is more like punk and alternative than traditional music. His hits include The Devil In The Kitchen.

Alexander Mackenzie was born near Dunkeld, Scotland, on January 28, 1822, and emigrated to Canada in 1842. He became Canada's second prime minister from November 7, 1873, to October 16, 1878. He died on April 17, 1892, in Toronto, as a member of Parliament.

Rita MacNeil was born in Big Pond, Nova Scotia, in 1944. She is a folk singer-songwriter.

Madonna was charged in Toronto during her Truth Or Dare with the city's indecency law.

Maestro Fresh-Wes was born in Toronto on March 31, 1968. He is a singer-songwriter and his hits include Let Your Backbone Slide (1989) and Stick To Your Vision which includes a sample from The Guess Who's These Eyes.

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Frank Mahovlich was born in Timmins, Ontario on January 10, 1938. He scored 533 goals in 17 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens (1957-74).

Howie Mandel was born in Toronto on November 29. He is a comedian and was the creator of the animated series Bobby and starred on medical drama St. Elsewhere.

Elizabeth Manley was born in Belleville, Ontario, on August 7, 1965. She won silver for the women's figure skating at 1988 Olympics.

Peter Mansbridge who was born in London, England, is a chief correspondent and is the anchor of CBC's The National.

Amanda Marshall is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Toronto. Her songs include Love Lifts Me and Sunday Morning After.

Andrea Martin, who was born in Portland, Maine, on January 15, 1947, is an original member of SCTV.

Paul Martini was born in Weston, Ontario, on November 20, 1960. He and Barbara Underhill were figure skaters who won bronze in 1983 and gold in 1984 in the world pairs championship.

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Vincent Massey, who was born in Toronto in 1887, was the first Canadian-born Governor General from 1952-59. He died in London, England, on December 31, 1967.

Matthew Good Band was formed by Matthew Good in Burnaby, British Columbia and was one of Canada's most successful alternative rock bands in the 1990s, before dissolving the band in 2002. Other band members included drummer Ian Browne, guitarist/keyboardist Dave Genn, and original bassist Geoff Lloyd, later replaced by Rich Priske. In the years since the Matthew Good Band's disbanding, Good has pursued a solo career and established himself as a political activist and blogger.

Marnie McBean was born in Toronto in 1958. She was an Olympic rower who won two gold at the 1992 Olympics and a gold and a bronze in 1996.

Nellie McClung (nee Moorey), who was born in Chatsworth, Ontario, in 1873, was a feminist and social reformer who fought for female suffrage and prohibition. She was a member of the Alberta parliament from 1921 to 1926. She died in Victoria, B.C., on September 1, 1951.

Eric McCormack was born in Toronto on April 18, 1963. He starred in the television series Will and Grace.

Elijah McCoy was born in Colchester, Ontario and his parents had been slaves in Kentucky and fled to Canada. McCoy was apprenticed by a mechanical engineer in Scotland later worked as a fireman-oilman for several railroads in Michigan. He developed the automatic lubricator that would continuously supply lubricants to moving parts. The expression The Real McCoy may have come from buyers who insisted on using his lubricators.

John McCrae was born in Guelph, Ontario, on November 30, 1872. He was a physician, a soldier and a writer and wrote In Flanders Field. He died in Boulogne, France, of pneumonia on January 28, 1918.

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McHappy Day was first established in Canada in 1977. Money raised on McHappy Day goes to several children's charities in each country.

John McIntosh was born in Mohawk Valley, New York, in 1777. He emigrated to Iroquois, Upper Canada (Ontario), after a family disagreement. In Canada, he bred apple trees such as Grannys and McIntosh Reds. He died in 1845.

Patrick McKenna was born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1960. He has starred in the television shows The Red Green Show and Traders.

Sarah McLachlan was born in Halifax on January 28, 1968 where she studied classical music. She was discovered in a "new wave" band in 1985. Her debut album, Touch, was released in 1988.

An obsessed fan wrote to Sarah during the 90s and tried to sue her for using his letters in her lyrics. He later killed himself.

Sarah married her drummer in 1997 and started Lilith Fair that same year to promote female artists. She took several years off to raise a family and released a new album this year.

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Audrey McLaughlin was born in Dutton, Ontario, on November 7, 1936. She became the federal leader of the New Democratic Party in 1989.

Robert McLaughlin, who was born in Enniskillen, Ontario, on September 8, 1871, developed a carriage and motor car company that would become General Motors of Canada. He died in Oshawa, Ontario, on January 6, 1972.

Marshall McLuhan, who was born in Edmonton in 1911, was a communications theorist and author. He received a Ph.D. from Cambridge University in England in 1942. His books include Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964) and The Medium is The Massage (1967) [People often confuse the title as "medium is the message"]. He died in Toronto on December 31, 1980.

Arthur Meighen was born in Anderson, Ontario, on June 16, 1874. He became prime minister July 10, 1920 until December 29, 1921, and again from June 29, 1926 until September 25, 1926, becoming the shortest time as prime minister for a term. He died on August 5, 1960, in Toronto.

Men Without Hats is a Montreal-based trio and their songs include Safety Dance (1983) and Pop Goes The World (1988).

Don Messer was born in Tweedside, New Brunswick, on May 9, 1909. He was a fiddler of "old-time" music and formed The Islanders. He hosted a musical variety t.v. show called Messer's Jubilee in 1959 that ran for ten years. He died in Halifax on March 26, 1973.

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Mark Messier was born in Edmonton on January 18, 1961. He played center for the Edmonton Oilers winning 5 Stanley Cups and currently plays for the New York Rangers.

Lorne Michaels was born in Toronto on November 17. He is the creator of Saturday Night Live.

Stan Mikita was born in Sokolce, Czechoslovakia on May 20, 1940 and moved to St. Catherines, Ontario, when he was a boy. He played hockey with the Chicago Blackhawks (1959-80).

Joni Mitchell (Roberta Joan Anderson) was born in Fort Macleod, Alberta on November 7, 1943. She is a singer and songwriter and her songs include Both Sides Now (1969), Big Yellow Taxi (1970) and Help Me (1974). She won a Grammy in 2001 for Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Both Sides Now. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

Kim Mitchell was born in Sarnia, Ontario. He is a singer and songwriter and former lead singer of Max Webster. His hits include Go For Soda (1984) and Patio Lanterns (1986).

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W.O. Mitchell was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, on March 13, 1914. He is a novelist and wrote Who Has Seen The Wind. He died on February 25, 1999.

Colin Mochrie was born in Scotland in 1957 and moved to Canada in 1964. He is am actor and improvisational comedian. He has over 25 years of performing experience. He starred in the improv t.v. show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and the Canadian t.v. series This Hour Has 22 Minutes. .

He is an alumnus of Toronto's famous Second City comedy troupe, where he co-wrote and starred in three productions as well as directed three seasons of their national touring company.

After nine years as a regular on the British Channel 4 hit improvisation series Whose Line Is It Anyway?, he appeared in every episode of the American version hosted by Drew Carey on ABC. He was frequently mocked by his co-stars on the show for being Canadian and for his receding hairline. At the same time, he starred in the Canadian comedy series Blackfly and Supertown Challenge. More recently he appeared in This Hour Has 22 Minutes on CBC TV from 2001 through 2003, on The WB Television Network series Drew Carey's Green Screen Show in 2004, and starred in Getting Along Famously in 2006.

Mochrie was a guest star of The Drew Carey Show for three episodes: "She's Gotta Have It" (1999), "Drew Live" (1999), and "Drew Live II" (2000).

In 2003, Mochrie along with Leslie Nielsen, Wayne Gretzky, and Roy Halladay, appeared in print and television advertising to get people to visit Toronto again after the SARS outbreak that struck the city.

In March 2005, a Nabisco advertising campaign starred Mochrie as the "Snack Fairy", in which he wears a tutu. At the end of each commercial, he declares "Snack happy!" and waves his scepter with a smile.

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Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in Clifton, Prince Edward Island, in 1874, and wrote the Anne of Green Gables books. She died in 1942.

Montreal Canadiens are a professional NHL team. Other French nicknames for the team include Le Canadien, Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, La Sainte-Flanelle, Le Tricolore, Les Glorieux, Les Habitants and Le Grand Club. In English, the main nickname is the Habs.

Founded in 1909, the Canadiens are the league's oldest franchise and a part of the startup group known as the 'Original Six'. They have won more Stanley Cups (24) than any other NHL team.

The Canadiens play their home games at the Bell Centre, which was previously named the Molson Centre up until 2003. Former homes of the team include Jubilee Rink, Montreal Westmount Arena, Mount Royal Arena and the Montreal Forum. The Forum was considered a veritable shrine to hockey fans everywhere, and housed the team for seven decades and all but two of their Stanley Cup championships.

Montreal Expos became Canada's first Major League Baseball team in 1969.

Greg Moore was born in Vancouver in 1975. He was a race car driver for the CART circuit and won four races. He died in a crash during the Marlboro 500 race in California in 1999.

Rick Moranis was born in Toronto on April 18, 1953. He is an original member of SCTV.

Howie Morenz was born in Mitchell, Ontario, in 1902. He played centre for the Montreal Canadiens from 1923 to 1934 and in 1936. He died on March 8, 1937, from hockey injuries sustained in a game on January 28 of that year.

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Henry Morgentaler fought the Canadian abortion law that was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Alanis Morissette was born in Ottawa on June 1, 1974. She is named after her father, Alan, and she has a twin brother, Wade. She wrote her first song at the age of 9 and appeared on the Canadian show You Can't Do That On Television in mid-80s.

She released her debut album in 1990 and in 1992, she moved to Los Angeles to appear in the t.v. show Just One Of The Girls.

One year after her second album was released; she had the biggest selling album by a female artist. Her hits include Too Hot, You Oughta Know, Ironic and Thank U and Hands Clean.

Farley Mowat was born in Belleville, Ontario, on May 12, 1921. He is a writer of subjective non-fiction and his books include Never Cry Wolf 1963.

Brian Mulroney was born in Baie Comeau, Quebec, on March 20, 1939. He was prime minister of Canada from September 17, 1984 to June 25, 1993. He worked on the North America Free Trade Agreement, the GST and the Meech Lake accord.

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Alice Munro was born in Wingham, Ontario on July 10, 1931. She is a novelist and her books include The Moons Of Jupiter (1982).

Robert Munsch was born in Pittsburgh on June 11, 1945. He taught in nursery schools and worked in day-care centres in the U.S. He moved to Guelph, Ontario, in 1975 and started writing children's stories. In 1979, he wrote Mud Puddle and The Dark. Other books he has written include The Paper Bag Princess and Love You Forever. Also, he is an oral storyteller telling his stories to children across the country.

Anne Murray was born Springhill, Nova Scotia, on June 20, 1945. She is a singer-songwriter and her hits include Snowbird (1970).

Mike Myers was born in Scarborough, Ontario, on May 25, 1963. Myers starred in the t.v. show Saturday Night Live and the Wayne's World and Austin Powers movies.

Alannah Myles was born on December 25, 1958 in Toronto. She is a singer-songwriter and her songs include Black Velvet (1989), a homage to Elvis Presley. She won the 1990 Grammy for Best New Artist.

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