Rosa 'David Thompson' is a deep pink, Hybrid rugosa cultivar, bred by Canadian rose breeder, Felicitas Svejda in 1970.

She moved to Canada in 1953, and was hired by the Canadian Department of Agriculture's research division in Ottawa, Ontario.

[4] With no prior knowledge of roses, Svejvda developed a successful rose-breeding program at the Central Experimental Farm (CEF) in Ottawa.

It is one of the Explorer Roses that Svejda developed to withstand the harsh Canadian winters and thrive in its short growing season.

The rose was named for David Thompson (1770–1857), a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer.