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Born in Manitoba to a French mother, and the youngest of 11 children, Roy (1909–83) escaped her family’s poverty and moved to Québec in 1939, where she began her career as a respected and prolific French-speaking novelist. Her first work, Bonheur d’occasion (The Tin Flute) , was published in 1945, winning her the Prix Fémina award and the first of three coveted Governor General’s awards.

Nelligan (1879–1941) was a romantic figurehead who ushered French-Canadian poetry into a new epoch and is revered by Quebecers as their beloved literary spokesmen. In 1897 Nelligan joined the École Littéraire de Montréal and caused a triumphant public reaction to the reading of his poem “La Romance du Vin.” In later years Nelligan’s sanity deteriorated and he spent his last days in an asylum.

Travers (1894–1941), born to an impoverished family on the Gaspé Peninsula, was a natural entertainer and began her career at family soirées playing jigs on the fiddle and spoons. Known as “La Bolduc,” she rose during the Great Depression to become the first popular singer-songwriter from Québec. A new generation of Quebecers has recently discovered her musical traditions.

The painter Borduas (1905–60) is one of Québec’s most legendary artists and also one of its greatest political activists. Born in St-Hilaire, just outside Montréal, he made his name when he criticized the established social and political norms in 1948 by writing a scathing manifesto entitled Refus Global . He was a founding member of the abstract Automatistes school of art, which eventually included Jean-Paul Riopelle.

Leclerc (1914–88) worked as a radio announcer, actor and comedian, but he is best remembered as a consummate storyteller, singer and song-writer, penning works about the Canadian countryside, solitude, and love. His monument is found on Ile d’Orléans, and a statue of him has been erected in his honor in Parc Lafontaine in Montreal (see Parc Lafontaine, Montréal).

Peterson (b.1925) entered an amateur talent contest aged 14 in his home town Montréal – an event that he went on to win and which inspired him to leave high school and dedicate his life to jazz. However he was only given permission to do so by his father providing he worked to be the best jazz pianist in the world. Peterson succeeded beyond anyone’s imagination: five unequalled decades of recordings are a testament to his virtuosity and have made him one of the greats of this musical genre.

The Montréal novelist, essayist and critic (1931–2001) was known for his sarcastic wit and biting opposition to Québec’s separatist elements. His most popular book, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959), was adapted for film, launching Richard Dreyfuss to Hollywood stardom in 1974. Richler is best known for writing about greed and the human condition, as in St Urbain’s Horseman (1971) and Barney’s Version (1998) but he also wrote a number of humorous essays.

The first North American to direct a Shakespeare play at London’s Royal National Theatre, Lepage (b.1957) is one of the most successful and daring writer/directors in the visual arts world. He has won every available Canadian award for his brilliant theatrical staging and continues to expand his creativity as a filmmaker.

This circus troupe began life as street performers in La Malbaie, east of Québec City. Using an inventive mixture of world music, acrobatic brilliance and dazzling costumes, these entertainers have now conquered the world with their unique brand of magic. There are performance sites in Montréal, Las Vegas and Florida.

Dion (b.1968) is one of 14 children born into a musical family in Charlemagne. A demo tape made as a 12-year-old led to an agent, René Angelil, a recording contract and eventually to her and Angelil’s marriage. Today she enjoys vast popularity as one of the world’s finest singers.