Olympic champ Donovan Bailey 1 of 6 added to Canada's Walk of Fame
Hockey music icon Stompin' Tom Connors will also be honoured
Olympic gold medallist Donovan Bailey is one of six influential Canadians who will be added to Canada's Walk of Fame next month.
Joining Bailey will be Oscar-winning actress Anna Paquin, civil rights pioneer Viola Desmond, Canadian folk icon Stompin' Tom Connors, telecommunications leader Ted Rogers and science TV host and environmental activist David Suzuki.
The annual awards gala will be held in Toronto on Nov. 15.
Bailey, a CBC Sports analyst, was once the fastest man in the world, setting a world record en route to winning gold in the 100 metres at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He won a second gold at those Games as anchor of the 4x100 relay team. He is also a three-time world champion.
Honoured and humbled to be inducted into <a href="https://twitter.com/CWOFame?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CWOFame</a> with these extraordinary Canadians. Extra special for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canada150?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canada150</a>. <a href="https://t.co/WQP3bcItvz">https://t.co/WQP3bcItvz</a>
—@donovanbaileyConnors, who died of kidney failure in 2013, is hailed as a writer of Canada's cultural songbook with staples like "Bud the Spud," "The Hockey Song" and "Sudbury Saturday Night."
Half of this year's honourees are posthumous recognitions as the organization's incoming CEO Jeffrey Latimer attempts to draw equal attention to Canadians outside the entertainment and sports worlds.
Desmond, who died in 1965, emerged as a figure who challenged racial segregation in Nova Scotia during the 1940s after being jailed for sitting in the whites-only section of a movie theatre. She fought the charges in court, and after losing various proceedings, closed her business and left the province. Desmond is often credited as Canada's Rosa Parks, even though her trial pre-dated Parks' 1955 challenge of bus segregation in Montgomery, Ala.
In 2010, Desmond was given a posthumous pardon and an apology from the Nova Scotia government. More recently, she was featured in both a Heritage Minute and chosen to grace the new $10 bill. She is only the second honouree to be recognized specifically for her social justice work, after Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour was inducted in 2014.
Rogers, the late president and CEO of Rogers Communications Inc. who died in 2008, is considered a seminal figure in Canada's broadcasting landscape. His upstart company stepped into the cable industry in 1967 and in the decades that followed became a dominant player in TV, radio and publishing.
Actress Paquin is the youngest Canadian to win an Academy Award, capturing the honour for her role in the 1993 film "The Piano." She has gone onto play Rogue in the "X-Men" movie franchise and Sookie in HBO's "True Blood."
Suzuki, who holds a PhD in zoology, rose to international fame with his CBC-TV program "The Nature of Things," which has aired around the world. He's also an outspoken activist for numerous causes, including his own David Suzuki Foundation which encourages living in a sustainable environment.
This year's Canada's Walk of Fame additions bring the number of inductees to 173. The ceremony will be broadcast in a one-hour TV special on Dec. 3. Eric McCormak, star of "Will & Grace" star and a former inductee, will host the festivities.