This first series highlights pivotal Canadian subjects in the world of entertainment and the arts, including IMAX motion-picture technology, the Calgary Stampede, singer Félix Leclerc and the National Film Board.

[1] Famous throughout the world, the Calgary Stampede has put the wild in the West for more than eight decades, thrilling visitors with traditional rodeo events such as chuckwagon racing, calf roping and bareback bronc riding.

[1] A spectacular blend of music, theatre, dance and acrobatics, Cirque du Soleil has blossomed from a group of Quebec buskers into an award-winning troupe of more than 550 performers whose shows have wowed millions worldwide.

[1] Based on a photograph by Al Seib Considered the father of modern Quebec song, playwright and actor Félix Leclerc paved the way for the popular chansonnier movement and influenced the careers of many successful singers.

[2] The leader of the top band in North America in its day, Guy Lombardo was best known for his legendary 48-years stint in New York City, where he and his Royal Canadians performed live for annual New Year's Eve broadcasts.

[2] Nova Scotia-born contralto Portia White helped break the colour barrier in classical music during the 1940s, dazzling concert hall audiences in North America and abroad with her stunning voice.

[2] One of the country's most valued institutions, the Canada Council fosters the creativity of new and established artists by providing a range of grants and services to individuals, groups, professional organizations, galleries and publishing houses.

[3] From its early days in radio to its present dynamic television networks, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has helped shape our national consciousness through its commitment to high-quality current affairs and entertainment programming.

[4] Originated at Montreal's Expo 67, IMAX gives movie audience a larger-than-life experience by projecting dazzling images shot on special large-format film onto screens up to eight storeys high.

[5] Before becoming an Allied super spy during the Second World War, Sir William Stephenson developed a radio facsimile device that revolutionized the newspaper industry by enabling the wireless transmission of publishable photographs.

[6] Although his illness forced him to give up his Marathon of Hope, the spirit of one of Canada's most courageous young men lives on in the annual Terry Fox Run, which has earned more than $200 million for cancer research.

A champion in the war against disease, Quebec physician Armand Frappier helped establish a preventative treatment for infant leukemia and founded studies in immunology, advanced microbiology and hygiene at the Université de Montréal.

[10] Founded a century ago by Alphonse and Dorimène Desjardins, the caisse populaire is Quebec's largest financial institution and the global model for savings and loan cooperatives where customers are both owners and users.

[11] Canada's tradition of universal access to health care owes much to the efforts of the religious orders that established Quebec's first hospitals, and to the example set by Saskatchewan when it became the first province to enact full medicare coverage.

[11] Based on a sculpture by Barbara Paterson February's Millennium souvenir sheets continue the tribute to the wide range of Canadian people, events and institutions that have helped shape our nation.

[12] The wealthiest Canadian of his day, Nova Scotia-born financial wizard Izaak Walton Killam and his wife Dorothy donated a large part of their fortune to supporting the arts, education and sciences in Canada.

[13] In the past century, some 1.5 million immigrants, refugees and displaced persons arrived on our shores at Halifax's Pier 21, which served as a symbol of hope, dreams and opportunity for newcomers to Canada.

Believed to possess supernatural powers, the shaman plays an integral role in Aboriginal life, serving as a mystical guide who helps heal the sick, influence the weather, and interpret dreams.

[13] Believed to possess supernatural powers, the shaman plays an integral role in Aboriginal life, serving as a mystical guide who helps heal the sick, influence the weather, and interpret dreams.

Known around the globe as the father of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell made numerous scientific discoveries at his home on Cape Breton Island, where he worked on everything from a person-carrying kite to a record-setting hydrofoil.